Add-On Releases - Limited Guest Viewing -- Improve community registration rates

Note: This addon works with the 3.6.x series only. Click Here for the 3.7.0 version of this addon.

With vBulletin, forum guests are able to view endless amounts of content without being directly asked or forced to register no matter how many times they come back. The purpose of the Limited Guest Viewing System is to drive in registrations by limiting the number of threads guests are able to view without interruption.

This plugin offers two options which can be used to drive in more registrations. The first option allows you to show a reminder message or advertisement after a guest has viewed a certain number of threads. The second option puts up a roadblock stopping guests from viewing threads altogether after reaching a certain number of views. Both options work together to encourage and ultimately force anonymous visitors to either register or login but can also be used separately based on your individual needs.

Because this plugin uses cookies, few if any bots will be impacted when it comes to spidering your site.

Modifications/ Instructions:
Template edits: 1
Plugins: 1 (adds 1 template and several settings)

This template hack should take under 5 minutes to implement and customize.

Customizing the content / messages
To customize which messages appear or what they say, go to vBulletin options, select the ?Limited Guest Viewing System? group and configure the options as desired. Each phase can be modified by adding translation text.

Through the ACP you can enable or disable each option, specify the number of threads that can be viewed before the option is enabled and input any forums you wish to exclude from being blocked.

About spiders/bots
This plugin works by setting a cookie to track the number of visits from a particular user. As bots do not tend to accept cookies, they should not be blocked. To further insure there is no spider accessibility issues, there script identifies major bots (google, yahoo, msn, aol) and explicitly lets them through -- you can easily add to this list by editing the plugin code should you so desire, however, unless a bot starts taking cookies this should not be necessary.


Welcome headers compatibility
The Limited Guest Viewing is designed to work with the Welcome Headers system without any conflict. To insure that welcome header messages do not show up at the same time as the limited guest viewing message, please be sure you are running welcome headers version 4.1.3 or greater (released 11/19).

Updates
5/9/2008 - Released update to prevent installs on 3.7 boards.
2/18/2007 - Minor update to fix register link. Updates optional.
11/20/2006 - Minor update released to fix error with links in some messaging. Updates recommended.

[iheartvb]

ted,

i'm anxiously waiting for this to be ready for 3.7.

[Ted S]

Originally Posted by iheartvb

ted,

i'm anxiously waiting for this to be ready for 3.7.

[From NYC] My appologies. It will be out soon but Ive been traveling on business lately.

[PossumX]

Originally Posted by Ted S

[From NYC] My appologies. It will be out soon but Ive been traveling on business lately.

Good to know. This is another crucial part of my board. Once you get an idea, let us know when you think it may be ready, as I would prefer to wait for this to be ported prior to upgrading from 3.6.10 to 3.7

[iheartvb]

Originally Posted by Ted S

[From NYC] My appologies. It will be out soon but Ive been traveling on business lately.

no worries. i just installed vbulletin and getting used to all the settings. this is a huge upgrade over smf/phpbb.

[theOZer]

Yes, I concur with everyone. This is a needed vB3.7 addition. Can we offer financial support; do you accept donations? I mean, seriously, this is a "Thé Mod" to have on your forum. End of chat.

[Ted S]

Originally Posted by theOZer

Yes, I concur with everyone. This is a needed vB3.7 addition. Can we offer financial support; do you accept donations? I mean, seriously, this is a "Th? Mod" to have on your forum. End of chat.

Perfect timing... The 3.7 version was released 2 minutes ago...

[Ted S]

Note: There is no new update to this addon. A new version of the download was posted to prevent 3.7 users from installing this version but this does not change the 3.6 code at all. There is no need to upgrade.

[jfrenaye]

I am still on 3.6.9 and got the following error

The following dependencies were not met:

1. This product is not compatible with version 3.6.9 of vBulletin. (Compatible starting with 3.6.0 / Incompatible with 3.6.9 and greater)

[Ted S]

Originally Posted by jfrenaye

I am still on 3.6.9 and got the following error

Try the new zip.

[iheartvb]

your the man ted! thank you sooooooooooo much!!!