"Blind Posting" vs a GR8 Forum Site & REDUCING Response Time

[treat2]

"Blind Posting" is what poeple tend to do, and it leads to a much less lively or non-lively Site in almost every Forum on the Net.

Posting blindly is having no idea of:

1) # of ppl in each Forum. Requires small new colum on Forum Index Page.
2) # of ppl withint each Topic within a Forum. Requires small new colum on Forum Topic Index Page.
3) # of ppl on that Web Page: Requires (at the top of each Post's Web Page
the IDs of the PPL viewing that page separated by a comman, followed by a space. Guests are unnecessary to include.)

PF Admin: I'm not sure I really follow you here...why should it matter who is actually looking at a category near the time you are? Many people only spend say 1/2 hour reading/writing posts and will pick up on a thread they like or have been following. As for following, you can get an email alert for anything you post. Just select the checkbox when you post (on by default if you start a new thead). As for displaying people, you can check who's online in general and the category they're in by following the "Who's Online" link at the bottom of most pages: http://www.politicalforum.com/viewonline.php...as for adding that to every page, I'm not sure I can make that kind of modification since I know squat about PHP (Perl I do know but that won't help me here.)

How to do it! When the member ID's are retrieved:

When the page is First Display, after any action that causes the page to Refresh, including the Refresh Brownser button.

PF Admin: This is a little confusing but I think I get it...maybe english isn't your first language?

A NEW HYPERLINK FUNCTION REQUIRED(to make this REALLY Work well & REDUCE Server overhead, keep pages in the Server's and the Databases Cache more often, reduce bandwidth needs, reduce database searching and # of hits on the database, and much more). The Funciton is called :
"View New Posts" BUT it is NOT only the new posts when you logon, and it is a dynamic list that everyone can seel in each Forum, AND On the Main Forums Index Page. The Function provides a List of perhaps 20 New Posts
and is always updated by the database, and the Page itself is updated when display, and Refresh is hit to reflect the list every on in A Forumn or on the Forum Indx Page can see. The List would differ for The Forums Index page
because it should show the Name of the Forum as well as the name of the post and the name of the poster and time posted.

The new posts are displayed as hyperlinks and DISPLAYS the number of users viewing the new posts, too!!!

PF Admin: You do know that we have a new posts function added a few weeks ago. Its not what you describe but I think its decent enough for our quaint little forum. Showing what you want is maybe overkill and wouldn't be that useful except on a very active forum. We don't even have 500 users yet and usually only 5-10 users on the whole forum at any one time. Again, I suggest you make a couple posts and come back the next day and check them, make a couple more, etc. If you want more active political discussion please go to a chat site, IRC channel, AOL , etc.

Why and How will it help. Want to see this at work???
Check out: www.glocksuinlocked.com

PF Admin: This URL does NOT work; in fact, its not even registered. Please make sure your links work before you post them. We do not allow editing and will never except maybe to mods because we want to make sure what once you post something here its set, no taking it back or rewording things or someone else's post. I make typos now and then but I've found it difficult reading your posts as you apparently do not check them for errors. Please use our Preview button first (and maybe SpelChek) to keep your posts clean and intelligible.

The site is for Gun nuts. I got banned. Sob. Despite owning 2 guns, I disagree that the 2nd Amendment has been correctly interpretted. They took me for a troll. (LOL).

What to do: locate the view all new posts, locate where they show the number of users viewing forums, topics, and pages.
Locate where the "Vuiew New Posts" Hyper link is, on various pages.
That done, click on Viewe new posts, to bring up that page in another window
(Righjt click, then open new window)..
Now, go to the General Discussion Forum at the top. Post something contraversial, that Rebups won't like very much. THEN, click on the tawskbar to bring back the view new post page hit refresh every 30 seconds AND WATCH EVERYONE HYPERLINK directly to that post! ASSUMING it is a busy time for web sites, like 8 or 9PM EST, Watch how many people gather respond to tthat posts and have a lively debate (they will probably flame you). Then, after 2 or 3 show up, the numbers will begin to climb, as you start debating!

The DIRECT HYPERLIN AND THE View New Posts Page, is what reduces a huge amount of overhead, on your Server, Database, Disk, Netwoork, and Keeps the Page in the Databases Chache making the response time for it, very quick on the refresh!

PF Admin: We only get maybe 5-10 people at one time. Some of that would be nice, but are you going to program a mod for me? Why don't you find a mod out there for phpBB and let me know about it, then we'll consider it, but something this detailed would take a good programmer, plus it should be for a site that's worth it. And so far, this site produces maybe $.25/day at best, and I can only spend like 1-2 hours a day (that's why we have to eventually get mods). A lot of work went into making it what it is, and so far our database isn't having any read problems I know of. And server load doesn't even seem to be affected by this website. If the website seems slow to you its prob because we're bandwidth limited and there's a device that enforces this between our box and the internet backbone. Plus there are other bandwidth intensive websites using the same pipe that can slow things down, plus we get constant password hacking, SYN floods, worm/virus scanning, port scanning, etc. so the little overhead this site requires is negligible, esp considering PHP is a webserver module and is always loaded in memory, sort of like how ModPerl/FastCGI work.

The number of posts that will be created on that one thread, if it is a good topic, and there are about 10 ppl there, which there are certain to be at a decent hour, will climb like you have never seen, and the Site will have VIRTUALLY everyone involved in perhaps one or two debates that may be going on, when there's a subject they really disagree with. Debatinhg the 21nd mendment is one they will all jump on, and still call you a troll.LOL

PF Admin: I think what you call "Blind Posting" is what most people want in a forum site. Maybe we just aren't right for you. Again, why not find a decent IRC channel or something. We would like debates, discussions, arguments, etc. to get prolonged over many days. We plan to not delete any theads (except obvious spam, profanity, off topic, etc.).

THAT is how to avoid the "blind postsing" that everyone normally does, on 99% of the Forum Sites.

PF Admin: Again, your constant misspellings are really crazy, don't you re-read at all? You need to slow down, take a deep breath, and learn how to write you ideas down in a few sentences. We ask that you not drink and post here (or do crystal or whatever stimulant you seem to be on)

It can make any and every forum site that has members into a really great site. Near Interactive! Your not posting blindly at anything that strikes your interest. It is alot easier for a member to use to go to where the action is.
One of the first steps is the "Users In Forum" column, and the "Users In Topic column" on the Forums Index Page nad the Froum Topics Page. A not so hard additional function is a few rows (not underlined) at the TOP of each Post's web page to show the users viewing that page.

PF Admin: Do you just mean to iframe or table our existing user list? How do I get these special lists? Is it already part of phpBB? Are you a programmer and can write a mod for us? Or do you already know of a mod? It seems like you really want stuff but aren't really offering any inexpensive way of doing it? I have to work for a living so I'm not going to put that much into a site unless its really needed. If you'd like to donate cash maybe I can find a programmer to do this work. Typically min $75/hour, usually much more. If you can provide about US$600 maybe I can get this programmer I know to do these changes within about 8 hours of custom programming.

You have Part of the Users Viewing Posts Page Code Already, that can be use in a "View New Posts" Hperlind to a new Web Page. SHOWING THE NUMER OF USERS Viewing the New Posts is CRITCAL, AS IS, showing the usrs at the top of the Web page, so that you know when poeple are going away and coming in, and not even there.

PF Admin: Again, do you know what you're talking about here? (Notice that in that case one would say "you're" and in other cases people say "your" but they are completely different meanings...need to work on that grammer). How do I hyperlink a page and make it show up. When you hyperlink something, it produces a link that someone has to click. Only iframes or tables can begin to do what you're talking about, or modification of phpBB to include this stuff. But then how do I hyperlink in PHP? And you're right about load, if on every page a listing of current users were shown, I would need a decent caching system that isn't already in phpBB that I know of (nor in my database program that I know of) in order to show actual real-time user activity. Again, I implore you to please wrote this mod in PHP and make sure it works for all platforms and the current version of phpBB. If you can give me that, I may just try it.

DadadadaTs ALL folks!

Why is this going to reduce response

PF Admin: I don't know? Is that a question? Did you accidently hit Submit? Again, I please ask that you read your text before posting it.

[PoliticalForum]

I made responses there to make for easier reading since this was a lengthy post.