vBMA Preview
 

Hello everyone,

I have been working on this hack for quite some time, and it's starting to take shape now.

vBMA = vBulletin Members' Area.

This is a Members' Area Hack, a little like the one at vb.com .

It now has;

• -On/Off Master witch
• -On/Off switch for every part of the hack
• - Fully Phrased
• -A build in Support Ticket System
• -A build in Confixx Log In System
• -A build in Confixx Webmail Log In System
• -A build in Confixx WebFTP Log In System
• -Many more little nifty features
• -vBulletin License Validation. Check if your members have a vB license!
• -Priority Box Dropdown, priority for tickets.

It will be a very customizable hack, and it will vary from board to board.
I started this hack for a board of a friend of mine, as a small hack.(he owns a webhosting board, which is why this hack has all the Confixx stuff, heh.)

On my To-Do list;

• -A Members Only Download Area
• -Creating a seporate database for the tickets*
• -Adding a "Your Open Support Tickets" menu

*I didn't bother with this yet, because I first wanted to code the system itself. It currently uses the "Thread" table. I might not even bother with this at all, and just leave it like this. Feedback please :).

There is currently no demo link available, due to the fact that the board where I'm installing this hack on is still offline.

Question is, would you guys like this hack?
It will take a lot of work to make it suitable for the public, and it still can't be optimized entirely, as every board requires different info in the members area, and stuff like that.

Take a look at the screenys if you wanna see a preview, and tell me what you think.

PS I'm using the normal vB thread icons now, but I'd like to use some different ones.
I basicly only need a "Closed" icon, and an "Open" icon.
Something like a red cross, and a green wing.(You know, a v with a little thing in the top left corner :). )

EDIT: PS, Sorry for the bad quality of the screens, MSPaint, heh.

I think that this is pretty cool. I have been wanting something like this for awhile, and I have seen many requests as well. I would love to see what you have to offer :)

Ditto :)

Heh, thanks guys :).

I would welcome any suggestions, and also ideas.
Besides the things I've named, I have no ideas.

It's really hard to say without seeing it in operation/installed on my site :) The screens look cool, and the stuff on your to-do list looks cool as well... I am sure that once you post it here that folks will have alot of input... wanted or unwanted :D

Our company uses our helpdesk extensively. Before jumping into it, let me warn you that most sites that use tickets are very demanding. They want all the bells and whistles. If you want to develop something that is complex and that will sell for a good price, I think you'll have buyers because no high-end vb-integrated helpdesk system exists. If, on the other hand, you opt for a rather simple desk, I think you'll end up doing more support than anything else.
To give you an idea, I would pay up to USD 1000 for a great vBulletin integrated ticket system. I am talking a 'good' system.

like the one on vbulletin or vbstyles or vbadvanced :) 1000 seems a bit high for my taste... I could make do with a simpler system...

Wow, thats a lot of money O_O.

The beta will be public no mather what, else there is no way of creating a proffesional system ;).
What I was planning on doing is bringing out 2 versions, Pro and normal.

Normal will be for free, Pro for a fee.

Anyway, the project is in very early stages, but everyone's comments do surely motivate me!

that sounds like a great plan... but now we should expect to see other vbma's popping up with the prospect of that kinda cash ;) just kidding... the market has been there for awhile, but nobody wants to market their ticketing system yet for some reason, so I am sure your hack(s) will be popular :)

Heh, thanks :).

I don't think it's entirely them not wanting to release it, it's also a heck lot of work to make it easy configurable, and suitable for many types of boards...


EDIT:
Ok, the board where I installed this hack on is now online.
This is the link to it.
I've set up a test account for you guys,
Account: Test
Password: Test.
The test account doesn't have any rights, except for using the members area.

The only thing about the members area that doesn't work for that account, is the Confixx log in area, as I didn't want to create a new account, due to security reasons.

Remember, this is only the 2nd version of the Beta(more like an alpha version), but it is nice to take a look at.

I'll give a brief explenation on how the Confixx area works.
Every Hosted member's Confixx username is saved, and can be edited in the ACP.

The login form uses a predefined URL (The URL to the Confixx login form of the server), and injects the username directly from the ACP into the form itself.
So, basicly, when you log in using the form in the members area, it takes over the job of the normal Confixx login form.
But, this with this form in the members area, the Log in Username is predifined in the ACP, sothat the member doesn't need to enter it :)

Anyway, tell me what you think.