Please look at this, http://crackercoast.com/crackerchat/...iness-listings I have set up a section structure and a incomplete basic category's. (having a way to import or export this kind of structure would be really very cool indeed. as it was a Witch to enter .)

If the native CMS just had a way to import a form and perhaps an 'article' template(s) for business listings I think it would work fantastic with a few tweaks.

as per Fabians post We need more hounding to make that happen sooner than later. IB's web sites already have a review like section they show in their You tube channel it should not be a reach to make a local review site happen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxPh3-w4Cow

I invasion informational articles with sponsored listings and related content in widgets and a really good cross referenced search keywords and categories. were the listing can be ranked by there prominance.
and if you want to get fancy (and I do ) you have an internal skimlinks like linking system (maybe more like Wikkii) that directs mentions back to the listing and cross refrences and leave ads in threads that contain simular tags or keywords.
now wrap that all up in a good links directory too.

My experience with letting users create pages for reviews (i.e., adding product pages) is not good. People almost always take the lazy way out and you end up with junk. So, what I will add is a suggestion box that allows people to recommend products to be added. I did this with my last community and it worked well.

What's in this for me is a small % of the opportunity with the basic version or some form of payment on the Pro version. This is my full-time job. I have been working on the design and development since the middle of last year.

There is a lot in the works for this CMS. Far more than I can explain all at once and not have people roll their eyes.

The problem that I'm trying to solve is the one that I experienced and struggled with for a long time... How do you monetize the huge volume of traffic forums get from the search engines without alienating your members? The answer I came up with, the one that really worked, is:

1. Educate
2. Provide Social Proof
3. Offer Sources and Discounts

So, that's what the base system will provide. It will allow people to build catalogs of products, articles and reviews.

One of my longer term goals is to provide the components that allow forum owners to share reward with members. So, for example, your members can submit how-to articles for publication that include product references. To encourage publication the system will support a revenue split on the affiliate commissions. This is the model that has made Squidoo and Hubpages so popular.

This is not multi-level marketing. It's shared opportunity. Forum owners have the audience, but they need organized content that helps people make buying decisions. By sharing the reward forum owners can get more and do less.

Pete

that sounds very similar to what I am looking for Pete. but I am not concerned with the world traffic I want to concentrate tat on the local/regional area. \
Using local sponsors who I sell and list in person Like these annoying yellow book people do.

I have been educating my core group in how we can obtain sponsors and how that sponsorship will give them real rewards. I need the technology to go forward.

Sure, all depends on your community or niche but this way doesn't work for all.

That's the way I prefer Pete, if you make a good job you should gain profit for the time you've spent for. Thanks for your answers Pete.

I'm so in!!

I've already converted to VB4, but still saving a copy of the old site in hope of getting GARS back.

My only request is that I want the full functionality within the framework of the forum and not the CMS. I do not use Vb CMS as it's still in infancy. I use a different CMS (Joomla) for my articles.

I took a first whack at porting GARS to vB4.1.x this week. I have all of the Admin CP functions working and a few template bits showing on a GARS post. There are 46 GARS templates to convert and 2 php class components that need to be re-written. The templates take an hour each to convert, so it seems likely there is another 80 - 100 hours of work to make the conversion.

I'm in. Let me know what a share costs I could probably pay it.

Save this 100 hrs. and download the last beta script here. Morgan has converted all templates.

GARS with 4.0 I get the upgrade to vb4.1.3 following error message:
The Three Stooges ...
Fatal error: Call to a member function hide_errors () on a non-object in / var/www/my_domain/htdocs/vb4/geek/gars/includes/gars_admin_phrases.php on line 295th

I would also be willing to pay for what it is finally converted to clean VB4

TBH honest, I really dont want GARS for vb4 anymore. I want a reviews CMS system.

I have hundreds of GARS forums and that affects my site negatively. vbulletin allows for a maximum number of forums. GARS is grossly outdated. I need something much much better than GARS.

Alfa,

What you presented in your "wish list" is beyond a simple review content type for the vbCMS. What you're asking for with your requirements set is a very flexible CMS with extensible data types. The current database structures for vbCMS do not support a capability like that. GARS does.

On one hand, GARS is a hack. It works by wrapping itself around the forum and thread system of vB. In general, any system that relies on a mass of hooks to work is going to break with just about every upgrade of the core system.

On the other hand, GARS is a masterpiece of flexibility. With a little imagination and a little effort, You can make GARS be what you want.

I think an ideal solution takes an approach that does not hook into the vB forum system, and uses a GARS-like approach to data definition for reviews. By unleashing from vB's forum and thread system you have more opportunities.

Pete

Yes, I agree that a GARS like approach could be useful, if some detached from the forum system and if it has a modern UI. It does not need to be in the vbCMS. But it does need infractions, moderation tools, reputation, CKeditor, widgets, new entries / comments in 'Whats New', searchable with the vb search engine/sphinx.

Okay, you might want to add those requirements to your list.

When you say "modern UI" what exactly are you speaking of? It's difficult to make an add-on's UI more modern than the system that is hosting it.

Do you want the CKeditor on the admin side or on the member's side?

Halo Plugin Pete,

what would it cost if you convert GARS to VB4?

regards
delazar

Hi Delazar,

I think that Alfa is correct. GARS is grossly outdated. My only goal in making it work on vB4 is to pick it apart so that a new product can be made compatible with the GARS database format (or, at the least, easily converted). When I searched Google for the GARS copyright it came back with a few hundred unique sites. A lot of people are stuck on GARS.

Pete

I added:
vbulletin still uses YUI2 for the most part, which was released in February 2006 and outdated since the release of YUI3. Utilizing jquery allows for many modern subtle effects:
- sliding rating stars
- instead of opening a new page to enter a new review, just load the entry fields within the page with a fade-in effect like jreviews does. (login to jreviews: user&pass= demo)
- when submitting a review or comment let it fade or slide in.
- once a button is no longer needed, just let is fade out, instead of requiring a new page load or a popup.

Personally I think that ZK Direct Ria and Sencha are the best thing since sliced bread, but that may be pushing it. :D
Both.

Okay, updating to add YUI2 support is not a big deal. I agree, there are a lot of nice user interface tools available with jquery.

I agree, ZK is a nice framework, but hardly cost effective for this kind of project. Plus, it would double the framework size of the vB instance and make the whole thing a pig.

I don't know much about it, but I went to the GARS website and the programmer seems resigned to let it die because he got too many nasty emails from people. He writes:

I have reached out by PM to a few of you, I have money to contribute - unfortunately I gave up coding somewhere between Fortran and Basic - who knows if I stayed with it I might have been an internet millionaire. But I made money in other ways over the intervening years. So that is where I can help. We each contribute what we can to get the product we need, right? Some by coding, some by testing, some by ideas, some by cash. Well you know where I stand, reach out to me if/when necessary.

The story of the Geek website and products is a bit convoluted. The original programmer had a family business tragedy and needed to make a decision to contribute the code to vbulletin.org or find someone to take over the project. I'm not one to judge, but I think Morgan (the current owner) bit off a bit more than she could chew. Having spent many hours with the code, I can understand. GARS is a big system and it's not documented. I would never be critical of Morgan. I'm learning from what GARS accomplished and want to build on that effort.


Pete

For unknown reasons the developer who would provide the initial quote for this project, is not responding. Which is not a good sign. The quote was requested before Pete offered his project as an option.

So, I am considering to wait and see what Pete comes up with. (Within reasonable time) Pete has already shown that he can deliver, as much is already coded.

At the same time I do not want to let anyone down and if anyone of the people who pledged to invest in this project wants to go in another direction or have specific requirements, then please PM me to discuss. I realize that many people are depending upon a reviews content type to be able to update to vbulletin 4 and can no longer afford to wait. I am in the same position.

You can put me in the same category as monkeshine, I need something like what you're talking about (but for tech, not automotive, not that it matters imo), and I would be a cash contributor. My timeframe of need for a solid gold vB4.1.x product is by the end of 2011 and I'd be wanting to help test out various betas starting in Sept. I'm not a coder but have messed around with vB for over a year now and currently run a few community forums. I'm interested in using vB now for a new business venture. Let me know if you want/need investors and PM me whatever details are needed to get me in, if you want me. Cheers!

i am in for the group by. i have been wanting something exactly like this. and yes if you dont contribute you should not get it for free cause its gonna cost quite a fee for something of this magnitude. will chip in up to $300

I don't mean to derail the progress by pete but its been over a month since he said his deadline port to VB4 would be done and i've been left here helpless and waiting and im sure many of you are too because there has not been a single good article CMS for vb yet. I dont mind to sound unappreciative, i love what you have done so far pete, im just very uncertain if or when a vb4 port will be ready.

Now I have a really good coder whom i managed to find on elance (after many terrible experiences with bad coders) and already had him do over $400 worth of projects for me. I am keen to start on a similar this project as described in the OP and am very interested in getting it started as soon as possible. I was already prepared to spend over $1,500 for the project on my own but after seeing this thread I was so relieved because that is alot of money and if we did a "group buy" the costs could be split 4-5 ways. However i've been sitting here looking for progress over the last 2 weeks and there hasn't been any so forgive for sound impatient but i really don't want to wait anymore.

Anyone who is serious and interested in having the first solid article review CMS built for their site to their specifications please PM me, we will get a skype group going with the coder and begin work asap. Money will be escrowed by paypal. He says he can deliver the project by working on it full time for 3 weeks and his work so far on my site has been phenomenal, he has delivered extremely fast and beyond the scope of his work every time.

No vote GARS from me.

Willing to pitchin for CMS review system.

Im on holiday until the 2nd. If there is no definite result from Pete by then, I will request quotes from 2 experienced developers.

Forgive my intruding in to this thread. I have no funds to contribute. But I do have some questions.
All the features the OP listed would be ok for a few but not for all end users of the finished product.
As such would there be a way to just turn on a few of the features as needed?
Will it be having a UI that a non coder type could understand? Or are you going to need a Ph.D in programming to make it work?
How much banging on the DB is it going to do?
How much bandwidth is it going to burn up making outside queries to places like amazon and google maps and hotel systems?
How much of a server footprint is this thing going to have?

And how can a pennyless little smuck like me get his hands on it?

This is something that we're very heavily interested in, and I'd be willing to contribute a great deal for a powerful review system. What's the latest on this?

To be honest, this whole thing makes no sense if some are paying the bill and others receive it for free.

If you guys are sincerely interested, please PM me the amount you are willing to contribute so we can get things rolling. I can put together a skype group with us and confirm the specifications we want before sending it to the coder. Theres already 2 people in this so thats $600 towards this system. With $1000+ we can build a really powerful system and it would require no more than $300 per person.

Please PM me so i can arrange the preliminary talks and draft the project outline with the coder. All money will be escrowed so we will be protected and only released upon delivery of the final project to us.

Bump.

We now have 4 confirmed buyers. I have set up the skype group (no need mic, we just use this to real time chat and for updates) and i have created a google document with the proposal, exact member specifications and members of the group.

If anyone else wants to join now is the time as we are going to move ahead shortly. We are not going to resell this mod so it will be the last chance to get a Article CMS with great functionality on VB4 for awhile.

Send me a PM with your skype details.

i will be releasing CMS Review System soon.. i am opening my custom paid site (vfcoders.com) so will be releasing lite edition in vbulletin.org and paid edition in my site.

Alfa1 I am interested in this project and the product, how much does someone need to contribute at least to be in?

Need timing - in this single thread there are over 3 different solutions, and no one has shown a version that actually works in VB4 (the original request)...

If you have something real, suggest you get it out there ASAP - as it sounds like we're heading down a paid, custom path...

Thanks for sending a link.

This could be an interesting project after the media library mod.

Expect to invest around 200-300 each. It greatly depends upon how many people actually come through.

There is quite a list of people who want to be part of this project.

Im currently on holiday and will be back next week. The project will advance from then on. A quick note to other impatient webmasters: trust me, this show is going on the road. Im just as impatient as you are. I needed this a long time ago already.

Best of luck making this happen. I don't want to burst anyone's bubble but who "owns" the code of this "donationware" product? Does VB have the right to take the code and then modify it and sell it? Does anyone who "donates" to the product get a share of ownership?

This is all very nice in theory but it is a total mess on the business end. And if you guys want to start building add-ons like this in a vacuum when IB hasn't given you a road map of what it's doing, get ready for potentially huge frustration. What if their "add-on" products compete with this? What about support?

I thought about all these things and realized I was better off not blowing more than the few thousand dollars I did on my own custom add-ons since anything I'm doing is competing with what IB does in the dark and will be unsupported.

I have zero doubt Alfa1 has great intentions. Truth is that the way things are, this will be stop-gap at best. Even the few major add-on developers here are now creating add-ons for XenForo and IPB. Without a road map, anything done here may be duplicative and short lived. And most important, somebody or someone has to own all of the code. If Alfa1 does, then I suggest he find a better way to fund the product than $300 from this guy and $50 from that guy, each of whom will potentially have equal rights to the add-on.

Off course there is a risk that IB will release a reviews addon. But as they have been able to do about nothing right in the last years, I highly doubt its an issue. Im done waiting for IB. I need the functionality and thats all that really matters. Im not interested in a commercial business of selling software.
I just want the functionality and anyone who is willing to share the cost will get the right to use the software on his/her website. Investing in the software will not give the right to sell it on. The developers of the software will not have the right to sell the software to other parties.
There are more than a few people who intent to invest an equal amount in this project. If half of them come through then the financial side of it will be in order.

Once completed, I expect that the improvement of the software functionality will be ongoing in the future thereafter.

Can we start with a post listing the people that actually want to contribute and then get in touch with a developer to get a quote?

Don't waste to much money, there's a free review system published here recently
Which is here: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthrea...ghlight=review

And i also found a premium review system for vb4 which seems very good, when i was looking for some skins.
Here is a premium one: http://www.vbcover.com/icart.php
4th product in the list.

I'm not sure if it's allowed to post that link here, but i just want to prevent you guys from wasting money. It's not my website, just trying to help you guys out. Cheers!
Also if linking is not allowed, i will removed it instantly.

Product review forums does something similar to GARS: turn forums into review sections. The issue with this approach is that it needs a mass of forums. vbulletin has a maximum number of forums that you can add without performance issues.
iReviews is a nice product, but it is encoded. This means that you can not modify it and you need to run ioncube.