Moderators Functions - Moderator Checkpoint System

Moderator Checkpoint System

For boards with a large moderating staff, it can be difficult to know who has checked what post and which threads are completely checked. The goal of the Moderator Checkpoint System is to ensure that moderators don't read over the same post(s) twice, leaving them to spend this time checking other posts/threads.

The core functionality of the Moderator Checkpoint System (MCS) is the ability (for those with appropriate permission) to mark threads/posts as having been "Checked" - indicating that no further action is required and the thread(s)/post(s) has/have been given the OK by a Staff Member. When a post is marked as checked, the checking user's User ID, Username, and a timestamp is stored in the database. This information then appears on the checked post(s), and the post will change markup (depending on your customizations through the included options) indicating the post has been checked. This process is, of course, completely invisible to the community at-large, and only those Users with adequate permission will be allowed to Check/Uncheck and view Checked posts/threads.

Because some Moderators may like to browse forums normally, a feature has been integrated that will allow each user to Enable/Disable viewing the forum in "Moderation Mode" at their leisure. Disabling Moderation Mode will return the display of posts/threads to their normal state.

Features

• Forumdisplay
  • Threads can be (Admin Optional) colored according to whether they are completely checked -OR- contain unchecked posts.
  • A new column next to "Views" will display the number of Unchecked Posts in each thread.
  • Clicking the "Unchecked" column's header will allow the user to sort threads by the least/most number of unchecked posts, allowing them to see which threads need the most attention.
  • Threads can be (Admin Optional) marked as "Checked", thereby checking ALL the posts in a thread. This is useful for large, old threads which you know contain no problem posts.
• Showthread
  • Posts can be (Admin Optional) colored according to whether they have been checked -OR- remain to be checked.
  • Checked posts will display the Date/Time they were Checked and the Moderator Username/User ID who checked it. (Unchecked posts will have text indicating as much)
  • Posts can be marked as Checked/Unchecked via Inline Moderation.
  • "Active Checking" is utilized.
    • Active Checking is a feature which each User can Enable/Disable at their leisure. When Active Checking is Enabled, each time the User visits a thread, the posts displayed on that page will be marked as "Checked". The idea is that when in Active Checking mode, the User is actively reviewing the posts that they are reading, thus each can be marked as Checked.
  • Newly Checked Posts can be (Admin Optional) colored to indicate their recent activity. This coloring is visible only to the Checking User and is intended to serve as a guide for them to see which posts they, in their current session, have checked.
• Update Counters
  • If you ever feel your counters (Unchecked Count per Thread) are off, there is an Update Counters feature included in the modification. To access this feature, go to your AdminCP -> Maintenance (Very bottom) -> Update Counters -> Update Checkcount Counters (Very bottom).
    

Installation

1. Import the Product XML file.
   1. (a) IMPORTANT: THIS PRODUCT ADDS COLUMNS TO YOUR DATABASE'S POST TABLE. IF YOU HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF POSTS, THE IMPORT PROCESS WILL TAKE SOME TIME (AND MAY APPEAR TO HANG); IT IS *IMPORTANT* THAT YOU DO NOT EXIT YOUR BROWSER DURING THE INSTALLATION PROCESS
2. Follow the instructions included in the ZIP archive to edit your templates.
3. Configuration Options are accessible through AdminCP -> vBulletin Options -> Moderator Checkpoint Configuration. Permissions are accessible through the Moderator Permissions panel (AdminCP -> Forums & Moderators -> Show All Moderators -> Edit Permissions.

Upgrade

• Upgrading from 1.0.9 to 1.1.1: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....9&postcount=44
• Upgrading from 1.1.1 to 1.1.5: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....5&postcount=76
• Upgrading from 1.1.5 to 1.1.6: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost....6&postcount=88
  

If you like this modification, feel free to Nominate it for Modification of the Month. Please click Install if you're actively using it, so you can receive updates about new releases.

This modification was written by request for Spinball, whose MCS Concept was utilized throughout development.
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Version History:
1.1.7 - Fixes Checkcount Display Bug in Forumdisplay
1.1.6 - Fixes Announcement Bug in Forumdisplay
1.1.5 - Prevents Checks/Unchecks from being written to the Moderator Log
1.1.4 - Added option for Default Moderation Mode
1.1.3 - Bug fixes
1.1.2 - Bug fixes
1.1.1 - Bug fix for soft-deleted post redirection issue
1.1.0 - Core code consolidated - numerous bug fixes
1.0.9 - Minor SQL Query fix
1.0.8 - Bug fix to correct issue with Forumdisplay sorting of Unchecked Threads
1.0.7 - Bug fix to correct counters not carrying over when merging threads
1.0.6 - Initial Release to Community

[kalleklorin]

very nice

[alik4277]

Thanks
works on on 3.8 too?

[Spinball]

Well it broke with 3.7.4 PL1 and Kirk is not responding to PMs so I'm working on asking the vB team to integrate this into the main product.

[Alfa1]

That would be great. thanks.

[TomJames]

Awesome add-on, if this is made for 3.8 once it goes gold I'll be installing it

[Kirk Y]

v1.1.5 released (1.1.2 through 1.1.4 were never publicly released -- sorry; I forgot!)

A new option has been added to set specific Usergroups automatically into Moderation mode as they log in (See vBulletin Options).

Checks/Unchecks are no longer written to the Moderator log, so as to avoid bloating it up with entries.

Upgrading: Import the new XML file (remember to allow overwrites) and rebuild your Thread/Post counters via Maintenance page.

[my evil twin]

great christmas gift - THANKS A LOT! :up:

[wuelfi71]

Wow, it's wonderful, that there is further development for this add-on.

But unfortunately the following bugs are still there:

Originally Posted by wuelfi71

I've got another bug: If a thread has more than 1000 replies, forumdisplay shows "-1001" unchecked posts in this thread :erm:

Originally Posted by wuelfi71

how could the length of the announcement column be modified? it's too short in moderation mode:

Or am I the only one with these problems?

[PyroMarkus]

So,
I added this to a vb 3.7.1 and it seems to work fine - many thanks for this.
I do have to make small comments:

At least when you do a fresh install and do not update from a previous version the template changes are not 100% correct:

for THREADBIT it must be for the second change:

Find:
 <if condition="$show['inlinemod']">

Add ABOVE:
<if condition="$show['cancheck'] AND $inmodmode AND $show['cancheckforum']"><td class="alt1" align="center"><if condition="$thread['checkcount'] > 0"><a href="forumdisplay.php?$session[sessionurl]view=mcspost&amp;tid=$thread[threadid]">$thread[checkcount]</a><else />$thread[checkcount]</if></td></if>

Otherwise you get the wrong column!


@wuelfi71
You can make it a little nicer, if you edit POSTBIT_ANNOUNCEMENT and add a column too:

Find:
</tr>

Add above:
<if condition="$show['cancheck'] AND $inmodmode AND $show['cancheckforum']"><td class="alt2" align="center">&nbsp;</td></if>

I wanted to increase colspan by 1 column but could not do so because the value is calculated there.

Most important, Kirk:
Could you please add the same functionality from forumdisplay into the "search for new threads"? In a very quick and heavily used vB with lots and lots of new messages per hour no moderator is able to browse though the single forums. We are searching for new messages/threads only and won't be informed this way. Can this be done by a simple template change? *please*

THANK YOU A LOT for this mod!

[Kirk Y]

@wuelfi71: I'll take a look at those and patch them in the next version.

Cont'd-- Wuelfi, I've setup some test threads on my development board and am unable to replicate this bug (negative counters on 1000k+ post threads). Could you describe the bug further? When was the last time you updated your post/thread checkcount counters?

@PyroMarkus: Thanks! I'll update the README with that correction. Regarding the functionality you requested-- you would like to be able to "search" for unchecked posts/threads; is that correct?