Automatically Start a Welcome Thread in the Forum of Your Choice

This little mod will start a new thread in the forum of your choice when somebody registers.

The thread message is contained in a template, and easily customizeable on your part.

This version posts the thread when the user registers - but before he activates his email address.

Thanks to flypaper for providing a bugfix.

Installation Instructions: Import the product. Change the welcome_thread template to suit your needs. Change the setup variables in the welcome thread plugin to suit your needs.

Amy

[southernlady]

make your edits within the welcome_thread template post installation.

I did and EVERY time I changed even a single word, it stopped working. Liz

[SCRIPT3R]

Originally Posted by southernlady

if I try to edit anything in that block, it stops working. I want my own welcome message. Liz

what do you mean by "block"? perhaps if you post a copy of your template here and someone could figure out why it doesn't work after an edit.

[fly]

Originally Posted by Tralala

Yes, I too would very much like this. We already have one welcome thread in place, and I'd like new members to be announced there as they arrive. Much better/cleaner than a new thread for each and every new member.

If I have some time today, I'll write up what you need to change in this hack to make that happen.

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by flypaper

If I have some time today, I'll write up what you need to change in this hack to make that happen.

Wow! Thanks flypaper, that'd be mightily appreciated.

[fly]

Originally Posted by Tralala

Wow! Thanks flypaper, that'd be mightily appreciated.

This should do it. I have not tested it, but I did import it and got no errors. I don't see any reason why it won't work, but please run it through a test board first.

Additionally, others have asked for the thread/post be made AFTER being approved by an admin. I believe that I gave instructions in this thread to make that happen. Please reread it, if not, I'll post 'em again.

EDIT: I'm leaving work for the day, so I'll probably have to address any errors tomorrow.

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by flypaper

Additionally, others have asked for the thread/post be made AFTER being approved by an admin. I believe that I gave instructions in this thread to make that happen. Please reread it, if not, I'll post 'em again.

I just read through the thread again, saw a few requests for this (and one bloke addressed delaying until email addy is verified) but nothing about user moderation. Would very much like these instructions.

[fly]

Originally Posted by Tralala

I just read through the thread again, saw a few requests for this (and one bloke addressed delaying until email addy is verified) but nothing about user moderation. Would very much like these instructions.

I'll take a look at my mangling of this hack and post what I did tomorrow. iirc, its just changing the hook and adding an additional conditional.

Did you try the product I posted?

[jilly]

I searched but couldn't find this info - is there a way to make it so that in the new thread that is automatically started, the new member's name is a link to their profile?

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by flypaper

Did you try the product I posted?

I did, and it posted to a thread just fine. Thanks for that customization.

My variables are set thusly:

	// Use $postusername if posting as a guest, use $postuserid if posting as a user
	//$postusername = 'admin';
	$postuserid = $vbulletin->userinfo['userid'];

And so the post was made by the new member him/herself.


When I tried using $postusername instead, upon registration, new members would get a screen that said: " No Users Matched Your Query" (instead of "Thank you for registering, blank. An email has been dispatched to blank@blank.com with details...") This happened even if I changed "admin" to the username of a real admin on the forum, like "tralala."


Ideally I'd like for these new posts to be made by one of our admins, or maybe a "welcome bot" account, or perhaps even the member who referred their friend to our forum in the first place. Flexibility here would be ideal. Given the nature of our invite system, it seems awkward for the new member to "announce" their arrival in this way. I'd prefer it to be an existing member (or bot) making the welcome announcement.

And of course, I'd very much appreciate the posting of these to be made AFTER the new accounts are approved by moderators. Looking forward to more details on that.

[Tralala]

A side question, I see in the code the welcome_thread template that says:

EA is a very diverse place. There is a lot to do here - the trick is just knowing where to look... <etc etc etc>

I realize that this doesn't apply in my case (as new members are being announced in single posts, all in one thread,) but this default text seems inappropriate as new threads for every single member in any case. (And I'm thinking I can safely ignore it anyway.)

But I'm just curious about those that use this hack in it's original form though:

Is that for a PM to the new user? Or do forums ("EA" in this case) actually start new threads for every new member with the same "introductory/tour" text? Seems a bit... much.

Just curious, as I am new to forum moderation and I like to hear how other mods do things.