Miscellaneous Hacks - [DBTech] Forum Live Feed & User Wall v1 (vB4) [AJAX]

Forum Live Feed & User Wall lets you see a continuously updated feed of activities on the forum, with a powerful set of customisation options for sources of information.

Uses
If you've wished for a Facebook-like feed for your forum, this mod is for you.

This mod adds 2 distinct features to your site. First a live feed showing actions performed by everyone on the forum, from new threads and posts to things like new avatars or signatures, your members can customise their feed and keep up to date with everything that's going on, right as it happens.
Secondly every user also has their own wall that displays what they have been up to. This lets users see what their friends have been doing and join in!
With advanced privacy configuration options and configurable preview options for each content type, this mod compliments other modifications like InfoPanels and produces a more detailed and verbose feed of the happenings on the forum.


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Please remember to click the, button to the right if you installed the mod ---->

What does 'Marking As Installed' do ?

* It helps you to stay on top of updates - members who have installed modifications will be notified by us whenever new updates are available.

* For security issues - vbulletin.org will contact all members who have installed a modification whenever a security issue is brought to their attention.

* Marking a modification as installed also helps us know how many people are using our work, giving us extra incentive to provide more features and new modifications.

We appreciate the support!
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Priority support & Product Demos available at: http://www.dragonbyte-tech.com

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Translations available @ our forum
Support for translations handled by the translator in its respective threads only.

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Complete Feature List

Lite

• Forum Sidebar block type
• Preview in Forum Sidebar
• Ability to turn off IMG tag parsing on both main pages and Sidebar
• Status updates (from Forum Sidebar or the Live Wall page)
• Content types for nearly all forum actions:
  • Posts
  • Threads
  • Avatar changes (Only if Avatars are stored in the file system!)
  • Signature picture changes (Only if Signature Pictures are stored in the file system!)
  • Username changes
  • Social Group discussion
  • Social Group discussion replies
  • Status Updates (From this mod)
  • vBLive Status Updates
  • vBArcade Scores
  • [DBTech] Advanced Post Thanks / Like: Button clicks for Posts
• Nobody / Registered Users / Contacts Only / Friends Only display options for each content type to control who you see feeds from
• Nobody / Registered Users / Contacts Only / Friends Only privacy options for each content type to control who can see your feeds
• Automatically refreshing via AJAX at controllable intervals

Pro

• Recent Entries page with more entries displayed, no auto refresh
• Ability to "favourite" stories and view them from their own page
• Comments system
  • Comment count in the main feed with link to comment thread
  • Ability to post comments in the comment thread
  • AJAX refreshed comment threads
  • Ability to delete your own/others comments with usergroup permissions
• Content types for nearly all forum actions:
  • Blog Posts
  • Blog Comments
  • User Notes
  • Visitor Messages
  • Profile Pictures

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This mod displays a copyright notification in the footer of pages generated by this mod which includes:

• 1 Link to DragonByte Technologies homepage
• 1 Link to Product Description page of this modification

[sticky]

Originally Posted by DragonByte Tech

Because the image resizer doesn't work with AJAX-added images, it's a design flaw in your image resizer

So would you suggest a solution?

It does, provided the video embed is within the cut-off limit (both the start and end tag).

So how do I increase this cutoff limit?

Then change the settings for the Content Types

Would you prefer it if it stretched your page?
This happens when a string that's not broken up by a space is posted.

It uses the same link colour style as the rest of vBulletin, I'm not sure if it's a stylevar or a CSS class. Probably a stylevar.

Shouldn't you know which stylevar? Or if it even is a stylevar? All I know is the Activity Stream looks perfecta and this doesn't so I can't sit around guessing what I need to change you should know.

You could do that either via the CSS or via the templates. This is a customisation that we're unable to assist with, however. If you're not comfortable editing CSS or templates, please contact your skin developer for assistance.

You can't assist on how to change the font? Perhaps with some better coding you guys could have stylevars to make this simple? Not being able to change the font seems like a design flaw but hopefully it's something you can improve in future releases.

Posts complaining about the lack of support in a free mod when you're posting on the unofficial modification support channel (we don't have the same level of alerts / issue tracking available on vBulletin.org as we do on our own website, which is why we give priority to posts on our forums) is a sure-fire way of annoying the coder

It's generally considered quite rude

So I need to buy a mod that is not working as I expect to begin with to get support? I'd like to see how your support is first before I invest any money. Hence the point of lite products right? Calling me rude when I'm considering buying SEVERAL of your products is bad for business as you may have just cost yourself several sales, at least several from me alone. This is a sure-fire way to annoy a potential customer.

BBCode cannot parse when the cut-off limit has been reached, for obvious reasons. If the closing quote tag does not exist in the trimmed content, then it cannot parse it.

So how do I increase the cut off limit? I want all the BB code to parse so it doesn't look bad like it does.

[DragonByte Tech]

Originally Posted by sticky

So would you suggest a solution?

Examine alternative image resizer solutions that are written to support AJAX-loaded images, or commission one to be created

Originally Posted by sticky

So how do I increase this cutoff limit?

As I said, the Content Type settings for this mod.

AdminCP -> DBTech - Live Feed -> Manage Content Types -> Edit.

Originally Posted by sticky

Shouldn't you know which stylevar? Or if it even is a stylevar?

Unfortunately it's not feasible for me to be familiar with every possible style out there

If your skin has customised the sidebar_content_link_color / sidebar_content_link_hover_color stylevar and yet it still doesn't work, then there is something else up with your skin and I am as in the dark as you are. I have not only no idea who developed your skin, what it's called, what customisations it applied...

Originally Posted by sticky

You can't assist on how to change the font?

For the simple reason that if we were open to providing customisations of our products, that's literally all we'd be doing.

All we can really do is point people in the direction of where to go, and adequately explain why we can't assist with the customisations. I understand that I've failed at both of those tasks, and for that I apologise.

The templates to edit are dbtech_livewall_block_entry and dbtech_livewall_block_entries to boost the font sizes used in this mod.

Originally Posted by sticky

So I need to buy a mod that is not working as I expect to begin with to get support?

Not at all. Under no circumstances does posting Lite support requests in our Lite support forums require any form of purchase, furthermore support is not included in the Pro licence fee - the licence fee is exclusively a measure of the time it took to create the modification.

While I obviously can't speak for the future, I very strongly doubt you will ever see anyone from DBTech asking you to pay for support - unless the tradition of paying for the development time of software goes away globally at any rate, which it shows no signs of doing

Originally Posted by sticky

I'd like to see how your support is first before I invest any money. Hence the point of lite products right?

An argument could be made for that, certainly. Personally, I put out Lite products to give people an idea of the product itself, not my support.
I suppose everyone has their individual reasons for using a Lite product first while testing for the Pro version.

Originally Posted by sticky

I want all the BB code to parse so it doesn't look bad like it does.

That's impossible to ensure unless you display the full post on your wall.

If a person posts a post that is 300 characters long, the first 3 characters is [B] and the last 4 are [/B], then it will display correctly for a cutoff limit of 300.

However, if they post a post that is 350 characters long, with the same configuration, the first [B] will still remain unparsed.

The only thing I might be able to do is clean up unparsed BBCode tags, but would that not simply shift the issue onto "the post is not formatted correctly"?

Originally Posted by sticky

Calling me rude when I'm considering buying SEVERAL of your products is bad for business as you may have just cost yourself several sales, at least several from me alone. This is a sure-fire way to annoy a potential customer.

If you chose to take offence from it then I do apologise, it was not intended as a personal attack. It was merely a notification that because you are posting on vBulletin.org and not DragonByte-Tech.com, where our ability to quickly provide support is severely diminished, you should not complain about having to wait 24 hours for support.

If you could see it from my PoV, you'd see that it's quite annoying to me when that happens. I chose to notify you that your behaviour was considered rude to me rather than directly insult you or ignore you - I'm sure there have been times where you've wanted to lash out at someone for making your blood boil too but have managed to restrain yourself

To give you a better idea of why we prefer people posting on DBTech, look at our forum home page: http://www.dragonbyte-tech.com/forum.php
I do believe we have it set up so guests can see the Top X Stats blocks.
I use those, plus our Forum Tabs with AJAX reloading that I've configured to only show my mod forums (for when I've been away or read threads have been bumped off the Top X Stats), plus our vBShout (which I don't believe guests can see) to ensure that I'm always up to date on threads that have already been posted and have simply been replied to.

I normally check those forums once every couple hours, more often than not several times every hour.

In addition to all of that, I receive instant email notifications whenever someone posts a thread, which has the thread title as well as the issue type.
As an example, I might receive an email saying "sticky has posted a new Bug: Installed vBShout, my forum is now down with errors
In forum: vBShout Lite Support"

I'll go "crap, this sounds serious. I better click it right away!" and the thread will usually be answered instantly - so long as I'm at the computer and working.

Not only that, but if someone posts a Feature Request, not only is it logged in our system until the end of time so it never gets lost in the pages, but I know I don't have to answer that OMGNOW like I would my previous example.

Compare that to vBulletin.org, which requires me to answer "less serious" posts before I even receive a notification that says you have replied to the vBShout vB4 thread saying your site is now down with errors.


Hopefully this gives you a better idea of why we prefer people posting on our own forums rather than vBulletin.org


Fillip

[qpurser]

Fillip has been so busy with Sticky he probably overlooked my posting #203

[sticky]

Originally Posted by DragonByte Tech

Examine alternative image resizer solutions that are written to support AJAX-loaded images, or commission one to be created

As I said, the Content Type settings for this mod.

AdminCP -> DBTech - Live Feed -> Manage Content Types -> Edit.


Unfortunately it's not feasible for me to be familiar with every possible style out there

If your skin has customised the sidebar_content_link_color / sidebar_content_link_hover_color stylevar and yet it still doesn't work, then there is something else up with your skin and I am as in the dark as you are. I have not only no idea who developed your skin, what it's called, what customisations it applied...

For the simple reason that if we were open to providing customisations of our products, that's literally all we'd be doing.

All we can really do is point people in the direction of where to go, and adequately explain why we can't assist with the customisations. I understand that I've failed at both of those tasks, and for that I apologise.

The templates to edit are dbtech_livewall_block_entry and dbtech_livewall_block_entries to boost the font sizes used in this mod.


Not at all. Under no circumstances does posting Lite support requests in our Lite support forums require any form of purchase, furthermore support is not included in the Pro licence fee - the licence fee is exclusively a measure of the time it took to create the modification.

While I obviously can't speak for the future, I very strongly doubt you will ever see anyone from DBTech asking you to pay for support - unless the tradition of paying for the development time of software goes away globally at any rate, which it shows no signs of doing

An argument could be made for that, certainly. Personally, I put out Lite products to give people an idea of the product itself, not my support.
I suppose everyone has their individual reasons for using a Lite product first while testing for the Pro version.

That's impossible to ensure unless you display the full post on your wall.

If a person posts a post that is 300 characters long, the first 3 characters is [B] and the last 4 are [/B], then it will display correctly for a cutoff limit of 300.

However, if they post a post that is 350 characters long, with the same configuration, the first [B] will still remain unparsed.

The only thing I might be able to do is clean up unparsed BBCode tags, but would that not simply shift the issue onto "the post is not formatted correctly"?

If you chose to take offence from it then I do apologise, it was not intended as a personal attack. It was merely a notification that because you are posting on vBulletin.org and not DragonByte-Tech.com, where our ability to quickly provide support is severely diminished, you should not complain about having to wait 24 hours for support.

If you could see it from my PoV, you'd see that it's quite annoying to me when that happens. I chose to notify you that your behaviour was considered rude to me rather than directly insult you or ignore you - I'm sure there have been times where you've wanted to lash out at someone for making your blood boil too but have managed to restrain yourself

To give you a better idea of why we prefer people posting on DBTech, look at our forum home page: http://www.dragonbyte-tech.com/forum.php
I do believe we have it set up so guests can see the Top X Stats blocks.
I use those, plus our Forum Tabs with AJAX reloading that I've configured to only show my mod forums (for when I've been away or read threads have been bumped off the Top X Stats), plus our vBShout (which I don't believe guests can see) to ensure that I'm always up to date on threads that have already been posted and have simply been replied to.

I normally check those forums once every couple hours, more often than not several times every hour.

In addition to all of that, I receive instant email notifications whenever someone posts a thread, which has the thread title as well as the issue type.
As an example, I might receive an email saying "sticky has posted a new Bug: Installed vBShout, my forum is now down with errors
In forum: vBShout Lite Support"

I'll go "crap, this sounds serious. I better click it right away!" and the thread will usually be answered instantly - so long as I'm at the computer and working.

Not only that, but if someone posts a Feature Request, not only is it logged in our system until the end of time so it never gets lost in the pages, but I know I don't have to answer that OMGNOW like I would my previous example.

Compare that to vBulletin.org, which requires me to answer "less serious" posts before I even receive a notification that says you have replied to the vBShout vB4 thread saying your site is now down with errors.


Hopefully this gives you a better idea of why we prefer people posting on our own forums rather than vBulletin.org


Fillip

Ok I'm just going to generally respond here.

The key seems to me to be the manage content types setting. Thank you, I see what you mean here.

I made the length pretty long so basically it's like getting a stream of all posts in full which is great.

Now, if you want support requests on your forum no problem. I posted at VB.org since this is where I found out about your product and you have provided support in this thread. Some coders say support is only on their forum but you guys haven't done that hence my posting here. If you prefer it there fine, I understand.

Now what I don't understand is why do images get resized in the sidebar but not on the full feed? I'll see what I can do about having an image resizer made that works with AJAX I guess as this is important.

Now I would like to buy this product but there are a couple hurdles. First, the full comment posting does not actually post to the thread as a new reply but as a separate comment on a reply. I would much prefer if I could just use the feed and respond to everyone in threads directly from the feed never having to leave it. You could post everywhere from a single page, brilliant.

Also, I was hoping the status updates would go in a status update thread. That way the forum would have sort of a big thread everyone can quickly post in. This would increase forum activity and post count tremendously.

Would you guys consider implementing these changes?

[sticky]

Also, having this problem where if a post comes in live instead of using ' ' marks it displays the whole quote box. If I refresh it's fine:

[sticky]

Another issue, seems to have trouble with url's in quotes:

[DragonByte Tech]

As a note to anyone else, this has been handled over @ our forums


Fillip

[TopShelfGamer]

fixed

[DragonByte Tech]

Add

PHP Code:

define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true); 


directly beneath <?php in your config.php file.


Fillip

[TopShelfGamer]

Originally Posted by DragonByte Tech

Add

PHP Code:

define('DISABLE_HOOKS', true); 


directly beneath <?php in your config.php file.


Fillip

it was actually an problem with how i saved my config.php file.