Okay my multi duplicate forum/one board dilemma

[yellow281]

Originally Posted by elmo

I think what KirbyDE's getting at is that the category/forum data is housed in the database, not the PHP files. You can copy the PHP files all you like, but if they all point to the same database, they'll all return the exact same data. Not copies of it, but it itself. So if I post in "category 50", it will also show up in "category 1".

You can change the $dbname setting in includes/config.php in each of those directories to point to a different database, but then you've essentially created several different installations of vBulletin (presumably each of which would require its own license fee) and which wouldn't "know" about each other.

What I think you're trying to do (and certainly what I'm trying to do) is to set up parallel hierarchies within a single board installation. So for instance I've got a category 1 that includes forums 1, 2, and 3 each with threads and posts inside them. I want to copy category 1 to a category 2 and 3 right beside it that are identical to start with but independent (so when someone posts to category 3/forum 2, it doesn't also appear in category 2/forum 2).

Any hope for us?

Thats it exactly Elmo. Okay now I get it. So we will have seperate db tables for our forums but we need one userdatabase to tie it together. Is that not possible? This seems a very reasonable hack. I can understand the concern about people then using one license to create 50 boards but if the license is only applicable or monitored to one domain, it does limit this. And besides we arent all dishonest bastids. Lets face it, if someone wants to[throw up a board they havent paid for, they will do it. OR they'll just go and get phpbb.

Someone.. please have the asnwer. I dont mind paying for this if needs be. I just dont have the time sit down and create 50 duplicate sets of forums and message boards.

[Andreas]

I am not 100% sure, but I think you would need 50 licenses for that purpose.
Furthermore, you would have to modify a lot files to use common session/user/userfield/usergroup/usertextfield tables.
And there would still be problems with PMs at least.

[yellow281]

Totally gimped! Elmo I am going to do this the old fashioned way. You have mail. People please come up with a hack for this guys. Its ludicrous you cant create one top level category and duplicate it to your other top level categories and rename them - if theyre all contained in one board. Which this is! We are just here trying to save ourselves a ton of work.

[Andreas]

If you "just" want to duplicate a category (with sub-forums, mods, permissions, etc.) within one board - such a hack should be possible with some effort.

[elmo]

Originally Posted by KirbyDE

If you "just" want to duplicate a category (with sub-forums, mods, permissions, etc.) within one board - such a hack should be possible with some effort.

Cool, thanks KirbyDE.

I took a very rough stab with vB 2.3.4 at putting together at least all the various SQL queries required to add a category, forum, thread, and post (incrementing counters, setting "last post" info, permissions, etc.).

Before diving in again with 3.0.x, I figure it's worth asking: to the best of your knowledge, no one else has done this yet? Any rough guess how big an effort it would be?

Thanks again.

[yellow281]

Originally Posted by KirbyDE

If you "just" want to duplicate a category (with sub-forums, mods, permissions, etc.) within one board - such a hack should be possible with some effort.

Yes thats all that is wanted. Alot of people have posted asking for this if you look around. They just want to simplify making a big board that shares duplicate mods, topics and sub forums. Like the teacher who posted before, his school district has x schools but all the teachers talk about the same things in the same topics. I have the same problem. X game servers all discussing the same things, same topics. Would just be nice to create one category/mods/forums/greetings etc and copy this to all the other categories and rename them.

[rnmcd]

Yellow281, were you able to figure out how to do this? I am looking to do the same thing.

[Ramsesx]

<a href="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=83213" target="_blank">Forum Duplication Tool</a>

[rnmcd]

Thank you Ramsesx! I never dreamed that someone had developed this hack.