Social Group and Album Enhancements - Cel Social Groups Notifications

What does this mod do?

This mod adds social groups to the notifications dropdown. Your members will get notified if there are groups containing unread messages; they need to be members of that group or have to be subscribed to that group. The counter will show how many groups with unread messages there are.


Installation:

Just import the product file in AdminCP->Product Manager. Done.
Make sure you understand and comply with the read marking requirements (see note down this post).


Settings:

• Show notification for new messages in groups the user is a member of, subscribed to, or both
• Select usergroups who can use the mod (i.e. who will get notificatons)
• Select whether to link to usercp.php or group.php
• Make sure you understand and comply with the read marking requirements (see note down this post).

Note: This mod will only work with database and automatic forum read marking!

• This mod will not work with cookies or simple database read marking. This will not be changed and is due to the limitations of the read marking system.
• If the ressources for this trouble you, you don't want to run this modification anyway. Any workarounds would be more ressource intensive than using this option in the first place.
• To set this, go to AdminCP->Settings->Options->General Settings->Thread/Forum Read Marking Type and set this to the third option: Database (automatic forum marking)

Note on ressources:

Note that this modification adds a maximum of two queries to every pageload. Both are not too heavy, going to slave servers only if existent, and there are several mechanisms in place to prevent unnecessary querying.


Version history

• 3.8.006: added option to link notification to custom URL
• 3.8.005: queries completely reworked, should be more stable now and fixes some read marking issues
• 3.8.002: bugfix, use slave servers
• 3.8.001: initial release

#### Don't forget to click install! ####
No support if you don't!

This mod is also available for vB4:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=228280

[jdougher]

I installed this, and it provides only a general notification that send people to the main Social Groups page. There's no indication of which particular group caused the notification, and because of that, users have no idea of how to dismiss the notification. How frustrating!

This is going to drive our users absolutely nuts with anger, and rightly so.

Please tell me I'm missing something.

If this feature is to be useful, it must send a user directly to the social group that created the notification.

[cellarius]

Originally Posted by jdougher

I installed this, and it provides only a general notification that send people to the main Social Groups page. There's no indication of which particular group caused the notification, and because of that, users have no idea of how to dismiss the notification. How frustrating!

Where does it say in the mod description it would do anything else?

This is going to drive our users absolutely nuts with anger, and rightly so.

Then don't install it.

Please tell me I'm missing something.

No, you don't.

If this feature is to be useful, it must send a user directly to the social group that created the notification.

This is not possible with the current read marking system of vB (or only with an insane cost of ressources). This mod is as it is - if you don't like it, don't install it. That easy, really.

[Alfa1]

While this add-on does greatly confuse a portion of our members, and it does notify of unread social groups, even while no groups are in bold, and thereby is not perfect, this add-on has made my once barely active groups now almost as active as my high traffic forums. In this regard its an absolute winner. Thanks.

[jdougher]

Originally Posted by Alfa1

While this add-on does greatly confuse a portion of our members, and it does notify of unread social groups, even while no groups are in bold, and thereby is not perfect, this add-on has made my once barely active groups now almost as active as my high traffic forums. In this regard its an absolute winner. Thanks.

I got nothing but complaints about this mod. We left it installed for two days and had a thread with loads of complaints about it.

[Alfa1]

I can imagine. I had the same. But thats where your staff needs to jump in and explain to your members how to deal with the notifications. Preferably with a step by step instruction with pics. After that 99% of the complaints will be solved.

The pictorial guide on how to clear your "Social Group" notifications:

- Go into each group that you are a member of. Thread titles in bold text indicate that
the thread has new messages.

- Now, either read all the new messages, or mark the group read by clicking
Group Tools (circled in the above pic)...

- This will drop down a menu with the option to "Mark This Group Read"

- Doing this will remove any notifications of new messages from whichever
group you use this option in.

- You will probably have to do this in most (or all) groups you are a member
of, regardless of whether they are indicating new messages with bold text
or not. Continue marking your groups as read until all notifications are
gone.

- Once you have cleared these initial weird notifications, this functionality
seems to work well.

It is best to add your own screenshots that are specific to your own site.

IHTH

[cellarius]

Originally Posted by jdougher

I got nothing but complaints about this mod. We left it installed for two days and had a thread with loads of complaints about it.

As I said: If you of your users don't like the mod, don't install it. It works within the boundaries of the vB read marking system. If you do not like those boundaries (I don't like them either), this is the wrong place to complain.

[majidgbox]

hi dear

I installed your hack, .... in a group that I belong it is sent new discussion ... in notifications dropdown, I notice that a discussion has been sent. but with click on the notification, it isn't died!
help me!
tnx

[majidgbox]

the problem solved ..!

[BlackThorn]

Nice idea thanks, installed but when I've send a comment or message to a group, why only show "groups.php"? I go to only groups.php why don't go original group 12-group-manowar.html ?

Explain: groups.php (showing this) - groups/25-elvis-presley.html (don't show like this)

[cellarius]

Because that information is not available where my mod hooks in, and the cost to query it would be insane (given that it would have to be queried on every pageload and read/not read-queries are quite complex).