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

[dcpaq2xx]

Guys,

Im sorry if this has already been asked or is listed somewhere.

I am wondering if this Invite System will work in a way that when a member sends someone an invite that it still requires there registration to be preaproved by an admin or moderator of the board?

Reason I ask this is because as an admin I still would like to have a say so on who my members are letting into the site and prescreen them possibly by forcing them to answer questions in the registration form or converse with me through either a private message system or through direct email.

I need some control over my members just shooting out invites to just anyone that asks them for one.

Thanks

Doug

[akanevsky]

Initial Registration Usergroup (only pertaining to registration by invites).

Use that.

[Tralala]

I just enable "Moderate New Members" in AdminCP -> vBulletin Options -> User Registration options. This "allows you to validate new members before they are classified as registered members and are allowed to post." And it works fine with the Invites system!

Here how it currently works: Person gets invite, registers, validates email. Mod is notified and must approve new member... at which point a 2nd email goes out and lets the new person know he's in. Then (and only then) can s/he see forums and post.

Ideally I'd have liked for an option for Invites to be filtered through mods first; so they can allow or disapprove certain invites as needed. This was asked for above, and unfortunately Psionic Vision said he wasn't interested in implementing that. Maybe for the commercial version, P.V.?

In the absence of that, I still would like to prevent already-banned folks from getting new invites. (Perhaps with a "veto list" of email or IP addresses.) Some members try and re-invite in folks I've already been forced to exclude, and it causes an unecessary cycle of resentment.

In the meantimt though, just wanted to reiterate, vB's built-in User Moderation works well alongside Psionic Vision's Invite System.

[akanevsky]

I just enable "Moderate New Members" in AdminCP -> vBulletin Options -> User Registration options. This "allows you to validate new members before they are classified as registered members and are allowed to post." And it works fine with the Invites system!

Nope, it is not supposed to work fine. It is supposed to bypass any moderation unless a specific usergroup is specified in options. If moderation is not bypassed - let me know.

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by Psionic Vision

Nope, it is not supposed to work fine. It is supposed to bypass any moderation unless a specific usergroup is specified in options. If moderation is not bypassed - let me know.

I have no specific usergroup specified in options. ("Initial Usergroup for Invited Users" is blank.)

And yet, when an invite is issued and accepted, the new member is placed first in the "Awaiting Email Confirmation" group. And once they validate their email they move to the "Awaiting Moderation" queue. At which point a mod can approve them in. I'd always thought it was operating as expected, and I appreciated it. Why would anyone want these preferences bypassed?

[akanevsky]

They'd want it bypassed cause the member was invited and should thus be a "honor member", essp. on a board wth closed registration. But anyway, shall I keep it as is?

[Tralala]

Originally Posted by Psionic Vision

They'd want it bypassed cause the member was invited and should thus be a "honor member", essp. on a board wth closed registration. But anyway, shall I keep it as is?

I, for one, would appreciate it being kept as is. Keep in mind not all of us have the same goals for our forums... the one I'm discussing is intentionally small. (Sounds like me and dcpaq2 are on the same page on this one.) My forum isn't about thousands of eyeballs and advertising dollars; it's more about a small, quality membership of friends and friends of friends.

I feel it should be left up to the moderator to decide if an "invite trumps all" on their forum. The inability to moderate invites before they go out is one issue, and the inability to prevent invites from going to known troublemakers is yet another. But we've already discussed those issues.

Allowing invites to completely bypass the email verification and user moderation would make this a much less useful add-on, at least for me. Choice and control is always good. I'm able to work with this hack in it's current state, but if I had to forgo user moderation in future versions, I'd probably skip the upgrade or stop using the Invite System entirely.

[cgchris99]

Does this mod work with v3.5.4

thanks

[akanevsky]

Yes.

[cgchris99]

Is it possible to reset the system so I can run multiple contests?

I want to get setup so I can run a contest every other month. I plan on using the referral system/invites for the contest. The person with the most referrals wins.

Any thoughts?