Add-on Classifieds addon development discussion

[Daniel Hood]

Example:

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/rm-advanced-filter-options-tags-custom-fields.96740/

1) That's planned.
2) That is a very small function of Freelancers. Some stuff of freelancers will be able to be implemented with custom fields but other things like the ability to transfer funds, milestone payments, the stuff @empire pointed out, etc.. will not be.

 

[Stuart Wright]

I have a question for all the folks interested in using this classifieds addon with regard to the location and mapping.
How important is it to you that the advertisers' location is handled well? Or at all?
I mean that, for example, if we can get their location from their IP address and/or their GPS (from their computer or mobile device) then we use that as a default for their given location when setting up their advert?
In order to help prevent fraud, should we record their location if it is a different country to their declared location in the advert?
How interested are you in being able to have a map of adverts? With the ability to show adverts within a certain distance?
Googlemaps would allow us to do that, but it requires more work and if only a few people want it, we could release it as a supplementary addon later. If it proves popular we could consider putting more effort into maps for the first release.

 

[MasonK]

I'm just going to say that I have no use for maps or the location of the advertiser.

 

[empire]

We only need a field for the location. (Specific country or just 'EU')

We don't need any kind of mapping at all.

We don't need the IP or GPS to match the stated location. (People often have multiple home locations, not always in the same country.)

We wouldn't use an advert map and distance doesn't matter. Local deals are more likely to happen at meetups rather than on our site.

All this is a neat idea, it's just not something we'd use. Many members would be uncomfortable having their location shown in public. We allow minors to post classifieds, so it wouldn't be appropriate.

 

[Stuart Wright]

We allow minors to post classifieds

That's dodgy. Are the people who trade with the minors aware that the children have no legal obligation to fulfil their end of any deal?

 

[kontrabass]

1 License here, paid packages

Regarding location: While one the one hand it'd be cool to see gear for sale around user's city, I can say that our users will not want the internet knowing where exactly thousands of $$ of gear is located. A field for location is sufficient.

Thanks Stuart!!!

 

[Stuart Wright]

Just to clarify on the user's location in the advert, for security reasons, the highest resolution we would use would be post/zip code. On rare occasions, for some people in remote locations, this is still too specific, so we could allow advertisers the choice of post/zip code or town.

 

[empire]

That's dodgy. Are the people who trade with the minors aware that the children have no legal obligation to fulfil their end of any deal?

There's a box on the sales form to disclose if someone is under 18, so it's up to the buyer to decide if they're ok with that. Every once in a while it causes an issue, but not in disproportion to older members. So many of our transactions are international that in reality members have almost no legal protection anyway. I could tell you the worst horror stories, but age rarely plays a role.

 

[kontrabass]

Just to clarify on the user's location in the advert, for security reasons, the highest resolution we would use would be post/zip code. On rare occasions, for some people in remote locations, this is still too specific, so we could allow advertisers the choice of post/zip code or town.

Ahh. I'm all for integrating with Google Maps then

 

[CreationNation]

I have a couple of market research type questions for those people intending to buy this addon.
First how many licenses do you intend to purchase?

And Second, there will be two types of packages. Those which are free and those which require payment from the advertiser. How many of you only want the free packages? I.e. the classifieds on your site will be completely free?

1-2 and I also would like the option of free with paid ability (upgrade) as well.

If I had to choose one or the other - paid.

Thanks!

 

[JulianD]

I have a question for all the folks interested in using this classifieds addon with regard to the location and mapping.
How important is it to you that the advertisers' location is handled well? Or at all?
I mean that, for example, if we can get their location from their IP address and/or their GPS (from their computer or mobile device) then we use that as a default for their given location when setting up their advert?
In order to help prevent fraud, should we record their location if it is a different country to their declared location in the advert?
How interested are you in being able to have a map of adverts? With the ability to show adverts within a certain distance?
Googlemaps would allow us to do that, but it requires more work and if only a few people want it, we could release it as a supplementary addon later. If it proves popular we could consider putting more effort into maps for the first release.

A simple location or city field would be enough for us. This would allow me to filter classifieds near me.

 

[Stuart Wright]

A simple location or city field would be enough for us. This would allow me to filter classifieds near me.

Only if people enter text for the location which you can predict. And people enter unpredictable text.

 

[JulianD]

Only if people enter text for the location which you can predict. And people enter unpredictable text.

That's true, but I think Google offers an API to detect valid cities. That other addon had something along the lines to set the location. You couldn't enter just some random text because you ended up placing the location to some random place.

 

[Stuart Wright]

That's true, but I think Google offers an API to detect valid cities. That other addon had something along the lines to set the location. You couldn't enter just some random text because you ended up placing the location to some random place.

I'm not an expert on the google maps API but I think if you enter the post/zip code then it's a more reliable way of finding where you are than entering the town. There are, for example six Newports in Britain. Seems to me that it's preferable to enter the post code and then select which element of the address you want to make public. Post code or town or district or city.

 

[foiovitor]

1-2 and I also would like the option of free with paid ability (upgrade) as well.

If I had to choose one or the other - paid.

Thanks!

The same: 1-2 licenses and free with paid ability (upgrade)

 

[foiovitor]

1) That's planned.
2) That is a very small function of Freelancers. Some stuff of freelancers will be able to be implemented with custom fields but other things like the ability to transfer funds, milestone payments, the stuff @empire pointed out, etc.. will not be.

There are any release or beta date?

 

[Daniel Hood]

There's no set deadline/release date. I believe we will be releasing some screenshots soon though.

 

[ichpen]

I'm not an expert on the google maps API but I think if you enter the post/zip code then it's a more reliable way of finding where you are than entering the town. There are, for example six Newports in Britain. Seems to me that it's preferable to enter the post code and then select which element of the address you want to make public. Post code or town or district or city.

Correct but full zip/postal is a privacy issue if mandated (as it can basically narrow location down to your house in some instances).

Location is most definitely needed. For good examples of location pinning look at kijiji.ca (place an ad and see how locations can be defined on post). User has the choice to type in exact address, city etc or simply move the pin around a map and use that.

Location filtering for guests is crucial. One key feature is setting distances/radius. Kijiji tries to do it (but not properly) as a sub-filter i.e. item category -> province/state -> city -> distance widget. In an ideal world you can have two location filters (nearest me -> derived from your profile location as/if stipulated) or the kijiji way i.e. adhoc selection of country -> province/state -> city -> radius widget.

The feature most wanted is an alternative mini-map view of postings with pins containing item title as well as appropriate heat maps if you zoom out far enough. This would be an alternative to traditional list/grid views and would be filterable by category/type etc.

 

[Daniel Hood]

I think it's important to note some things about custom field filtering. We will be including filtering functionality in the core product but some filtering functionality will be reserved for a secondary add-on that requires XenForo Enhanced Search. I have decent experience with ElasticSearch and it has a lot better scalability and filtering options than the MySQL searching methods. For example, geo based searching is next to impossible with mysql, basically I'd have to index more data and have poorer results.

In the main add-on, filtering will be limited to fields that have static choices (think checkbox custom fields, radio buttons, and drop downs). The secondary add-on that requires ElasticSearch will include geo based searching, min-max price options (assuming there's a price field), etc...

Also, the core add-on will be available before the secondary enhanced versions are available (paid packages are planned as a secondary add-on as well)

 

[empire]

This sounds amazing, and I like that you're taking a modular approach.