threadBOT: The Thread Provider
 

WHAT:
This hack will create threads at regualar intervals in the forum you specify and with the body text you specify on a thread by thread basis

WHY:
Because your forums are probably dead or you just wanna make sure you continue in the persut of quality topic-specific threads

WHEN:
Whenever you set it to because we're cron like that

WHERE:
In your forums

HOW:
Easily, theirs like one file edit and that's one of the files this comes with, we call it super plug-in power-o

ANYTHING ELSE:
Yes if jilly didn't make the request i would've never got round to spending the few hours it took to create this, though i got distracted alot and so it took me like 5 hours over 3 weeks.

Installation
Unpack to the directories stated and then run the installer @ http://www.yourdomain.com/forums/ins...ck_install.php and follow all the instructions.

Upgrading
Replace the cron file.

Couple of screen shots would be useful :)

hate to list the 1st problem :-

where are you getting htat? what step of the installer?

Step one .. click 'continue' and up pops the error message !?

What is your mysql version?

sorry about that TTG, should work now :)

note to self: don't release hacks when you can barely see the screen, alcohol is bad mmm'kay.

lol thanks for sharing this.

after it updates my templates i get thgis error

Parse error: parse error, unexpected T_LNUMBER in /home/admin/public_html/forums/install/hacks/threadBOT/1/queries.php on line 16

any ideas?

reuploaded zip

i know it's definately working now :)

yes mate just installed it now :)

so what will happen now? ive set it as Chatta_bot and to run hourly in my general forum

what can i expect to happen lol

if you set it to run on the XX minute of the hour it should run by itself if it's got the threads to make but i have to remove the hack for a few days, somethings not working so i'm gonna try and get someone to look at it and tell me where i've gone wrong.

all bugs fixed, critical they were the hack was removed (they were not security issues though mind you) theirs one or two more improvements which could be called bugs still in, but alas this is now fully working, so please enjoy it once more.

Wooohooo!!! Thanks sabre!!! i am running to test this out now!!!

*flexes fingers and clicks install*

Okay, it installed fine - so far, so good!

Q1 - How do I specify the text that will be posted?
Q2 - How do I specify which board they are posted in?
Q2 - How do I specify when they are posted?

ok set the cron job so that it runs once a day and threads will be made once a day.

the rest will be done via your board www.yoursite.com/forums/feed_threadBOT.php :)

sorry only just seen this.

Anyone actually got this working .. ?

When I run :
I always get "Warning: asort() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /usr/home/thetechg/public_html/retreat/install/hack_install.php on line 52"

I just downloaded it but there is no instructions or notes

i've not had that error at all on any hacks i've used or made thanks to the HIS, are you ticking anything? and have you used the HIS before?

Okay I can't find the cron - do I have to add it? I installed it and I think it all went fine - but when I run feed_threadBOT.php i get this:

No Forum specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the webmaster

yup you gotta add the cron through your admincp. also you need to make the specifications via your vbulletin options, their will be a group called threadBOT.

Is there instructions for this in the zip? I can't seem to find them :(

Nope .. 1st time with this hack

ok for the vboptions bit, a direct url would be http://www.yoursite.com/forums/admin...roup=threadbot

as for making adding a cron in your admincp;
scheduled tasks -> add new scheduled task -> <look below>
Title: threadBOT
Day of the Week: * (unless you have a specific day you want it to run on)
Day of the month: * (unless you're setting it to run once a month)
Hour: 17 (which will run it as five o'clock pm everyday)
Minute: *
Log Entries: Yes
Filename: ./includes/cron/threadBOT.php

click save and you're done.

ok, did you tick any of the tick boxes when you went to hack_install.php

Okay, when I go to this part in options:

threadBOT Name
Please enter the username that the threadBOT will post under.

This should be someone's existing username? Like if it will post as me, enter my username, or if I am going to give it it's own entity, create a username for it?


threadBOT Feeding Permissions
Please enter the forumid of a forum where only people you want to be able to feed the threadBOT have permission to view and post.
I am not sure exactly what this means - does this mean the way I will 'feed' it is by having a forum, say a private forum, where I will post up the info that is going to be reposted later by threadbot?

yup it needs to be an existng username in the database (like yours), so you can't just make one up on the spot unless it actually has an account.


what it means is, if you have a private forum that only you can post in, you'd put it's number in there, the reason being is that the threadbot will use the permissions of that forum to see who can and can't feed it. i.e. if you set it to a forum that all your members can post in, then all your members can feed the threadBOT, however if it's a forum that only staff can post in, then only staff can feed the threadBOT.

arghhh i'm crap at explaining things so forgive me :o

That's okay, if you want, once we figure it out I can write up some instructions - THAT I am good at :)

Okay, how do I get the actual questions that threadbot will post loaded?

And how do I specify what forum he puts them into when the cron runs?

i'd more than appreciate that :)

if you check the feed_threadBOT.php it should have the forum in the top right of the form in the drop down menu and you put the questions in as if you were making a normal thread.

cool - got it! Going to put one in now, and then go make the cron run now, and see what happens

Okay, i tried this, and got this error message:

Database error in vBulletin 3.0.7:

Invalid SQL:
INSERT INTO thread_bank(title, lastpost, forumid, open, replycount, postusername, postuserid, lastposter, dateline, visible, sticky)
VALUES ('Who is your favorite Family Guy Character?', NULL, 34, 1, 0, 'ThreadBot', 224, 'ThreadBot', NULL, 1, 0)

mysql error: Table 'bmww.thread_bank' doesn't exist

mysql error number: 1146

Date: Saturday 14th of May 2005 05:32:39 PM
Script: http://www.bmww.org/forums/feed_threadBOT.php
Referer: http://www.bmww.org/forums/feed_threadBOT.php
Username: jilly

threadBOT 1.00 & Generate Files

you don't need to tick anything, i.e. leave everything unticked bar "threadBOT 1.00"

ok that's a problem with the queries, run these two in phpmyadmin

[sql]CREATE TABLE `thread_bank` (
`threadid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
`title` varchar(250) NOT NULL default '',
`lastpost` int(10) unsigned NULL default '0',
`forumid` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`pollid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`open` tinyint(4) NOT NULL default '0',
`replycount` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`postusername` varchar(50) NOT NULL default '',
`postuserid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`lastposter` varchar(50) NOT NULL default '',
`dateline` int(10) unsigned NULL default '0',
`views` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`iconid` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`notes` varchar(250) NOT NULL default '',
`visible` smallint(6) NOT NULL default '0',
`sticky` smallint(6) NOT NULL default '0',
`votenum` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`votetotal` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`attach` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`firstpostid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`similar` varchar(55) NOT NULL default '',
PRIMARY KEY (`threadid`),
KEY `iconid` (`iconid`),
KEY `forumid` (`forumid`,`visible`,`sticky`,`lastpost`),
KEY `postuserid` (`postuserid`),
KEY `pollid` (`pollid`),
FULLTEXT KEY `title` (`title`)
);[/sql]

and

[sql]
CREATE TABLE `post_bank` (
`postid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
`threadid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`username` varchar(50) NOT NULL default '',
`userid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`title` varchar(250) NOT NULL default '',
`dateline` int(10) unsigned NULL default '0',
`pagetext` mediumtext NOT NULL,
`allowsmilie` smallint(6) NOT NULL default '0',
`showsignature` smallint(6) NOT NULL default '0',
`ipaddress` varchar(16) NOT NULL default '',
`iconid` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`visible` smallint(6) NOT NULL default '0',
`parentid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
`attach` smallint(5) unsigned NOT NULL default '0',
PRIMARY KEY (`postid`),
KEY `iconid` (`iconid`),
KEY `userid` (`userid`),
KEY `threadid` (`threadid`,`userid`),
FULLTEXT KEY `title` (`title`,`pagetext`)
);[/sql]

while running the first query, i got this error message:

vBulletin Message
An error occurred while attempting to execute your query. The following information was returned.
error number: 1064
error desc: You have an error in your SQL syntax. Check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'collate latin1_general_ci NOT NULL default '',
`lastpost` in

okay, in the admin cp > vbulletin options > threadBOT, there is this option:

threadBOT Hour Limit
This is the setting to see how often you're going to run the threadBOT (0 to run hourly)

what exactly does this do? Don't we set this already in the cron job?
What is the difference between this setting and the cron job setting?
:)

just set that to zero, it was something i tried to be clever with which failed.

post edited, re-run the queries
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....3&postcount=35

Okay, got the queries to run fine.

Now I went to feedthreadBOT_php, and put in two threads - they both showed up right away! D'oh! I was hoping they would go into the database, and then at cron run time (5pm i think) , a thread would get randomly selected from the database and be posted

what next?