Version: 1.0.2, by Ted S
Developer Last Online: Nov 2020
Category: Forum Display Enhancements -
Version: 3.8.4
Rating:
Released: 08-28-2009
Last Update: 08-28-2009
Installs: 33
DB Changes Uses Plugins Template Edits
Additional Files Translations
No support by the author.
After releasing Helpful Answers, a post rating system, many users commented that they wanted a more interactive way to rank and then sort threads. Helpful Threads is an AJAX based system that does exactly that letting users rate individual threads and then lets you sort by those ratings. The addon also switches from a positive / negative rating to a point system with one admin option.
Designed for maximum flexibility:
This addon is built to be flexible and offers several customization options including:
The ability to decide which forums are open for helpful answer ratings.
The ability to customize the AJAX message shown after a post is rated.
The ability to set a minimum post count for users to avoid abuse.
The ability to use a rating system and assign points.
The ability to customize how threads are ranked.
The ability to autoreset votes for thread rankings.
Template driven display that can easily be customized to your forum.
Load & Scale:
This addon is designed to work with small to large sites and does not alter any existing tables.
Modification Installation:
This addon requires uploading multiple files, installing a vBulletin product and enabling the feature in any forums you wish. One template modification is required. Please see the included install file for detailed instructions.
If you are not seeing the rating bar double check that you have enabled the feature in the forum you are in and made the template change.
Coming Soon:
Like with Helpful Answers, the initial release is intended to get people exposed to this tool. Coming down the road I will be adding in more complex ranking options, the ability to report on threads, better AJAX support and much more.
Anonymous Stats Tracking (optional):
vBulletin forums reach millions of consumers around the world yet little is known about their habits and opinions. This addon was released to the public out of requests but also to further the research of forum user's behaviors and actions through collecting the most basic data on thousands of sites.
By default this addon will pass basic rating data (positive or negative) to a 3rd party site for statistical purposes. Only the most basic data is captured (the vote and your site name) and no user information or specific forum details are logged, not even an IP address.
While you may disable this feature through the administrative options I ask that you consider leaving it in place to help this research effort and insure the continued support of the addon.
The tracking feature uses the php library cURL on a 5 second timeout. If cURL is not installed this option is automatically disabled.
Updates:
- 08/29/2009 - Release of 1.0.2 stable
Other Versions:
This addon will work with 3.7 and is supported in the same thread.
Did you look at the link at least to see if this is something that appears to be your product they are referring to?
Thanks...
Sure did. The mod mentions an external tool to support the Helpful Answers feature. Didn't see the threads version directly but the code is similar so it could work.
What exactly is the point of the "timed average" feature? When I select either timed average or over-all average threads from years ago are still shown on the first page. In-order for this mod to be useful the sorting needs to be based on a per-page basis.
For instance, when ranks are set as timed average it should ONLY take the threads on an individual page for consideration for votes and new threads should stay on top until after they get a couple ratings. How new a thread is should factor heavily in its rating. That way new threads aren't tossed on page 50 after they're submitted and old threads from years ago aren't stuck on page 1.