Lack of interest [Suggestion] Integrated plugin/skin browser in ACP?

[RickM]

Not too sure if this has already been suggested (searched), but how about this for the AdminCP.

An area where you can browse all plugins/addons and skins for XF that are stored in a repository on your server. They could then be installed through a single click.

Basically, how Wordpress handles them. They have an area where develoers can add their mods, and they then come up in a search via any Wordpress ACP. Obviously there is some form of an approval process to get listed.

This would surely help those who aren't wanting to constantly upload plugins/skins, plus would not 'bulk out' the admin area.

 

[Shamil]

This was suggested less than 24 hours ago. I can't find the thread for you now as I'm on my phone.

 

[Shamil]

This was suggested less than 24 hours ago. I can't find the thread for you now as I'm on my phone.

Small correction, it was brought up in a topic in questions abd answers. I'm still sure this has been suggested before though.

 

[dutchbb]

I think a big drawback would be less visitors in the forum add-ons section(s) so less feedback/discussion and possibly less interest for coders to release free add-ons (since they get no thank you or likes, or other positive feedback). I think vBulletin has a good mod community because the mods are released on a forum where they can be dowloaded, receive feedback etc.

 

[RickM]

I think a big drawback would be less visitors in the forum add-ons section(s) so less feedback/discussion and possibly less interest for coders to release free add-ons (since they get no thank you or likes, or other positive feedback). I think vBulletin has a good mod community because the mods are released on a forum where they can be dowloaded, receive feedback etc.

I see where you're comming from, and I'm sure there could be a way to address this. But surely the ability to instantly/automatically install addons is a huge plus.

It's done wonders for Wordpress. Even if you are one of the (many) people who dislike wordpress, you cant deny that it is a fantastically easy part of the system to use. No having to upload/position/chmod files etc.

To overcome people visiting the forum/thread for the mod, there are a few things (off the top of my head) that may help:

• Link the documentation links to the thread (so if someone wants to learn how to use a plugin/mod, they would then need to read the discussion thread which I assume will require a XenForo.com account).
• When updates are released, some kind of 'star' shows up with the number of updates. This links to a page that shows which mods/plugins have updates. When you click on them, it takes you to the thread to view the changelog.

Obviously these would need work, but I really feel the idea shouldn't be abandoned.

 

[Forsaken]

The thing is... Wordpress doesn't depend on discussions and feedback in the forum as much as forum modifications would.

Also, forums go through much more modifications then Wordpress and aren't really that comparable.

I much rather see this done the way most of us are familiar with, but possibly with a lookup feature in the ACP, which could take us to the thread. 

 

[RickM]

The thing is... Wordpress doesn't depend on discussions and feedback in the forum as much as forum modifications would.

Also, forums go through much more modifications then Wordpress and aren't really that comparable.

I much rather see this done the way most of us are familiar with, but possibly with a lookup feature in the ACP, which could take us to the thread.

I disagree..any mod/plugin requires user input regardless of size or functionality. ITs just how you go about getting that feedback from the user.

Not too sure how familiar you are with wordpress, but their plugin system is no small feature. It's been used for everything from forum modifications, to contact forms, to full blown e-commerce systems and its clearly worked extremely well.

Surely you can see that if the existing idea on wordpress was built on and improved upon, it would provide a fantastic feature, unique to XenForo that no other forum system has been able to implement.

 

[Forsaken]

I disagree..any mod/plugin requires user input regardless of size or functionality. ITs just how you go about getting that feedback from the user.
 
Not too sure how familiar you are with wordpress, but their plugin system is no small feature. It's been used for everything from forum modifications, to contact forms, to full blown e-commerce systems and its clearly worked extremely well.
 
Surely you can see that if the existing idea on wordpress was built on and improved upon, it would provide a fantastic feature, unique to XenForo that no other forum system has been able to implement.

My feeling about using a system similar to Wordpress is that it feels unorganized; quite honestly, it becomes a pain to find things due to how everything is organized. I also feel that it isn't centralized enough; yes, you can find tons of plugins, and you -can- discuss the plugin, but much of the support tends to be done on the blogs of the creator, which isn't as user friendly as offering one centralized hub.
 
vBulletins system has issues, however it also has its benefits. Everything is basically in one spot, and if it was organized better (Ways to filter out categories of modifications), and they were strict with the organization, I can see finding modifications being much easier.
 
A Wordpress like system could work, but I see a lot more work then doing it the way that vBulletin has done it (Not that their method is perfect).

Also, I think Woltlab has a system similar to Wordpresses in concept, though I haven't used it in a long time. 

 

[RickM]

My feeling about using a system similar to Wordpress is that it feels unorganized; quite honestly, it becomes a pain to find things due to how everything is organized. I also feel that it isn't centralized enough; yes, you can find tons of plugins, and you -can- discuss the plugin, but much of the support tends to be done on the blogs of the creator, which isn't as user friendly as offering one centralized hub.

vBulletins system has issues, however it also has its benefits. Everything is basically in one spot, and if it was organized better (Ways to filter out categories of modifications), and they were strict with the organization, I can see finding modifications being much easier.

A Wordpress like system could work, but I see a lot more work then doing it the way that vBulletin has done it (Not that their method is perfect).

Also, I think Woltlab has a system similar to Wordpresses in concept, though I haven't used it in a long time.

I can see that we'll just have to agree to disagree. At the end of the day, pretty much all issues against this raised are very easy to overcome.

 

[Chromaniac]

a centralized repository of plugins and themes is a great idea. i like the wordpress implementation. vbulletin in comparison is pretty complicated.

 

[Forsaken]

I can see that we'll just have to agree to disagree. At the end of the day, pretty much all issues against this raised are very easy to overcome.

I'm not 100% against it, it matters on implementation of the idea.

Wordpress has less focus on discussion on the plugins, much of which seems to happen on the developers site for support and the like (At least in the cases I have seen from my usage), where I feel a stronger focus on discussion for the modifications is more applicable for XenForo. 

If you can suggest what you'd do to modify the Wordpress system to work for XenForo, I can probably see your point, as I seem to be missing it partly. 

 

[Chromaniac]

yeap. most development talks on wordpress themes and plugins usually happens on the developer's own website. they usually post the changelog and other details on their own website rather than on the official repository.

 

[darkon]

SMF does this and i think MyBB also offers to browse the official mod-pages in their new version... so it isn´t unique.

But i prefer to to use a forum for plugins. When i´m searching or browsing in vb.org i do it for a while and read the supportthreads before installing anything, just to find out if this is the right plugin for me and if the support is ok.

 

[Forsaken]

yeap. most development talks on wordpress themes and plugins usually happens on the developer's own website. they usually post the changelog and other details on their own website rather than on the official repository.

Thats the main issue I have with the Wordpress system for plugins.
 

SMF does this and i think MyBB also offers to browse the official mod-pages in their new version... so it isn´t unique.

But i prefer to to use a forum for plugins. When i´m searching or browsing in vb.org i do it for a while and read the supportthreads before installing anything, just to find out if this is the right plugin for me and if the support is ok.

http://community.woltlab.com/db/index.php is WBB's system.

A forum structure which adheres to a strict organization scheme with release requirements honestly seems the easiest to me; with vBulletin I had issues with finding some things so I browsed every page, which was annoying, however if theres an organized way to list and filter things, that would be superb.

Its all dependent about the approach however; I can see a Wordpress system working, but there would need to be a lot of changes as discussions and support need to be centralized. New members will -not- like having to go all around the internet for support or discussion on the modification. 

 

[Chromaniac]

biggest problem on vbulletin plugin repository? it uses the vbulletin search engine which does not work real well for generic searches.

i end up browsing through the forum to find interesting plugins myself. it took me a while to find out a plugin for vb4 that merges multiple post by the same author in the same thread in one flow.

 

[Forsaken]

biggest problem on vbulletin plugin repository? it uses the vbulletin search engine which does not work real well for generic searches.

i end up browsing through the forum to find interesting plugins myself. it took me a while to find out a plugin for vb4 that merges multiple post by the same author in the same thread in one flow.

;p thats why I made sure to emphasis the need for stricture organization and release requirements ;p.

vBulletins system is way to disorganized, but everything is centralized, which is its main benefit. 

 

[Been Told]

Good suggestion. I've always liked this about Wordpress. +1 Like.