Alpha 0 is out
I repeat: this is alpha quality code, so there are missing features and possibly bugs. I tried to make it reasonably secure, but I know I can do more. Please be aware of this when installing it (may want to use a chroot, vm or whatever).
First video about FUD_CI
Hello everyone, I just uploaded a video to Youtube describing the work I have been working on a new, more modern version of FUDforum.
If you're interested please watch the video and let me know!
TheDude Messages: 120 Registered: November 2012 Location: France
Karma: 2
Senior Member
Hi,
Very interesting video ! It's funny because I have been so fed up with FUDforum's interface and clunkiness and intentions that will never end up in a true revamp of the software, that I had decided to try to hire someone to convert my forum to SMF.
I don't have any knowledge in coding but perhaps I can help in user feedback. If I haven't found anyone to convert before.
Good luck on a brave attempt to give new life to a dying script
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
Well, thanks for the kind words. For starters you could make a list of things that you find clunky or that you wish were there.
I can't promise any fast results, because I have a full time job and will soon be father of two, but I love FUD and I really think it deserves more... so I'll do my best.
TheDude Messages: 120 Registered: November 2012 Location: France
Karma: 2
Senior Member
Well, I'm a user on a number of other forums which have different scripts, like Xenforo, Woltlab BB, or even SMF.
What I like on FUDforum is the horizontal view on the messages template, but I think many things are clunky.
For instance when you click on a forum where there are unread messages, if you click once, the bulb won't stay lit even if there are other unread messages.
Then the theming is horrible. You CAN'T have a modern interface.
Likes are a joke, you can like a topic, but not a message.
The karma system is never used by my members because it's not seen by them.
The new messages are not clearly available, just "messages of the day" link.
The fonts are horrible, too.
The theme is not responsive, people with smartphones and tablets complain they can't access the forum comfortably.
Well I could go on like this forever
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
I see, thanks a lot and please write everything down: we need power users to tell us what is wrong!
Also, I think that the light bulb things is actually a feature: it tells you if there are new messages since your last visit to the forum, not to the threads. I admit that it is silly (and I want to change it) but I think it is by design.
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
By the way, here's a funny story.
A few years ago I was considering to replace PhpBB with SMF for a forum driven website (the front page would show posts from certain categories in the forum and display them with custom layout and CSS) but decided for FUDforum because of the vastly superior (IMHO) API.
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
I see folks come and go. cpreston had a new look in the works and sounds like that died on the vine. I see his logo work made into 3.0.6 but nothing after that.
I'll do my best to help, test and throw money at it. I see the wealth of determination in the beginning of these ideas to change but never see them come to light.
TheDude Messages: 120 Registered: November 2012 Location: France
Karma: 2
Senior Member
+1
It seems that development ends up in boring people who start with lots of motivation and quickly exhaust themselves.
I wish I could do something to help this script becoming more modern, but I now I'm fed up with it.
I know of many people who got fed up with my own forum because of the lack of mobile devices support. They simply ceased to visit and that's a shame.
That's why I try to find someone to convert it to SMF
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
Well, I started development over two years ago, but had to stop due to real-life issues. Now I'm back and I plan on finish this thing.
Also, I think that cpreston would have had a much easier time if my work had been done earlier (I think you can see how easy it would be to create a theme with the new system in place).
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
NeXuS wrote on Wed, 25 February 2015 18:37
I would say that I am about 50% done with alpha quality code.
Anything you can get us would be good. Mobile device support would be the #1 priority. Driving away the people is not a good thing. My forum is small in comparison. I don't hear a lot of complaints if any. My guess is we are vintage in nature so the forum software goes with the territory.
If you have any alpha or beta candidates for us to try let us know. I can apply my production base forum and have our users give plenty of feedback.
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
Thanks, Gary. I'll do as much as I can to produce an Alpha ASAP so that we can get feedback from your users.
I will also try to keep this post updated with a roadmap.
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
Just checking in to see if you have the new video? I would like to share with my user base if possible. Are you OK if we call you by your forum handle (NeXus) or do you have another name to go by?
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
Sorry, I have had some real life issues: semester has started and my daughter is a little sick. I am trying my best to make some important security changes before I release an alpha and the new video.
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
Installed and running! Installation went without a hitch. Pretty good for an alpha release!
I will keep it in it's generic form for now. Later on I will try restoring a data dump of my production forum and see how that goes.
Some observations:
-Security credentials do not carry over when switching from main to the ACP panel. Requires you to login everytime.
-Rebuilding of the default theme doesn't seem to work though it says it was rebuilt successfully. I tried changing the header image but no changes took place. (Edit) I see that we're not using the theme/default/images directory, I found an "images" directory in the root of my web. files.
-Cannot register new users. Missing Captcha generator.
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
Thanks Gary, all you describe is absolutely normal.
GaryM wrote on Sat, 14 March 2015 06:37
-Security credentials do not carry over when switching from main to the ACP panel. Requires you to login everytime.
I know, this is because the current alpha uses two distinct cookies, so I just link to the ACP login page every time.
GaryM wrote on Sat, 14 March 2015 06:37
-Rebuilding of the default theme doesn't seem to work though it says it was rebuilt successfully. I tried changing the header image but no changes took place. (Edit) I see that we're not using the theme/default/images directory, I found an "images" directory in the root of my web. files.
You don't need to rebuild themes. All you need to change are the views (application/views/fud) and the CSS (theme/default/theme.css) and images (images/).
GaryM wrote on Sat, 14 March 2015 06:37
-Cannot register new users. Missing Captcha generator.
As I stated earlier at this time the PHP-GD extension is required for the captcha to work. I will try to remove dependencies later on.
If you're on Ubuntu you can install PHP-GD via: apt-get install php5-gd as root (or using sudo).
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
Thanks NeXuS! I'm on Fedora and went ahead and installed the php5-gd extension.I able to register new users now. In fact if folks here want to give it a try, go ahead.
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
You might know about this one. I'm getting this error when trying to post a new topic.
Fatal error: Call to undefined function fix_relative_urls() in /home/curvex/public_html/fudci/application/controllers/fud/Main.php on line 872
A PHP Error was encountered
Severity: Error
Message: Call to undefined function fix_relative_urls()
Filename: fud/Main.php
Line Number: 872
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
Funny, I though I had removed that call. You can replace the offending line with the following:
$data['html_body'] = $this->parser->parse('fud/post.php',$data,true);
Be aware that smileys will not render correctly (that fix_relative_urls function was there for that purpose).
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
NeXuS wrote on Sat, 14 March 2015 14:36
Funny, I though I had removed that call. You can replace the offending line with the following:
$data['html_body'] = $this->parser->parse('fud/post.php',$data,true);
Be aware that smileys will not render correctly (that fix_relative_urls function was there for that purpose).
Its a pitty that this nice Software suffers from some minor things ... which can be disturbing I know
But looking even at the well known names its a brilliant software, which runs like a workhorse.
We have now more than 325.000 posts in just 1 of our forums, and its quick and safe.
The key point in my opinion is the visual.
- just the theme used in this forum here is a nightmare
- Css / mobile responsivity is now standard, although I admit that with new mobiles having usually more than 1000px width its already much less critical than it used to be
I´m also not a coder, so no chance to really help you there. What could be an option is to hire a coder from Fiverr for specific tasks, no problem to support this.
Also I might look into a new theme, which is a bit more "friendly" at least in terms of colours and optics
What most people underestimate: With just header, footer and Css and some images the visual impact can change dramatically, without too much effort.
GaryM Messages: 118 Registered: May 2013 Location: Seattle
Karma: 3
Senior Member
I think most of us would agree if we could get visually optimized for iPhone and Android devices, that would be the biggest gain. Maybe a plug-in could be developed as an interim solution, somthing similar to vBulletin's Mobile Suite?
Everyone pretty much agrees this software runs like a tank. One of the traits that we should never let lapse. The security is top notch and the plug-in functionality is just as good. Getting back-door access to the files and database are a crucial for hosting domains that doesn't allow CLI access. Wonder if we could come up some kind of terminal shell interface through the ACP? Yeah, I'm reaching here.
NeXuS Messages: 121 Registered: July 2010 Location: South Korea
Karma: 5
Senior Member Contributing Core Developer
I think that the best solution would be to have a responsive theme, which is why I am using Pure CSS. Admittedly I am not the best web designer, so it might take me some time to finalize everything. But don't despair, FUDf will look great on mobile too!
P.S. a terminal interface in ACP is definitely feasible, but the problem is that not everyone runs FUDf on Linux or BSD, and I am not sure of whether there is a decent solution for Windows.
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