How do I report an emergency problem with my Composr site?
Answer
Emergency problems are events that have significantly and suddenly affected your website's functionality due to legitimate bugs or undocumented usability issues. To report these:
Open a tracker issue explaining the problem and providing as much detail as possible (mark it as a major bug).
Help the developers help you. Provide access to your site (see the software feedback tutorial for more information), describe the exact situation, and avoid protracted back-and-forth communication.
Take backups before upgrading. This allows for easier recovery in case of problems.
Remember that bug fixing is not a free service. While developers are committed to Composr's stability, maintaining backups and practicing restoration procedures is your responsibility.
The community forum is an excellent resource for support. Users can help each other out with various problems. However, please remember that there's no guarantee of free professional support. If you need immediate or guaranteed assistance, consider hiring a professional developer.
I'm getting a lot of spam on my site. What can I do?
Answer
Composr offers various anti-spam measures. Refer to the Anti-spam settings tutorial for advice on configuring these settings. If you believe there's an issue with the anti-spam system itself, report it to the issue tracker. Do not report general spam incidents.
My website is experiencing performance issues. What should I do?
Answer
If you are experiencing performance issues, first identify the specific problem with your web host's help. Composr provides tools to manage database size, bandwidth, and disk I/O. However, high request volume or CPU usage may require server upgrades like a VPS or dedicated server.
If your web host complains about resource usage, gather detailed information from them, including specific URLs causing problems and resource usage metrics. If their limits are unreasonable, consider switching web hosts.
Security problems must be reported privately. You can do this by marking the issue as 'Private' on the issue tracker (if you use the Report Issue Wizard, it will do that automatically when you select security-hole). Publicly disclosing security holes is irresponsible and may result in penalties. The core developer team will disclose the issue after a patch is released.
Every bug, no matter how small, should be reported. You can report bugs using the Report Issue Wizard or directly through the issue tracker. There is also a link to report bugs on your Admin Zone Dashboard where the version information is located. And when clicking that link, you can view open issues specific to your version of Composr.
When reporting a bug, be sure to:
Check for duplicates: Make sure the bug hasn't already been reported.
Report bugs individually: Each issue should be reported separately for better tracking and resolution.
Verify it's a Composr bug: Issues with third-party addons and code should be reported to their respective developers.
Consult the FAQ and tutorials: Check for common problems and solutions, particularly server configuration issues.
Provide comprehensive information: Include a clear and specific title, detailed steps to reproduce the problem, your browser version, Composr version, error messages, stack traces (if available), and any other
relevant details.
Use clear and concise language: Write in proper English, use correct terminology, and avoid vagueness.
Be respectful and patient: Remember that developers are volunteers and may not respond immediately.
The robots.txt file provides instructions to search engine crawlers about which parts of your website they should and should not access. You can customize the robots.txt file to prevent sensitive content from being indexed or to guide crawlers toward the most important areas of your site.
What is SEO and why is it important for my Composr website?
Answer
SEO is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). By improving your SEO, you increase the visibility of your website, driving more organic (non-paid) traffic to your content.
Composr provides several ways to customize your metadata:
Site-wide Settings: You can configure default metadata for your entire site in the Admin Zone under Setup > Configuration > Site options.
Content-Specific Settings: When adding or editing content like Comcode pages or news posts, Composr provides fields for customizing titles, descriptions, and keywords specific to that content under the "Metadata" section.
Automatic Detection: Composr can automatically generate metadata by analyzing your content, but it's generally recommended to refine these suggestions manually for best results.
Should I trust agencies that promise top search engine results?
Answer
No; be wary of agencies guaranteeing top rankings for any desired keyword. Achieving top results for competitive terms requires significant effort, expertise, and often, an ongoing strategy.
Focus on agencies that prioritize ethical "white-hat" SEO techniques like creating valuable content, optimizing website structure, and building natural backlinks. Avoid those employing "black-hat" methods that can lead to penalties from search engines.
What is rate limiting and how can I enable it in Composr?
Answer
Rate limiting prevents server overload by restricting the number of requests allowed from a single IP address within a specific timeframe. To enable Composr's built-in rate limiting, add the following to your _config.php file:
Static caching drastically improves performance by serving pre-generated pages to bots and guests. This works because these users typically don't require dynamic content. To enable it:
Go to the Installation Options editor (yourbaseurl/config_editor.php). You will need your maintenance password.
Activate the static cache option.
Composr intelligently determines what to cache, and you can further control this via options within the Installation Options. Be aware that enabling static caching may disable eCommerce features for guests unless specifically configured.
If you're having issues with notifications, here are some troubleshooting steps:
Check Email Logs: View the email log (Admin Zone > Audit > E-mail queue/log) to see what notifications have been sent.
Use the SU Feature: Impersonate a member using the SU feature (described in the "Testing access and privileges" tutorial) to view their notification settings and confirm they are set up correctly.
Enable Carbon-copy Email: Configure a "Carbon-copy e-mail address" in the configuration settings to receive copies of all outgoing emails, including notifications. This helps you monitor email delivery.
Verify System Scheduler: Ensure the system scheduler is configured correctly if members are not receiving digest emails.
Check Digest Settings: Confirm that "Enable digest notifications" is enabled in the Messages configuration settings.
Review "Safety listing limit": If a notification has too many categories, members might not see the full selection tree. Adjust the "Safety listing limit" in the configuration settings if necessary.
Can I control which notifications members receive?
Answer
Yes, you can control notification settings through two mechanisms:
Notification Defaults: You can set default notification preferences for all members. You can enable or disable specific notifications and choose the delivery method (Admin Zone > Setup > Notification defaults).
Notification Lock-down: You can force members to receive or prevent them from receiving certain notifications (Admin Zone > Setup > Notification lock-down). This allows you to enforce specific notification policies and manage email volume.
What notification options are available to members?
Answer
Members can choose from a wide range of notifications, including:
Content Updates: Notifications for new or updated content, such as news articles, forum posts, and gallery images.
Private Messages: Alerts for new private messages received.
Friend Requests: Notifications for new friend requests.
Administrative Actions: Alerts for actions taken by site administrators, such as account approvals or content moderation decisions.
Members can choose to receive notifications via:
Email: Notifications sent directly to their email address.
Digest Email: Combined summaries of activity sent in batched emails. This requires the system scheduler and the digest e-mails configuration option to be enabled.
Private Topics: Notifications delivered as private forum topics.
SMS: Notifications sent as text messages (requires configuration and incurs costs).
Web Notifications: Real-time alerts displayed within the Composr interface.
Can I share content like news and banners across the M.S.N.?
Answer
Yes, you can share news by placing it on the central site and using RSS blocks on satellite sites to display it. Banners can be shared by adding them to the central site and configuring satellite sites to use the central site's banner.php script.
What are Composr Clubs and how are they useful for subcommunities?
Answer
Clubs are special usergroups in Conversr (Composr's forum system) designed for creating subcommunities. They come with their own dedicated forums and are managed by members, taking pressure off site staff.
Key features:
No special permissions by default, simplifying permission management.
Members can join and leave like regular usergroups.
