SMF a few questions

[BigRob]

Good afternoon all!

Few questions regarding SMF - just installed and I like what I see so far!

- I wanted to run over SSL, and changed base URL of forum accordingly in admin interface. However none of the theme URLs were changed to reflect https instead of http. Easy fix, I manually edited the records, and now its all running smoothly over SSL.
I've read some forum notes on SSL, etc. mainly focusing on authentication but have two questions/observations:-
- Would it be relevant/feasible to have a global "use SSL" tickbox everywhere which updated all http links in themes, etc?
- Would it be relevant to have a "use SSL for authentication" tickbox in the admin interface?

Second, regarding registration. I intend to make use of SMF for a completely closed forum, so all registration etc. to be done manually by admin. Turning registration off only seems to disable the registration function, not remove altogether from links.

- Would it therefore be relevant/feasible to have sort of 2 parts to disable registration, 1 to disable temporarily, thus leaving all links in, and one to disable "permanently" so no registraiton links are displayed.

Lastly - are there any compatible live chat modules with SMF that do chat over HTTP/HTTPS - the intended network does not allow IRC.

Would be grateful for any assistance!

Kindest regards

Rob

[青山 素子]

I can try and answer a few of your questions.

- I wanted to run over SSL, and changed base URL of forum accordingly in admin interface. However none of the theme URLs were changed to reflect https instead of http. Easy fix, I manually edited the records, and now its all running smoothly over SSL.

Yeah, those are separate. It allows bigger forums to serve things like images from a different web server to help split the load. There is a bulk-changing area in the main themes admin section. Look all the way at the bottom. Note that you also need to update the smileys URL.

- Would it be relevant/feasible to have a global "use SSL" tickbox everywhere which updated all http links in themes, etc?

Considering how few people need to run a fully-encrypted connection, I don't think there is a big push for this feature. Besides, if someone is on a server without SSL and checks the box, they just broke their entire forum.

- Would it be relevant to have a "use SSL for authentication" tickbox in the admin interface?

I actually made a mod for that. Of course, the same concern as above applies.

- Would it therefore be relevant/feasible to have sort of 2 parts to disable registration, 1 to disable temporarily, thus leaving all links in, and one to disable "permanently" so no registraiton links are displayed.

It should be a quick template edit. The register link in the main menu is in Index.template.php, as is the text for the link in the header when a user isn't logged in.

Lastly - are there any compatible live chat modules with SMF that do chat over HTTP/HTTPS - the intended network does not allow IRC.

I'm not familiar with the live chat options, so I can't assist with this.

[Altair]

Lastly - are there any compatible live chat modules with SMF that do chat over HTTP/HTTPS - the intended network does not allow IRC.

If you are willing to spend a few dollars, you could always get Flashchat, it will incorporate with SMF just fine.

[BigRob]

Motoko-chan - thanks for your comments.

Regarding SSL and theme URLs not updating when base URL changed - my bad - should have studied further the options inside admin but thanks for pointing out out.

I hear you regarding a fully-encrypted session and likelihood being not many people will want that. For now, I'm happy that I've got my particular board up and running over SSL and I now understand the settings required to do so.

From posting until now I have been modifying my templates to remove any registration links, so effectively only an admin can register new people when logged in.

Altair - I found Flashchat yesterday whilst browsing the site - thank you for your endorsement I will investigate!

Kindest regards

Rob