Add-On Releases - vBExperience

vBExperience 3.8 (aka xPerience)

Created by Marius Czyz aka Phalynx.

Winner of the "Mod of the Month"-Award (March 2008) on vBulletin.org.


Description
vBExperience is your feature packaged solution for motivation and satisfying your users. vBExperience is an advanced Level/Promotion and Activity System with Shop, Awards and Activities. It will calculate an activity and experience score for every user based on their activites on the forum. Now your users will see how their level is increasing by participating on your forum.

This mod was developed by me because I was never satisfied with the post count. Communities are not only defined by post count, they need much more parameters: Are the postings the user creates helpful? Are his threads frequently read? Does the user participate on the community by posting pictures, attachments, leaving visitor messages, tagging threads? All this can be answered with this mod.

Comments, suggestions, translations, bugs, etc... are very welcome! Support is only given to people who have clicked Mark as Installed.


Compatibility
This mod will work with vBulletin 3.7.x and 3.8.x. For vBulletin 3.6 you will need vBExperience 3.7



Demo:
http://www.insideearth.net/xperience.php?langid=5

Demo Profile:
http://www.insideearth.net/member.php?u=1&langid=5

Demo Rankings:
http://www.insideearth.net/xperience.php?langid=5

Demo Awards:
http://www.insidesupcom.de/xperience...wards&langid=1

Demo Promotions:
http://www.insidesupcom.de/xperience...=shop&langid=1

Demo Shop:
http://www.insideearth.net/xperience...=shop&langid=5

Demo Stats:
http://www.insideearth.net/xperience...stats&langid=5

Demo Earn Points:
http://www.insideearth.net/xperience...=earn&langid=5

Other Demo Site:
http://www.insidesupcom.de/xperience.php?langid=1


There are mainly four things visible for the users: The users score, his level, his next level up in %/points and his activity in %.


Calculation of the score
Taken into calculation are these things:
Threads
- Created threads
- Thread views of own threads
- Thread replies of own threads
- Thread votes of own threads
- Thread tags
- Replies to own threads
- Sticky threads
- Socialgroup Discussions (Discussions, Posts)

Posts
- Created posts
- Views on attachments

User
- Days since registration
- Average posts per Day (for users who are on forum for at least seven days)
- Referrals
- Received infractions
- Reputation / Use of reputation system
- Visitor messages on profiles
- Members of own social groups
- Albumpictures
- Friends
- Completing Profile

Misc
- Calendar entries


Additionally there is support for 3rd party addons (some are already installed):
- vB Tournaments and Ladders (via CDP Addon)
- Post Ranking System (via CDP Addon)
- Helpful Answers (via CDP Addon)
- AWCoding-Donation System LITE and PRO (via CDP Addon)
- Cyb Paypal Donate (included)
- DownloadsII (included)
- ibProArcade Highscorer Points (via CDP Addon)
- LDM Links and Downloads Manager (included)
- PhotoPlog 2.1 (via CDP Addon)
- PhotoPost vBGallery (via CDP Addon)
- PhotoPost Pro (via CDP Addon)
- Post Thank You / Use of Post Thank You (via CDP Addon)
- QuoteIt! 3.16 (via CDP Addon)
- SAPR: Advanced Post Rating system (via CDP Addon)
- thanks via vS-Hide Hack Resurrection (Expanded Edition) (included)
- v3arcade Highscorer Points (via CDP Addon)
- v3arcade Submissions Points (via CDP Addon)
- vBulletin Blog (included)
- Who Downloaded This Attachment? (included)
- Other Addons can be easily added via CDP - Custom Data Provider plugins.

Additionally you can install these modifications:
- Thread Necromancer: Gives (minus-) points when a user is posting in old threads.
- Scrupulous Poster: Gives points for editing posts. Award users that are editing own posts instead of doing double post.
- Deletion Addicted: Gives points when an user/nod soft-deletes post, thread, visitormessage, groupmessage or picturecomment.
- Arm of Law: Give points for moderators who are using the infraction system
- Discussion Ender: Give points for people who are the last on a discussion
- RadioActivity: Reduce points for every day the user is not online

Also, there are already addons available that are working as Custom Data Provider (CDP). A CDP can extend vBExperience by collecting data and adding it to the vBExperience datastore. All point providers can be used for Awards and Shop.

You have to install these hacks for your own, vBExperience doesn't install nor touches these.


vBAdvanced
There are three vBAdvanced 3.0 XML modules: Most Active Users, Most Experienced Users and Last 20 Activities. Import them via vBAdvanced AdminCP.


Awards
There are six default awards: Most Popular, Activity Award, Posting Award, Community Award, Frequent Poster, Blog Award, Calendar Award. The awards are shown in Rankings and Profile. You can set them also to display in postbit near the username. There is a scheduled job running once a day (02:30h) to calculate them.
Via AdminCP they are completely customizeable and can also be assigned manually.
Awards can be created for every data provider.


Rankings
Showing User, Level, Awards, Activity Points (experience, thread, post, user, misc) - sortable.
Since 3.8.3, there is a also a ranking for Social Groups

Shop
A virtual Shop will motivate your users to earn more points. You can define categories and put virtual items with pictures in it. A currency can be defined seperatly for every item, e.g. 20 points from threads or 100 points from gallery. Users can purchase the items, they appear in their profile. The costs of the item are substracted from their xperience points. Additionally you can set quantity of the items.
The Shop will motivate your users to collect specific points to buy an item. Optionally you can show the last purchased items on postbit.
You can put virtual items in it, like WoW addons: Sell WoW Items in exchange of f.e. thread points. Great for RPG forums.
Non-Virtual Items like bold Usernames or Downloads for Points are already on my todo list.

Earn Points
There is an overview for the user on how points can be collected, with a list of users own points. All data is beeing pulled from the database (settings, phrases)

Statistics
The statistics is showing a Top-X list of the leading users. Usefull for optimizing points of the point provider. Only enabled point providers with results will be displayed.


Promotion system
To motivate users to do more on your forum I created the promotion system. By reaching defined xperience points the user will be moved to another usergroup - where you can set graphics, shadows, highlighting, etc... What is interesting in combination with this: you can give the user more possibilities f.e. larger avatars or bigger PM box. A log of the promotions is available.


Calculation of the activity
The system calculates the activity by taking the average post count/visitormessages/group discussion/Blog entries of the ten most active user and comparing it to own post count. This can be set to count only the last X days, f.e. 21 days.


Settings
You can control how many points are given to every calculation. For example you can give many points for creating new threads but only a few for views of that thread. Setting a value to 0 will disable a setting.
Additionally, you can set ignore users (f.e. for bot users), forums (f.e. offtopic forums) and usergroup id's.


Performance, Big Boards
vBExperience has been tested on smaller and also on some bigger sites. I know from boards with around 120k users running this mod smoothly. More about this topic can be read in the file readme_optimization.txt


Frequently asked questions
Q: How do I change the name Experience to something new?
A: You can change the name via phrases. Just search and replace all phrases that contains vBExperience.

Q: When installing vBExperience, does everyone start from scratch, or will it automatically configure everyone's points based on actions before the install?
A: If you recount, vBExperience will calculate ALL existing data since the beginning of the board.

Known Issues:
- Awards: On "Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread" awards are only shown for the user who is viewing this.
- Awards: If activated in with rich username, they are attached to the username. If the username is linked, the awards are also linked. If a link is underlined, the awards are also underlined. This behaviour is hardcoded in vBulletin and cannot be fixed.
- Settings are showing only a blank page, read here: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/proje...6979#note74140
- If you completely remove vBExperience, you need also to uninstall the product XML manually from the pluginssystem

Credits for icons
- FAMFAMFAM, http://www.famfamfam.com/lab/icons/silk/
- IconExperience


History
3.8.5 Beta 3, 18th September 2009
- Fixed Promotions
- Fixed Notifications
- Added Activities to Promotions
- All Activities are not obeying limit
- AdminCP/Experience has a recount for Promotions and Achievements
- Fixed listing of Achievements with Firefox
- Several Beta 2 fixes

3.8.5 Beta 2, 02nd September 2009
- Just a short note: Condition in Achievements and Promotions are calculated in POINTS, not in counts of items.
If you choose 10 Day, you must enter the points needed for this.
For example: You have an achievement for 10 days. You have set 2 points for every day since registering. Calculation: 10*2 = 20
You will have to set 20 as the condition.
- New tabbed interface. If you want to change the style, edit the template xperience_navbar_css
- Promotions now showing usergroups and conditions for a promotion to the next group
- You can import old vBExperience Legacy promotions (that were created within level.xml)
- Achievements in Profile
- Achievements below Avatar
- Several Beta 1 fixes

3.8.5 Beta 1, 28th August 2009
- Achievements!
- Promotions!
- Notification on Awards, Promotions and Achievements
- GAP: Empty pointfields will not be displayed anymore
- Activity: Showing percent values with a decimal
- Activities now also for users
- Awards below Avatar
- Default Awards are now also creating new category
- Shop: Fixed issue in not returning cash on sells
- Reworked Edit Shop Items


Todo for Beta 3:
- Download files with vBExperience as a credit system ("LDM Links and Downloads Manager", "DownloadsII")
- Activity eraser
- AdminCP Permissions
- Advanced User Permissions


For more see history.txt

[mikkitine]

Originally Posted by Phalynx

I'm not sure if this makes sense as the items thumbnails can be very big.

Well, if the people using the mod were to use very small images for items then it would make more sense.

Originally Posted by Phalynx

Post count is the count of posts a user made...

Hmmm, currently disabling post count in postbit doesn't remove the post count from the userinfo. What it does do is remove the numbered link to "view single post" of every post in a thread. Hope you can get that fixed then, looking forward to it.

And there is an error somewhere in the new xperience.php file. My forum root is: forum/

After buying an item the redirect screen takes me to: /xperience.php?go=shop

Instead of: forum/xperience.php?go=shop

I got around this problem with a 301 redirect, but I'm sure others will run into it. Just a head's up.

[skywalker2208]

What tables does this install because I uninstalled it because it was to much on my server. I uninstalled it and it looks like the tables are still there. What is the process to uninstall it? I did the remove add on from the admincp but it looks like the tables are still there.

[tafreeh]

bro.. can u explain more about this new SHOP feature... how do you add items in it..
etc etc... Thanks for this great hack

[TimberFloorAu]

As previous POSTER, how can we use the SHOP?

Are there an inventory we can add, with our own icons, and set values ?

Please explain

[Phalynx]

Originally Posted by mikkitine

Well, if the people using the mod were to use very small images for items then it would make more sense.

Let me think about it. Maybe I will introduce a third picture field f.e. icon.

Originally Posted by mikkitine

And there is an error somewhere in the new xperience.php file. My forum root is: forum/

Fixed in next beta.

Originally Posted by skywalker2208

What tables does this install because I uninstalled it because it was to much on my server. I uninstalled it and it looks like the tables are still there. What is the process to uninstall it? I did the remove add on from the admincp but it looks like the tables are still there.

It should automatically kill all relevant tables. I will create a kill.php to do it more safer.

Originally Posted by tafreeh

bro.. can u explain more about this new SHOP feature... how do you add items in it..
etc etc... Thanks for this great hack

Originally Posted by TimberFloorAu

As previous POSTER, how can we use the SHOP?
Are there an inventory we can add, with our own icons, and set values ?

Please check AdminCP, vBExperience, Manage Shop. There you will have to create categories and items. It's almost the same like with Awards. It's pretty self explaining.

[Ideal Web Tech]

Hey I just finally got around to setting up the beta for this for incentive purposes for a social networking site I have been setting up. I am curious if it has maybe been posted in this thread already or if you have any instructions anywhere for adding in additional point things such as giving points and it being able to track what the points were for like you do for the blog with other addons. I havent looked at the code behind it just, but I will in a little bit as I am working on setting up the last of the important pieces to start promoting this site possible today. I have a strong background in coding so if you have any pointers or recommendations of where to look at least let me know. I know I am planning to create point possibilities for quite a few actions that are possible on my site to really see about what potential can be had with this modification to spark activity and interest in a social networking site.

[IrPr]

- Experience: Added new setting: Count only active users. Only users who were active in the last X days are beeing calculated. Speeds up performance on large boards.

Thanks for update!!
really appreciated

Questuion:
timeline limit is forced to calcuate posts or activity?
i've users that ain active from 3 months ago but are my top experienced users

[Phalynx]

Originally Posted by Ideal Web Tech

Hey I just finally got around to setting up the beta for this for incentive purposes for a social networking site I have been setting up. I am curious if it has maybe been posted in this thread already or if you have any instructions anywhere for adding in additional point things such as giving points and it being able to track what the points were for like you do for the blog with other addons. I havent looked at the code behind it just, but I will in a little bit as I am working on setting up the last of the important pieces to start promoting this site possible today. I have a strong background in coding so if you have any pointers or recommendations of where to look at least let me know. I know I am planning to create point possibilities for quite a few actions that are possible on my site to really see about what potential can be had with this modification to spark activity and interest in a social networking site.

I've included in next beta some hooks and a readme for this. Please download and test it. New beta should be released in few minutes.

Originally Posted by IrPr

timeline limit is forced to calcuate posts or activity?
i've users that ain active from 3 months ago but are my top experienced users

Did you enabled "Only active users"?
The date for this setting is beeing taken from setting "Timeframe for Activity"

[Phalynx]

The second beta arrived. Please download and test it - I'm awaiting your feedback.

Upgrade: Upload all (!!!) files, import XML.

Changes in the second beta:
- Fixed error with not existing class/function xperience
- Fixed error with wrong forum url after purcahes
- Awards: Removed underlining on Username
- Added Shop items to postbit
- Added: New hooks and readme to allow custom point providers
- Disable "post count" still don't work, but it now does not disables link to single post. Maybe I will remove this in next version.

[macc]

hello!

just updated to beta 2 and get this error when i will go to my admin cp

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '(' in /home2/belapla/public_html/vb/libar/includes/class_xperience.php on line 672

have vbulletin 3.7.1 and cmps 3.0.1 - beta 1 works fine and ver 3.12

some help?

regards

macc