Chrome Extension

[Daniel Hood]

I wasn't sure where to put this thread but I'm working on an extension that checks the sites you visit for alerts/messages.

Here's what I have so far:

It does alerts too, I just didn't have any and it's easier to mark a message unread than it is to forge an alert.

When you visit a site that uses XenForo and you're logged in, it adds that site to the list of sites to check updates for. It checks every 5 minutes. If you get an alert or a new message then it will pop up this notification.

It uses your open graph logo for that image.

You can install it from here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/forum-alerts/leiehnemnmkljaaahpadjodmghkhlhjj

 

[DRE]

All I use is Chrome.

 

[Allan]

Good idea

 

[Digital Doctor]

Cool idea.

Ideally, a Xenforo website could purchase this, and then offer their members to install it. The extension would be free from Chrome Apps store.

 

[Daniel Hood]

Cool idea.

Ideally, a Xenforo website could purchase this, and then offer their members to install it. The extension would be free from Chrome Apps store.

It works on any xf forum by default . The site owner doesn't need to do anything.

 

[Digital Doctor]

It works on any xf forum by default . The site owner doesn't need to do anything.

Sure.
But how is it going to get installed ?
Are just the forum rats here at Xenforo.com going to use it ?
Or is the goal to enable Xenforo sites to have remote alerts ?

 

[Daniel Hood]

Its a useful tool that all xf forum owners can offer their user base. I was just commenting on the part where xf sites buy it. That's not necessary, it can work on your forums by default. Assuming of course that you don't have a style or add on that removed key elements.

 

[Daniel Hood]

I'm planning to put this into the Chrome Extension Store later tonight. I am setting it up to display ads on a per site basis. I'll be able to change the ad on a per site basis, I'm also able to turn the ads off on each site individually or globally. The ads will only be placed on pages with asidebar and my ad will be the very last thing on the side bar.

At first there won't be any ads and I may keep it that way, just leaving the option open.

 

[Alpha1]

Be careful with this. I have a very busy site and installed the tapatalk chrome extension which does exactly what you describe. It only took a few hours to bring down the site because thousands of users where constantly pinging the server. (6000 pings per hour per user multiplied by thousands of users) It was essentially a DDoS attack.
See: tapatalk notifier for chrome is making 100 requests per minute
I'm not sure if you have a different method in mind, but I think this requires PUSH in order for it to work without bogging down the server. As requested here: http://xenforo.com/community/threads/push-notifications-for-xenforo.60690/

 

[Daniel Hood]

I would have to look into what tapatalk does but I honestly don't think this requesting such a small amount of data, even with tons of people using it, will hurt your site.

 

[RastaLulz]

I look forward to using this, I use something similar to this for Twitch and it's very convenient.

 

[Sheratan]

Awesome. Looking forward for this.

 

[Daniel Hood]

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/forum-alerts/leiehnemnmkljaaahpadjodmghkhlhjj

let me know how it goes

 

[Sheratan]

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/forum-alerts/leiehnemnmkljaaahpadjodmghkhlhjj

let me know how it goes

Can't get to work.

7 SP1 32 bit Chrome 30.0.1599.101 m.

 

[RastaLulz]

Works fine for me, I'm running Chrome Version "30.0.1599.101 m" on Win 7. You just install it, visit any XenForo sites as normal, and it'll check those sites as long as you're logged in.

Quick question, how often does it check for alerts? I know that it says "every few minutes it checks", but an exact time would be nice to know.

 

[Allan]

Can't get to work.

7 SP1 32 bit Chrome 30.0.1599.101 m.

Could you send me a PC for test please ?

 

[Sheratan]

I can get it work... for xenforo.com, not for my forum.

Could you send me a PC for test please ?

Sended.

 

[Allan]

Work on 7 SP1 64 bit Chrome 30.0.1599.101 m.

 

[Lisa]

Installed, will see what happens

 

[Daniel Hood]

It's nice to see you guys help each other test and figure it out. It's somewhat hard to detect working due to it only checking every 5 minutes. Please note that the checks can be staggered. For example:

if the first time you log in XenForo is at 8:48 (now), and then you go to XenMods at 8:51, it'll check XenForo at 8:53 and XenMods at 8:56. This will also let you know if your session expires and you're not longer logged in at one of the sites. If at 8:53 you are visiting XenForo itself, it will skip the check because you don't need to be notified about a site you're already on.

The easiest way to confirm it is working is to go to one of the forums, mark a message unread, and continue browsing the internet. If you don't see a notification for a few minutes, it may not be working. Remember, it only checks every 5 minutes so when you're waiting for one it can seem like a while but during normal browsing it should be nicely spread out.