[DBTech] DragonByte Social Groups [Paid] 1.3.0

[DragonByte Tech]

But to the underlying question are posts in the group actual threads in a node or are they more akin to a post comment? If they are more akin to a post comment would you consider making the discussion portion an actual node with threads instead so that discussions in a group can populate in all areas where threads can?

They are 100% separate (although obviously based on threads/posts) and will not be changed to use threads/posts in the background. This is because it allows me complete control over the functionality; I can make them diverge from the core XF Thread/Post system as and when needed.

Another reason actual nodes are not feasible is that this add-on would have a soft limit on the number of social groups that could be created. XenForo does not like having more than a couple hundred nodes, maybe 1,000 at most before it starts running into serious performance problems on even the most powerful server due to the way node permissions are rebuilt.

In other words; this add-on would not function on large sites if I implemented discussions as nodes. I will not compromise the scalability of the add-on in that way, as that runs counter to what I aim to achieve with all of my add-ons.

In a future version, I could look into creating a "virtual category" which would list a user's joined social groups underneath, in a similar way nodes are displayed, to be added to the node list. This is something I just thought up, so I don't even know if it's possible to do this

Can you move threads between groups and nodes?

No, discussions cannot be moved between groups. There are no nodes, though in the future if/when I implement "sections", I would allow discussions to be moved in between sections.

 

[The Dark Wizard]

In a future version, I could look into creating a "virtual category" which would list a user's joined social groups underneath, in a similar way nodes are displayed, to be added to the node list. This is something I just thought up, so I don't even know if it's possible to do this

This would be useful, could just be made as a widget.

Though, the lack of being able to move existing threads into a group will unfortunately be a no-go for us. One of the main reasons for us to use this is so that users who have role-plays, and intensive content around them, can have the staff move it into a group for them. One Roleplay on RpN has 175 threads, each one a separate adventure or story in the same shared universe. Could have benefitted from this as an example.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

Though, the lack of being able to move existing threads into a group will unfortunately be a no-go for us. One of the main reasons for us to use this is so that users who have role-plays, and intensive content around them, can have the staff move it into a group for them. One Roleplay on RpN has 175 threads, each one a separate adventure or story in the same shared universe. Could have benefitted from this as an example.

I've made a note to look into the feasibility of importing threads into social groups, I can't promise anything but it's been logged

 

[The Dark Wizard]

I've made a note to look into the feasibility of importing threads into social groups, I can't promise anything but it's been logged

Thank you!

Just to make sure, I assume that also includes exporting them out?

 

[DragonByte Tech]

Thank you!

Just to make sure, I assume that also includes exporting them out?

I've updated the note to include exporting

 

[The Dark Wizard]

I've updated the note to include exporting

Thank you for considering it, such a feature would allow larger communities an easier time of adopting it. It also means that if a group has to be removed, or if you ever have to stop working on this add-on, then the content isn't lost.

 

[Alpha1]

I've made a note to look into the feasibility of importing threads into social groups, I can't promise anything but it's been logged

Yes, this is very useful to have. Sometimes there is discussion on a topic going on in forums before a group is created. Being able to convert forum threads to group threads helps jumpstart the group.

 

[Starbucks]

I've updated the note to include exporting

Don’t forget the option these suggestions jajajaja

uffff!! Another great add-on by (the) dragon!
Looks very clean… however, I’m also missing the multiple forums in a group feature… would love to have this.

At this moment, I won’t buy it yet, but once the multiple forums feature is available, instant buy!

But great job anyways!!!

This would be another great feature indeed. Maybe even the option that every user with x field or users that are in x group are automatically being added to the group.

We’re working a lot with Facebook Workplace, and there’s a similar feature for admins.

 

[MarenLBC]

They are 100% separate (although obviously based on threads/posts) and will not be changed to use threads/posts in the background. This is because it allows me complete control over the functionality; I can make them diverge from the core XF Thread/Post system as and when needed.

Another reason actual nodes are not feasible is that this add-on would have a soft limit on the number of social groups that could be created. XenForo does not like having more than a couple hundred nodes, maybe 1,000 at most before it starts running into serious performance problems on even the most powerful server due to the way node permissions are rebuilt.

In other words; this add-on would not function on large sites if I implemented discussions as nodes. I will not compromise the scalability of the add-on in that way, as that runs counter to what I aim to achieve with all of my add-ons.

In a future version, I could look into creating a "virtual category" which would list a user's joined social groups underneath, in a similar way nodes are displayed, to be added to the node list. This is something I just thought up, so I don't even know if it's possible to do this


No, discussions cannot be moved between groups. There are no nodes, though in the future if/when I implement "sections", I would allow discussions to be moved in between sections.

That makes a lot of sense thank you. Maybe it would be helpful to mention that in the description because it could be a deal breaker for many. Just my $0.02.

 

[Chernabog]

Let me just verify, from the above, that with this groups add-on group forums WILL NOT show up in my forums list (where they do not belong anyway) ...??

Also, is it easy to integrate this and pull data from Nobita's Social Groups?

 

[DragonByte Tech]

Let me just verify, from the above, that with this groups add-on group forums WILL NOT show up in my forums list (where they do not belong anyway) ...??

Also, is it easy to integrate this and pull data from Nobita's Social Groups?

In v1.1 they will optionally show up in the forum list. There is an importer from Nobita’s groups.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

DragonByte Tech updated [DBTech] DragonByte Social Groups with a new update entry:

1.1.0

Update highlights

The first major update to Social Groups is finally here

The biggest feature added is XenForo Media Gallery Integration. With the appropriate permissions, group members can either link an existing album they own, or create a brand new one, directly from within their social groups. The URLs of the albums/media items will also reflect what group the albums/media items are in.

The other really notable feature is Virtual Category. By adding a...

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[DragonByte Tech]

The next update to Social Groups, v1.2, will at the very least contain the Sections feature. This feature will allow group admins to create new "forums" within their social groups, and optionally restrict them to only group staff (the exact permission scheme is not yet decided).

The importer from Nobita's forum will also be updated to take this into account

As always, there is no ETA. This is especially true considering the fact that this is a commissioned add-on; the client's requirements will always take priority and the client's testing will need to be completed before a new major version can be released.

 

[Alpha1]

A small but much used feature that Truong/Nobita groups has, is group language. Each group has a language setting. The only thing that this does is set the html language tag for its content. i.e. lang=X
This allows Google to index the content in the correct language. Without it, Google will consider the content garbage because it differs from the language set in XF board settings.
Social Groups are very useful for micro-communities in various languages.

it would be useful if this addon would accommodate this.

 

[CallingHome]

As stated in this thread I funded this addon.

Regarding the "Sections" feature:

This is how a group overview currently looks:



And this is how the discussions list looks like:



Now, my approach would be that we leave it as is and add the Sections like they were sub-forums inside the discussions area; i.e. we display a list of "sections" above the main disussions list. The group member can decide if they want to post inside a "section" or in the main area. Default would be a group without sections and only 1 discussions list.

TL;DR: We add a new feature to add sections to groups, that act like "suf-forums" of the "discussions" list/area.

What do you think, guys?

 

[DragonByte Tech]

Hi all,

Work on v1.2 is entering the final stages / QA, so I thought I'd take some time to share how the "Sections" feature will work in DB Social Groups.

Rather than creating a section by default when a social group is created (or on upgrade from v1.1), sections will indeed be an additional layer on top of the existing structure as @CallingHome suggested above. Doing it this way has multiple benefits, such as saving database space by not needing to create a bunch of records on upgrade, but the chief benefit is the ability to create a global off switch for the "Sections" feature in the XenForo Options for this add-on.

Sections will have the same configuration options as social groups (depending on the XenForo Options setting for what moderation features social group owners can access);



You can disable the ability to create nested sections via user group permissions, and limit the maximum number of sections created per group also via the user group permissions system.

Sections are displayed in the same way forums are displayed, above the discussion list:



Lastly, the importer from Truonglv's social groups will also be updated to support importing sections.

---
I think that should just about cover it for today, I hope to bring you this update soon!

 

[TimeWizardCosmo]

Hey this looks great, I'll make beautiful use of this

 

[Chernabog]

Hi all,

Work on v1.2 is entering the final stages / QA, so I thought I'd take some time to share how the "Sections" feature will work in DB Social Groups.

Rather than creating a section by default when a social group is created (or on upgrade from v1.1), sections will indeed be an additional layer on top of the existing structure as @CallingHome suggested above. Doing it this way has multiple benefits, such as saving database space by not needing to create a bunch of records on upgrade, but the chief benefit is the ability to create a global off switch for the "Sections" feature in the XenForo Options for this add-on.

Sections will have the same configuration options as social groups (depending on the XenForo Options setting for what moderation features social group owners can access);
View attachment 295225
View attachment 295226

You can disable the ability to create nested sections via user group permissions, and limit the maximum number of sections created per group also via the user group permissions system.

Sections are displayed in the same way forums are displayed, above the discussion list:

View attachment 295227

Lastly, the importer from Truonglv's social groups will also be updated to support importing sections.

---
I think that should just about cover it for today, I hope to bring you this update soon!

I like it, of course, all your stuff if first class..... looking forward to the finished product.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

DragonByte Tech updated [DBTech] DragonByte Social Groups with a new update entry:

1.2.0

Update highlights

The second major update to Social Groups is here

There's one major feature I want to highlight; Sections. This is the most requested feature since the v1.1 update, and it allows social group owners to create what are effectively sub-forums inside their social groups.

Sections have access to most configuration options available to the social group, such as discussion sort order / whether posts count etc, with one major change; sections can be...

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[Alpha1]

@DragonByte Tech
This is awesome! Thank you for your hard work!

This update brings me much closer to upgrading my XF1 big board to XF2.
Please consider the following features:

1. Language settings. This will make social group interesting for those sites who want to have a multilingual setup. TruongLV Social Groups has this and many of our social groups are language groups. i.e. our main board language is English, but we have social groups for many countries / languages. For example we have a Spanish group where Spanish speaking members gather.
   More information in my post above:
   

   A small but much used feature that Truong/Nobita groups has, is group language. Each group has a language setting. The only thing that this does is set the html language tag for its content. i.e. lang=X
   This allows Google to index the content in the correct language. Without it, Google will consider the content garbage because it differs from the language set in XF board settings.
   Social Groups are very useful for micro-communities in various languages.
   
   it would be useful if this addon would accommodate this.

2. Import language setting from TrougnLV Groups

A demo would be really useful BTW.