XF 2.2 Setting up True CMOS Website Citation - Question

[CivilWarTalk]

So, we have a number of articles as well as book reviews that are more and more frequently being used by teachers and students, and it has been recommended several times that we create a space at the bottom of each academic thread or resource with a sample citation for the thread/resource.

In that effort, we've chosen the CMOS format, or Chicago Manual of Style, and this is what it recommends for websites:

How do I cite a website or blog?

To cite a website or blog, list the author, title of the page or post, title or owner of the site, and the date it was posted, in that order. (If you can’t find one of those,

cmosshoptalk.com

So, this is for the most part setting this up is easy. Here is the basic format:

Authors Name, "Thread Name" MyWebsiteTitle, accessed on 2/4/2021, https://MyWebsiteAddress.com/thread/PutThreadAddressHere.001
​

I can provide a template for my members to use to create the citation at the bottom of their post. The problem I'm running into is, I need some kind of variable for "Today's Date", because this should always show the date the page was generated on screen and viewed by the visitor, not the date the page was created by the author.

Currently my best solution is to post our citation like this:

Authors Name, "Thread Name" MyWebsiteTitle, accessed on (Today's Date), https://MyWebsiteAddress.com/thread/PutThreadAddressHere.001
​

Now the viewer needs to be smart enough to know to edit the (Today's Date) with an actual date, and not turn a paper in (assuming it's being used for academic purposes) without an actual date.

 

[CivilWarTalk]

Well, I guess I hit enter before I finished. Anyway, I was thinking, can I create a BBCode, or maybe use the Post Macro Addon to create something that will generate today's date in that spot when you refresh the page?

 

[Paul B]

Not sure if this is what you're looking for.



Check this in the advanced options:


Use it like so: [date][/date].

Output is:


Omit the locale like this:


Output is:

 

[CivilWarTalk]

Not sure if this is what you're looking for.

View attachment 245587

Check this in the advanced options:
View attachment 245588

Use it like so: [date][/date].

Output is:
View attachment 245591

Omit the locale like this:
View attachment 245590

Output is:
View attachment 245589

I just tested that, it works perfectly for my needs, thanks!