Invites System

I no longer support my hacks. Please feel free to update them and release new versions elsewhere as long as I get the credit for the original modification.

/*=========================================*\
|| Invites System
||
|| Author : Anton Kanevsky
|| Works on : vBulletin 3.5.0
|| Released : Dec 19, 2005
||
|| Time required to install: 1 minute
|| Difficulty: easy
\*=========================================*/

DESCRIPTION

A complete invites system for your vBulletin board.

STATISTICS

File Uploads: 3
Template Changes: 4
Products to Install: 1


FEATURES

Configuration Options:

• The system can be turned on and off.
• Registration can be set to either require invite code to sign up or to continue allowing regular registrations when the system is on.
• Invite Expiration Period.
• Minimal Posts Required to Receive Changes in Number of Invites.
• Minimal Reputation Required to Receive Changes in Number of Invites.
• Number of Posts Required to Get One (1) Invite.
• Number of Invites Received or Subtracted per Reputation (+ for positive, - for negative).
• Initial Number of Invites Given on Registration (Sign Up).
• Usergroups that May Not Use Invite Manager.
• Usergroups that May Use Invite Manager (Optional Override).
• Initial Registration Usergroup (only pertaining to registration by invites).
• Do or Do Not make users linked by an invite mutual buddies after the completion of registration of the person invited.
• Single / Multiple Address Line Field.
• If Multiple, Number of Fields to Show.

Miscellaneous Features:

• Upon invite-based registration, the person who issued the invite is set up as a referrer of the person invited. Therefore, free specification of a referrer is restricted during such registration.
• Image (GD) Verification.
• Administrator can manually edit any user's invite count.
• If a user is permitted to issue invites (based on both the number of unused invites and the system permissions), that user has a link to invites of usercp home (says "Click here to invite new users!"). When a user has no invites left, the link does not show up. Nevertheless, as long as system permissions allow access to the Invite Manager, the usercp navlink continues to show up, so that the user would have access to his/her invite history, which is available just below the "Issue New Invite" form.
• If registration is set to require invite code to sign up, the navbar register link becomes hidden.
• If registration is set to continue allowing non-invited sign ups, the number of invites available to any single user is unlimited. Therefore, the number of invites left does not show up.
• Invite History in UserCP, on the bottom of the invite manager.
• Single-Line AddressField, with Unlimited # Of Simultaneous Recipients, within the bounds of invite tokens.
• Multiple-Line AddressField, with Limited Configurable # Of Simultaneous Recipients, within the bounds of invite tokens.
• Unregistered Users, Banned Users and Users with No Forumview Permissions cannot use invite manager. Therefore, you do not have to specify those usergroups in the list of usergroups that may not use the invite manager.
• Invite counts are automatically updated once a week, based on the admincp-configured settings.
• Per-user invite usage restriction.
• Inactive users, who do not post anything new, will gradually lose all of their invites.

VERSION HISTORY

1.5.0
A new, commercial release.

1.4.0
[+] Image verification to avoid multiple submits.

1.3.0
[+] New Config Option: Single-Field / Multiple-Field Address Line (Default: Multiple-Field)
[+] New Config Option: Number of fields to show if multiple option is chosen.
[+] User Option, which lets an administrator restrict invite system usage for that single user.
[F] Fixed Bug, which prevented a user from registration if COPPA was enabled.
[F] Fixed Bug, which prevented a user from sending out an invite if he had zero invites and dependency on registration was turned off.
[F] Fixed Bug, which continued to show the invite form after it was submitted, even if there were no more invites left.

1.2.0
[+] New Config Option: Usergroups that May Use Invite Manager (Optional Override).
[+] New Config Option: Initial Registration Usergroup (only pertaining to registration by invites).

1.0.2
[+] Ability to send unlimited simultaneous invites, within the bounds of invite count owned.
[+] Improved invite interface (see screenshot).
[F] A couple of hard-coded forgotten phrases have been moved into the phrase system.

1.0.1
[+] Amount of posts required to get one invite is now configurable
[+] When a user can issue invites, he/she has a link on usercp (which says "Click here to Invite a New User!")
[+] When invites are required to register, there is no direct "Register" link in the navbar
[+] When invites are not required to register, there is no limitation on invites, and therefore the number of invites left is not shown
[+] Administrator can now edit invite counts manually using Admin Manager
[+] Administrator can now specify which usergroups cannot use Invite Manager
[+] More descriptive AdminCP Hack Options
[F] Added TABLE_PREFIX to the Install Code
[F] Fixed a Typo in Registration Code
[F] In the Invite History, invites are now lister in a descending order, rather than ascending. In other words, the latest invites are now on the top.

1.0.0
Initial Release

The installation manual is contained within the attached file.

IF YOU LIKE MY HACK, PLEASE CLICK INSTALL

[akanevsky]

So how can we make sure that only "direct" invites are valid?

There's no way I can think of.

What you suggested is pointless because you can easily edit your profile before you have your e-mail confirmed.

As for e-mail check, I'll implement that.

[MissKalunji]

got the gmail,yahoo,hotmail contact list importer made! weeeeee!

[agiacosa]

Originally Posted by MissKalunji

got the gmail,yahoo,hotmail contact list importer made! weeeeee!

MissK,

It's not nice to tease.

Are you going to share it? :-)

[Zia]

Originally Posted by MissKalunji

got the gmail,yahoo,hotmail contact list importer made! weeeeee!

Hello its amaginz....

can we have it?? its really amaging thing

Congrats...

[Mudvayne]

I would like to req Psionic Vision to do dat.. Come'n make it for us.. We know u can .. Quick update ur hack with hotmail yahoo gmail address importer..

[akanevsky]

Even if I can, I don't feel like it. As I already said, I'm not planning to do that. Anyone who wants it - feel free to release as either an add-on to this hack or as a separate hack. Thanks.

[MissKalunji]

well we are in beta testing

my coder made an addon to this one....so n e one intrested pm me only thing is the html e-mail i only found the class_mail way to do it and im sure theres an easier way so anyone who finds out let me know!

[Snoop-It]

Originally Posted by MissKalunji

well we are in beta testing

my coder made an addon to this one....so n e one intrested pm me only thing is the html e-mail i only found the class_mail way to do it and im sure theres an easier way so anyone who finds out let me know!

il send you my code to get it working... pm me or message me on msn... would be great if the html mail worked with all the IM's... Also il help you insert avatar codes / refferal codes etc.. which could benefit the users in extra points or whatever... they will want to get friends signing up then by accepting the invites etc... :squareeyed:

[MissKalunji]

Originally Posted by dholaholic

il send you my code to get it working... pm me or message me on msn... would be great if the html mail worked with all the IM's... Also il help you insert avatar codes / refferal codes etc.. which could benefit the users in extra points or whatever... they will want to get friends signing up then by accepting the invites etc... :squareeyed:

okay dokie i will!

[Tralala]

We did a full update to 3.5.3 with the hopes of initiating this excellent invite system, without having to turn on "Forum View" permission for guests (per Psionic Vision's note in the readme.html.)

But we're still having one issue with it: when an invitee clicks the email link to log in, they are told "You must be invited in order to be able to register on our board. Have a nice day."

(This happens despite the fact that the invitee is using the same link they were invited with.)

Now, we've set this as our forum's default skin. It's a integral part of our forum's atmosphere and focus.

I notice that if the invitee uses the QuickStyle Chooser to switch to vBulletin's Default theme upon invite, then the invite goes through and then they can continue with the registration properly. I've tested it all the way through and it works, keeps referral's name intact and everything. It just doesn't work if the user doesn't manually change the style first with the QuickStyle Chooser pull-down below.

So is this is an issue specifically with our third party skin, and is there a workaround? Would this have anything to do with the "Forum View" permission issue in 3.5.2 and earlier?

I'd hate to have to change our default skin now back to vBulletin just to work around this, yet it's the only thing now standing in our way. I also don't see a way to set the default skin for solely the "Unregistered / Not Logged In" usergroup back to vBulletin... as that would have been an acceptable workaround too.

Now, we tried appending "&styleid=1" to the end of the invite link, in invites_letter, as that "forced" them in with the vBulletin original skin. But then the cookie is set, and they eventually validate their email and their account is approved, they log back in and they are still in the vBulletin original skin. :ermm: I'd like for them to welcomed inside with our customized skin, of course.

Any assistance with this last speedbump would be mightily appreciated.