Topic: I'd like to see some features in the next release (pretty please)?

[DragonLady]

I've been running a very successful board for over ten years now (yay!), but have recently made some changes and would like to be able to add in some features my members have requested more than once.

Some of these are available as 3rd party mods through the package manager, but I avoid using those, as I never know when they're going be overwritten by the next update, or be incompatible for someone, somewhere, or when they will stop working because the author has stopped updating them.

I'd like to see, as part of the official release:

-- A facebook style "like" button.  Not only does this allow my regular members to express their ideas of a post without having to make another, separate post, but it also gives trolls and spammers a bit less excuse for single word hit-n-run posts that can be used to raise their post count.

-- An "alert user" mod like some of the other forum systems have.  It's a little menu that shows that someone liked a post, and also allows a poster to alert another member they've mentioned in a post (usually with @username). 

--The ability to limit the number of topics guests and regular members can read at once.  I've recently switched to a subscription model, but left the boards open for everyone to read because I don't want to lose the SE rankings.  However, that's really not working.  I need to encourage people to register, and hopefully to subscribe.  So a tiered system would work best for me.  Something like:

"Hello, guest, you have read two topics without registering for an account; please register to be able to read three more.'
"Hello, new member, you may only read three more topics without a subscription.  Subscribe today to remove all limits."

or something like that.

-- A more modern, et of larger smileys


-- A custom notepad/blog application for members who run our contests and such to keep track of memos and random thoughts, and for our contestants and subscribed members  to keep a running commentary about their daily activities that relate to our forum (unlike a regular blog where someone might talk about every aspect of their lives)

Are these things doable? 

[Arantor]

Likes are in 2.1. As is an alerts system.

Limiting topics in the manner you describe would also limit search engines from visiting your site.

There is a new set of smileys in 2.1 which are very slightly larger.

There are no plans to add notepads in the way you describe and frankly, 2.1 is already coming up for 7 years in development and shoving more features in now would only delay it more.

[GigaWatt]

--The ability to limit the number of topics guests and regular members can read at once.  I've recently switched to a subscription model, but left the boards open for everyone to read because I don't want to lose the SE rankings.  However, that's really not working.  I need to encourage people to register, and hopefully to subscribe.  So a tiered system would work best for me.  Something like:

"Hello, guest, you have read two topics without registering for an account; please register to be able to read three more.'
"Hello, new member, you may only read three more topics without a subscription.  Subscribe today to remove all limits."

or something like that.

This has actually been done through a mod for 2.0.

https://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=4169

Though I doubt something like this will get into SMF as a default feature.

Here's what the Like button looks like.

[DragonLady]

Likes are in 2.1. As is an alerts system.

Okay!   Any idea when that will be out of beta?

Limiting topics in the manner you describe would also limit search engines from visiting your site.

Okay; I was afraid of that, but figured I would ask.

There is a new set of smileys in 2.1 which are very slightly larger.

Totes.

There are no plans to add notepads in the way you describe and frankly, 2.1 is already coming up for 7 years in development and shoving more features in now would only delay it more.

Okay; I do know there is a blog mod thing...or was.  Maybe when 2.1 is out I'll reconsider installing it.  I just really, really prefer sticking to the official stuff whenever and where ever possible.

Thank-you!!!

DL

[DragonLady]

--The ability to limit the number of topics guests and regular members can read at once.  I've recently switched to a subscription model, but left the boards open for everyone to read because I don't want to lose the SE rankings.  However, that's really not working.  I need to encourage people to register, and hopefully to subscribe.  So a tiered system would work best for me.  Something like:

"Hello, guest, you have read two topics without registering for an account; please register to be able to read three more.'
"Hello, new member, you may only read three more topics without a subscription.  Subscribe today to remove all limits."

or something like that.

This has actually been done through a mod for 2.0.

https://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=4169

Though I doubt something like this will get into SMF as a default feature.

Yes; I saw that, and was hoping it could be made part of the official release.  Over the years, I've installed many, many 3rd party mods and have almost always been given cause to regret it later.  Usually, they just stop working after a few incarnations, and then everyone wonders why I took away their toys.

[GigaWatt]

Well, that's how things are. The authors of the software can't keep up with everyone's expectations. For example, you want a different smiley set... maybe I want something else... you can't satisfy everyone's needs. That's why the mod system was made (I guess, I'm not around that long), so that everyone can customize and share their customization. Unfortunately, yes, that means that if the author doesn't update the mod, and it's incompatible with the latest release, you'll have to abandon it.

But, hey, that's not so bad. Change is good... in time, maybe there will be another mod that kind of replaces the one you've abandoned or does something similar .

[DragonLady]

Well, that's how things are. The authors of the software can't keep up with everyone's expectations. For example, you want a different smiley set... maybe I want something else... you can't satisfy everyone's needs. That's why the mod system was made (I guess, I'm not around that long), so that everyone can customize and share their customization. Unfortunately, yes, that means that if the author doesn't update the mod, and it's incompatible with the latest release, you'll have to abandon it.

But, hey, that's not so bad. Change is good... in time, maybe there will be another mod that kind of replaces the one you've abandoned or does something similar .

Of course, I understand that.  I try not to ask for stuff very often, and then only if it's something I think lots of people may be able to use or would appreciate.

And, no, I don't expect those who write 3rd party mods to spend the rest of their lives messing with it after, either.   I just avoid those mods when I can, for the reasons I've stated.  Not asking anyone to change their habits, nor am I disparaging those -apparently tens of thousands- who like the system as it is.

[Arantor]

Just to clarify, likes were added to core fives years ago. As were alerts. I know this because I’m the person who built a lot of both back when I was dev team in 2013...

That was when it was still beta 1...

FWIW I’d have shot down the notepad idea then, though I’m more amenable to the notion now. It just gets complicated when you start factoring in the recent EU privacy laws, though, if you put personal data in there.

[GigaWatt]

It's not about liking or disliking the mod system... it's the easiest and only thing that can be done to customize the behavior and/or look and feel of SMF without having to get your hands dirty and edit code yourself.

FWIW I’d have shot down the notepad idea then, though I’m more amenable to the notion now.

I'd still shoot that idea . As is everyone else allowed to shoot my idea of Greek symbols inside the post editor .

[Arantor]

I dislike the mod system immensely as it currently stands, but I’m biased and I think it’s fair to say I’ve done things with it that no one before or since tried to do with it.

[GigaWatt]

Yes, the mod system is not perfect. Can it be done in a better way? Sure... I guess, I'm not a PHP developer, but I don't think that "this is it, that's the best that can be done" is the right answer in any scenario. Will it break things after being updated? Of course. Will this make users angry? No doubt .

So, basically, it's not perfect, but it's better to leave it as it is than to modify something that, more or less, works and break everything in the process.

[DragonLady]

Forgive me, but I've searched and can't find what I'm needing.... Is there a plugin for accepting payments through Stripe as well as PayPal?

Many of my customers believe PayPal is a band of evil aliens and they refuse to use it.

[Gwenwyfar]

-- A more modern, et of larger smileys

Don't forget you can easily change smiley sets to any you prefer, and that is by default functionality

[GigaWatt]

Forgive me, but I've searched and can't find what I'm needing.... Is there a plugin for accepting payments through Stripe as well as PayPal?

Many of my customers believe PayPal is a band of evil aliens and they refuse to use it.

This is from 2.1's Paid Subscriptions settings.

SMF currently supports PayPal as the installed payment method.
  •  It is not necessary to enable IPN in your PayPal account; but if you do, the forum will receive payment notifications for all payments made to your account, and this will generate Paid Subscriptions errors for payments that are not subscription related.
  •  You must have a business or premier account to use recurring payments.
  •  You must provide your primary PayPal email address for validation purposes.

If you install a different payment gateway, you may need to set up a return URL for payment notification. For all payment types, this return URL should be set as:

  •  http://yourforumurl.com/subscriptions.php

You can normally find it in your customer panels, usually under the term "Return URL" or "Callback URL".

[Chalky]

It's very easy to change or add any smileys you want.  You don't need the smiley set mods.  If you just want to replace the default set, choose some you like (you could download a smiley set mod to your computer and extract the smileys you want from the zip file) and upload them via FTP, overwriting the existing images.  Or you can just add more and swap them round, it's very customizable.  This is what my post form looks like... I have 764 smileys on my forum altogether    And believe it or not, my members still keep asking for more 

[Kindred]

but no... there is no built-in support for anything except paypal.

other gateways can be used but may require various bits and baubles.

[DragonLady]

Thank-you everyone.   You've all been very helpful.

[DragonLady]

FWIW I’d have shot down the notepad idea then, though I’m more amenable to the notion now. It just gets complicated when you start factoring in the recent EU privacy laws, though, if you put personal data in there.

I just discovered the "draft" mode in SMF 2.1 which functions exactly as a "notepad" for keeping track of half-baked ideas for a short period of time.  Brilliant! Thank-you!!!!