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NChat - No SQL Save BW shoutbox

Started by nvcnvn, April 13, 2011, 11:30:28 AM

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HunterP


I've been using this mod for a long time now and really love it. But it is by far the most sensitive/breakable mod I've seen. Sometimes this error appears, sometimes the chat crashes due to special characters or too long line (still not know the exact cause), and had some more minor issues with it.

Be sure to :

+ CHMOD 0666 for these files: l.txt, NChatMess.php, NChatMuteList.php
+ CHMOD 0644 for all the files left
+ CHMOD 0755 for these folders: ./NChat, ./NChat/sounds

peps1

#461
Quote from: HunterP on January 28, 2015, 03:11:39 PM

+ CHMOD 0666 for these files: l.txt, NChatMess.php, NChatMuteList.php
+ CHMOD 0644 for all the files left
+ CHMOD 0755 for these folders: ./NChat, ./NChat/sounds

Think it could be a permission issue, as I'm on a windows host

So, I guess my question should now be, Has anyone got this running on a windows server, and if so how, as CHMOD is not an option?

Gwenwyfar

I just got this to stop working giving an error on the chat window as well, seems to have been the versions of things on the server.

The host just upgraded php and some other things, it no longer works even at 777 permissions on everything or reinstalling.
"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

HunterP

Quote from: Fortytwo on February 06, 2015, 12:17:58 PM
I just got this to stop working giving an error on the chat window as well, seems to have been the versions of things on the server.
The host just upgraded php and some other things, it no longer works even at 777 permissions on everything or reinstalling.

This also occurs if index.php can't be found. Maybe you could try a relative path in stead of an absolute path?

Gwenwyfar

I'm discussing it with the host now, it seems to be an internal server error issue, but it is not going to the logs and we didn't find what is it yet. Happens on any other chat too, only other chats don't give an error :P
"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

Deprecated

Not working very well for me on SMF 2.0.9. Admittedly the mod doesn't claim to be compatible with 2.0.9, says 2.0.1 was last claim of compatibility.

The package installer said it would install okay, and it did. I CHMODed the correct files. The mod does work but I have a window tall enough for about 10 lines no matter what I set the #lines in the mod settings.

Other than that, it's functional, no errors. It's just useless because it displays so few lines. Oh well, guess I'll try another chat box.

It's sad that so many of them are for SMF 1.x which should have been killed off a year or two ago. There aren't any at all that claim compatibility with 2.0.9. Maybe all mod package authors are doing same as me, why update our mods over and over when 2.1 is coming out? (In September... maybe...) :)

Gwenwyfar

I had this working perfectly (except for some other problems) in 2.0.9, so if it doesn't work its not because of SMF.

I don't recall this mod having any settings for height, I think what you're editing are the total number of messages that can be displayed at one time, the height you'd probably have to edit on the template or through css. It'll have a scroll bar if there are more messages, like any shoutbox.
"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

Deprecated

The mod is useless if you have to go in and change code manually. That is the whole point of having a package installer.

It was a clean install test forum 2.0.9 with no mods installed. As I said, it worked okay. It's just that the window is too short to be of any use, displays only several lines of chat.

I'm not willing to go mess with the CSS. I have enough custom projects where I mess with CSS all day and all I want is a cheap, quick, dirty chat box for an insignificant forum in a far corner of the multiverse.

If the package installer can't install a functional mod package then IMO it's a waste of time.

Gwenwyfar

So it is useless because the default height doesn't suit your needs? There are some other problems with this mod, but you're not going to get any mod to visually look exactly how you want it without having to edit it. This mod's purpose is to be a shoutbox. It is perfectly functional as a shoutbox. If you want to edit how it looks that has nothing to do with its main purpose (nor most other mods out there).

If you want to change visual or aesthetic things and don't want to edit the main thing that controls all of it then that's your own problem, and you're not gonna go very far in making your forum look how you want.

The point of the package installer is to do exactly that, install packages, not to edit them for you.
"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

Deprecated

All my mods work right out of the box for SMF versions they are stated to be compatible with.

I just fell off the top 10 mod package authors list a few months back. If you have to edit a mod you wrote a crummy mod.

I'll grant that if you are running a custom theme you may have to edit, but this is a clean 2.0.9 installation, installed 1 hour ago with no mods and no changes from default settings.

Visual or aesthetic does not describe being able to see only 10 lines of chat. That is what I call dysfunctional.

Gwenwyfar

I still don't understand if you're talking about chat height or total messages available, but this mod works right out of the box. You can increase the messages limit to whatever you like, I have 120. I don't see how scrolling to see them is a problem or "dysfunctional" feature, all chats are like this, and it has a good height as default, I didn't need to change it at all and wouldn't want to. It would be a problem if it was much smaller or much higher than what it is.

Sure, it has some annoying bugs, but they are not related to the messages themselves, which work just fine if it installs correctly.

Anyway, if you're up to spending 5 minutes editing the files instead of complaining I modified this to be expandable and to be resizable, so you can resize the window to whatever you want, as well as some other improvements (instead of having a chat be 30 lines in height and occupy all the space and be annoying), I can put the modified version here.
"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

Deprecated

Scrolling them IS a problem. Look at the same mod for vBulletin. It shows maybe 20-30 lines of recent chat. For a vBulletin equivalent look at ... damn, I couldn't find a forum with vBulletin running their chat that the chat is visible to guests.

Nobody is going to want to scroll up and down. That's what I call dysfunctional. Hey don't listen to my opinion, I'm just an inexperienced guy with 20+ mods.

Sure it has annoying bugs. I can't disagree.

I'm working 10-12 hours a day 7 days a week writing code for other projects. I just want a chat mod that installs and works without debugging it.

If you wanna give me some advice I'd appreciate it. I'm running 2.0.9 with Curve. If I could make your mod work with a few edits it would be great. It's a private forum. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be functional. It has to have maybe 30 lines or so of back chat.

The real problem we face here at SMF, we have to compete with vBulletin where you pay lots of bucks for the software and more bucks for the mods. But the mods look good and you don't have to mod them a lot to make them work.

I'm involved with several vBulletin forums and I've collaborated with writing private mods for them, but glad I"m not interested in running my own vB forums. SMF works fine for 2-3 person forums or small private forums. This small private forum (about 50 members) needs a chat box to make it go, but I need some sleep to make me go.

And then I get up tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and write more and more and more code. I just don't have it left in me to fix SMF mods although oddly I wrote a new SMF mod today. Maybe it will be my new mod. Maybe it will put me back on the top 10 list. Maybe I'll just forget it. I guess I'm just getting jaded writing code for about 70 hours a week for the last 4 months.

All I really wanted was an out of the box working chat box for 2.0.9.

There's a real opportunity for somebody who wants to make their mark as a mod package author. After running through all the 2.0.9 compatible mods (1) and the rest that might be compatible (several) none of them worked out of the box, and I didn't have the patience to modify them when I have paying jobs lined up, plus an open source project that depends on me alone to keep it alive.

Gwenwyfar

These chats are meant to be small. In fact, I've never seen a chat much larger than that anywhere. Be it on random sites that have a chat, on other forums that come with it, or all the other shoutboxes. I've also never seen anyone complain about it. This is a problem just for you.

It should have a way to resize, I agree there, and is what I did on mine, but it would be very annoying to have a large chat on top of your index. You don't make a large chat if you're putting it inside a page that is meant for another purpose because it'll eat the space of other things and be an eyesore for anyone not using it.

This chat works out of the box for everyone, like pretty much all others on the mod site. The height not suiting your personal needs does not make it dysfunctional.


For the files, just replace this file on the nchat folder. I had to remove some of the modifications since they are specific to my forum, but it'll have the resize.

Then add this to the index.css file:
/* Expandable boxes base code */

input.trigger, input.trigger + label + .tab-content {
   display: none; }

input.trigger:checked + label + .tab-content {
   display: block; }

/* Chatbox styles */

.chat-smileys .tab-content {
   position: absolute;
   border: 1px solid #b5ddea;
   background-color: #dfeef6; }

.smiles-select {
   padding: 6px;
   width: 160px;
   height: 200px;
   overflow: auto;
   bottom: 15px; }

.chat-smileys {
   position: relative;
   display: inline-block; }


Just change the height/width if you'd like. Again these are made for my forum, but its blue so it should be OK with curve.


"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

Deprecated

Okay, thanks for the help. I'll give it a try.

BTW I got the "Helper of the Month" award too, I think was just after God invented dirt. ;)

I used to spend hours here each day answering questions just like you. My pictorial went away when I joined SMF staff, and when I departed they never put it back, not that I care whether mine shows.

Gwenwyfar

No problem, you're welcome :)

I used to be able to spend all day working on building entire wikis, but now I'm limited to helping occasionally when I have the time, I guess we all end up being too busy with one thing or another at some point :P
"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

Deprecated

Did all that wiki work drive you wiki wonky? ;)

HunterP

Quote from: Deprecated on February 08, 2015, 07:51:49 PM
The mod is useless if you have to go in and change code manually. That is the whole point of having a package installer.
...
If the package installer can't install a functional mod package then IMO it's a waste of time.

That's your point of view. Yes, not everyone is supposed to have any PHP knowledge. But for myself, there are not many mods which I haven't modified myself, just to suit it to my personal needs. This really is (in my humble and personal opinion) by far the best chat mod I've tried. It has some downsides and added some DB-queries to make (my) life a bit easier, but I can't do without no more :)

Gwenwyfar

Quote from: Deprecated on February 10, 2015, 05:20:37 PM
Did all that wiki work drive you wiki wonky? ;)
Wiki wonky? Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but I don't think so :P

"It is impossible to communicate with one that does not wish to communicate"

tranhiep116


Rayvon

Quote from: nvcnvn on January 16, 2012, 10:06:05 AM
Quote from: KAOS Brady on January 15, 2012, 10:27:42 AM
I installed this but only admin can see the shoutbox and I can't figure out why

You should set permission for each group that you want them to see the chat box

Everything seems to be working great - but we've noticed that newly registered users can see the chatbox .. There is no where in the SMF Permissions portion of the Admin Panel to edit this group to prevent this .. Help???

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