Wildcat Media
Well-known member
It is a growing problem here in XF's own Resources area with outdated add-ons remaining in the system, where the developers may have abandoned them. As I operate a big board forum (and several others of varying sizes), there are some add-ons we grow to depend on, only to have them suddenly rendered inoperable due to an XF upgrade that makes them stop working or throw a lot of errors. In a professional forum, especially ones that some of us monetize or count on for traffic or exposure, it can create a lot more problems beyond error messages.
If anything, the RM should have a couple of built-in features, such as:
1. A warning flag mentioning that the add-on is not current--in other words, does not work with the newest version of XF;
2. A warning flag if the resource is over a certain age (admin selectable, such as six months, one year, etc.);
3. A way for users to report outdated resources as "dead" or "unsupported" where hopefully the site admin can flag these resources as such, or move them to a "graveyard" so forum members realize the resource is inactive;
4. A rating system similar to WordPress where downloaders can report whether the add-on "works" or not; it would be separate from the overall star ratings.
My frustrations with WordPress and its many thousands of abandoned and/or outdated plugins and themes is starting to manifest itself here as the number of add-ons grows. And I would think that any site offering their own "resources" will likely see the same. Some sort of flagging system would really help keep things current.
If anything, the RM should have a couple of built-in features, such as:
1. A warning flag mentioning that the add-on is not current--in other words, does not work with the newest version of XF;
2. A warning flag if the resource is over a certain age (admin selectable, such as six months, one year, etc.);
3. A way for users to report outdated resources as "dead" or "unsupported" where hopefully the site admin can flag these resources as such, or move them to a "graveyard" so forum members realize the resource is inactive;
4. A rating system similar to WordPress where downloaders can report whether the add-on "works" or not; it would be separate from the overall star ratings.
My frustrations with WordPress and its many thousands of abandoned and/or outdated plugins and themes is starting to manifest itself here as the number of add-ons grows. And I would think that any site offering their own "resources" will likely see the same. Some sort of flagging system would really help keep things current.
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