help in automating a task

[Keyser520]

I want to automate a task to run once a day. This task should look at the last time a thread was posted in a section. If no thread was posted in the last 30 days, that forum needs to be turned off and closed. How can I implement this?

Thanks in advance,
Keyser520

[Dismounted]

You can create a vBulletin Scheduled Task to do what you want.

[Keyser520]

That's what I'm asking: how do I do that? I don't see the options in the scheduled task to do any of the things I asked in the first post. Can you give me specifics of how to do this? Or point me to a place where examples are posted?

[Dismounted]

You will need to create your own task using PHP. I don't believe there are any examples relevant to this task.

[Keyser520]

Could you help me at all? I know php, but I don't know the way vbulletin is programmed, so creating such a task is knowledge that I don't have.

[Lynne]

I've written a couple of cron jobs/Scheduled Tasks for my site. Here is the basic template I use:

<?php
// ######################## SET PHP ENVIRONMENT ###########################
error_reporting(E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE);
if (!is_object($vbulletin->db))
{
    exit;
}

// ########################################################################
// ######################### START MAIN SCRIPT ############################
// ########################################################################

Queries and Stuff Here
$vbulletin->db->query("Your Query"
);


log_cron_action('', $nextitem, 1);

?>

[Keyser520]

To be more specific:

I have sections on my forum for instructors/djs. Each of them is the moderator of their own specific forum. I want to have the script check to see if that user has posted in their forum in the last month. If they have not, i want it to close and hide that forum.

[Dismounted]

This requires more knowledge of MySQL than PHP. All the PHP you need has been posted by Lynne. You just need to craft an SQL query to delete the posts/threads/forums. You need to compare dateline (in the database) to the current time. dateline is UNIX time (seconds from epoch).

[Keyser520]

That's the part I don't have knowledge of... :-(

[Jase2]

Well, you can always request to someone make the mod (unpaid). Or, you can post in the "Request for paid services" forum and see if someone will create it you.