NoNonsense Forum v7 © Copyright CC-BY 3.0 Kroc Camen of Camen Design ==================================================================== A simple forum that focuses on discussion and simplicity. Requirements: ------------- * An up to date Apache installation, 2.1 or above * PHP 5.2.6 or above (5.3+ preferred) Install: -------- 1. NoNonsense Forum can run on itâs own domain / sub-domain (preferred), or within a sub-folder (e.g. '/forum/') Copy this directory and all files to the web-root of a sub-domain (like 'forum.---.com'), virtual host or other dedicated web-root for the forum, or as a sub-folder therein NOTE: On some platforms, the ".htaccess" file may be invisible. Please search the Internet for instructions on how to show hidden files on your operating system if you cannot see the ".htaccess" file. It must be included with the other files for NoNonsense Forum to work NOTE: If you run NoNonsense Forum in a sub-folder of a domain, any existing ".htaccess" rules might 'leak' into the folder and prevent the forum from working correctly. It is recommended to use a sub-domain if you are not sure how to manually edit ".htaccess" rules 2. Ensure the web-root / folder and all sub-folders (especially "users") have write permission for PHP, the code will save new threads directly to web-root 3. Visit the site in your browser. If all is well, you should have an empty, but functional forum. If you're having problems you can ask for help on the forums: <forum.camendesign.com> NOTE: Please ensure ".htaccess" files are enabled on your web-server. For example, XAMPP does not execute ".htaccess" files by deafult Optional: 4. Rename the 'config.example.php' file to 'config.php' and customise the options within to your liking. Available options are explained within 'config.example.php' Browser support: ---------------- * IE6, 7, 8, 9+ * Firefox 3+, Camino 2+ * Chrome Stable, Chrome Dev * Safari 3+ * Opera 9+ * Lynx * iOS 4.0+ (iOS 3 untested yet) * Android (all versions AFAIK) * Firefox Mobile * Opera Mobile & Mini Unsupported: * Firefox 2 or earlier, Camino 1 * IE5.5 and below (including IE:Mac) * IE7/Mobile (Windows Phone 7) Creating Sub-Forums: -------------------- If you would like to organise your forum into sub-forums for different topics just create a folder on webroot with the desired name (it can contain any letters allowed by your server's OS except for ".", "<", ">" and "&"). Make sure the folder has write-permissions. Second-level sub-folders are not supported. (E.g. '/Music/Techno/'). Stickying Threads: ------------------ If you would like a thread to always remain at the top of the threads list, also regardless of page number, create a file "sticky.txt" in the webroot or particular folder. In your "sticky.txt" file add the filename of each thread you would like to sticky on separate lines, including the ".rss" file extension. For example: the_rules.rss f_a_q_.rss Understanding Name Reservation: ------------------------------- There is no login or registration of the traditional kind. In order to prevent someone's desired name / nickname / alias / handle being reused by the wrong person, you enter your desired name and a password whenever you post. This name and password form a pair that have to match in order to use that name again in the future. Therefore you don't have to log in beforehand, or pre-register before posting. The single most important thing to bear in mind is that the name reservation system is not the same as authentication. Any person can enter any name they want and one person could just as easily use many names. It in no way ties one person to one browser session like a login does. Whenever a name is reserved a text file is created in the users folder. The filename is a hash of the name and the file contains the hash of the password. Names are not case-sensitive, but passwords are. Appending to a Post: -------------------- There is no ability to edit posts (other than manually editing the RSS feed). This is because the text to HTML conversion when a post is made is one-way. NoNonsense Forum allows you only to append to existing posts. Only the original author or a moderator can append to posts (see Adding Moderators further down for details on moderators). Appending to a post does not change the last-modified date of the thread, and therefore does not bump it to the top of the index list. Deleting a Thread or Post: -------------------------- The person who made a thread (or a moderator) can delete their thread by clicking on the delete button in the first post of a thread. They then have to enter the name and password pair that was originally used to post to delete the thread. The entire thread is then permanently deleted. Deleting a post works the same way, by clicking the delete button on the particular post. Either the original author of the post or a moderator can delete the post, however individual posts are not permanently removed like threads. Upon deletion the post entry will remain but its text content will be stripped out and a message along the lines of "This post was deleted by the original poster" (or "a moderator") will replace it. A tick box on the delete page, usually labelled "remove completely", will allow moderators to remove the post from the thread without leaving the blanked out text. This will only work if the post is on the last page of replies (so as to not break permalinks by changing the length of previous pages). If the box is ticked, but the user is not a moderator, or the post is not on the last page of replies, then the post is blanked out as usual. Adding Moderators: ------------------ Moderators can delete threads that were not originally made by them. To add moderators to your website, first have them post at least once in order to reserve the name. Then create a "mods.txt" file in web-root and populate it with the reserved names to allow moderator rights, one on each line. E.g. Kroc theraje SpeedoJoe The moderators you specify will be able to delete threads and posts in all folders, including root, of the forum. If you would like to set a moderator who can only delete within a certain folder, create a 'mods.txt' file within the folder and specify the desired names. These moderators will not be able delete threads or posts in the forum root, or other folders. Locking / Unlocking Threads: ---------------------------- Moderators can lock threads to prevent any further replies (as well as post appends and deletes). Simply visit the thread, click the "Lock" button and enter the name / password. Visit the thread again and click "Unlock" to allow replies once more. Markup: ------- Some simple markup is provided for hyperlinks, quotes and more; see 'markup.txt' for details. Acknowledgements: ================= * Jon Gjengset - Original theme / mobile theme * "JJ" - Quote syntax * "Martijn" - Lynx support * "Temukki" - Bugs * Richard van Velzen - subfolder support / other fixes * The users of Camen Design Forum <forum.camendesign.com> for testing and support