Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis		Founder	Original designer for ocPortal Also conceived and coded the Theme Wizard and Point Store Son of one of the early inventors of Internet protocols (Usenet, aka Internet newsgroups) Token non-brit	View

C

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham		Founder	Original developer of ocPortal, former lead developer of Composr CMS Masters degree in Computer Science from The University Of Sheffield Undertaken work for over 15 FTSE-100 companies, as well as many small and mid-sized organisations. Includes a number of banks and major brands.	View
Chris Warburton		developer for ocProducts	Made some key contributions to ocPortal	View

H

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment		project manager for ocProducts	None available	View

J

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson		contributor	written many tutorials via Arvixe	View

P

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig		Lead Developer	Joined Chris Graham behind the scenes in the development of Composr CMS in 2016. Took on the lead developer role in 2023 when Chris Graham stepped back to attend to his new lifestyle changes. Spearheaded the development of Composr CMS v11 and the new website, Composr.app. Formed the company PDStig, LLC to take on professional support and development for Composr CMS users especially after the discontinuation of ocProducts, Ltd.	View
Philip Withnall		Early Developer	Coded the chatroom, blogging support, the analytics system, and OcCLE (now Commandr) Masters Degree in Computer Science degree from The University Of Cambridge Other work has included helping out with Firefox, and ongoing work on GNOME	View

R

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher		Founder	Ran some of the early websites where ocPortal came from Technically the original developer of ocPortal, in that he wrote the first few lines of code Heavily involved in the feature design process Hosted some of our early meet-ups	View

S

Name	Photograph	Title / Role	Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis		project manager for ocProducts	Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe	View

Newest 10 Entries

Question	What are URL Monikers and how do they benefit SEO?
Answer	URL Monikers replace generic numerical IDs in your URLs with descriptive keywords derived from your content titles. For example, instead of yoursite.com/page.php?id=123, you can have yoursite.com/about-us. This makes your URLs more user-friendly and helps search engines understand the topic of each page, improving your search ranking. You can set monikers in the "Metadata" section when adding / editing content.

Question	What is an XML Sitemap and why is it important?
Answer	An XML Sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on your website, helping search engines understand your site's structure and content. Composr automatically generates a comprehensive sitemap, including forum topics if you are using Conversr. Ensure your system scheduler is enabled for automatic sitemap submission to search engines. You can also manually generate and submit the sitemap if necessary.

Question	How can I improve my website's ranking in search engines?
Answer	Composr offers various features and best practices to enhance your SEO: Content Optimization: Write high-quality, keyword-rich content using clear headings, relevant links, and descriptive image alt text. URL Monikers: Enable this feature to create human-readable URLs that incorporate keywords instead of numerical IDs. XML Sitemaps: Composr automatically generates and submits XML Sitemaps to major search engines, aiding them in discovering and indexing your content. robots.txt: This file allows you to control which parts of your site search engines can access and index. Composr provides a default robots.txt that can be customized as needed.

Question	What are the primary metadata elements I should focus on?
Answer	While Composr provides extensive metadata options, the key elements to prioritize are: Title: The title tag appears in browser tabs, search results, and when your page is shared. It should be concise, descriptive, and include relevant keywords. Meta Description: This short summary entices users to click on your search result. It should be engaging, informative, and accurately reflect the page's content. Open Graph data: These protocols control how your content appears when shared on social media and other websites. They utilize elements like title, description, and images to create visually appealing previews. Favicon and Apple Web Clip image: These small icons represent your website in bookmarks, browser tabs, and on mobile home screens. They contribute to branding and visual recognition.

Question	What is metadata and why is it important for my website?
Answer	Metadata is information about your web pages that isn't directly visible to visitors, but is used by search engines and social media platforms to understand and categorize your content. Well-crafted metadata helps search engines properly index your site, making it more likely to appear in relevant search results. It also improves how your website appears when shared on social media, encouraging clicks and engagement.

Question	What should I do about offensive or off-topic discussions?
Answer	Decide on your moderation approach: balancing viewpoints, adhering to community standards, or focusing on topic relevance. Be prepared to face criticism regardless of your decisions. Establish clear rules and policies to guide user behavior.

Question	What resources are available to help me navigate these legal and social challenges?
Answer	Composr offers various resources, including tutorials on accessibility, staff management, and general website dos and don'ts. You can also consult external resources like the COPPA website and Wikipedia for more in-depth information on specific laws and regulations. Remember that seeking legal counsel may be necessary for complex situations.

Question	What are some social considerations for running a website with community features?
Answer	Managing a community involves addressing social issues like child protection, free speech, discrimination, and abuse. Establish clear policies on these matters, including content moderation guidelines and procedures for handling feedback. Consider the diverse personalities and potential vulnerabilities of your users.

Question	What are my legal responsibilities regarding illegal content posted by users?
Answer	While "safe harbor" laws offer some protection, you are still obligated to take down illegal content upon becoming aware of it. Implement measures like content checks, clear rules prohibiting illegal uploads, and liability disclaimers. The level of responsibility varies depending on the severity of the content, from copyright infringement to more serious criminal content.

Question	What steps should I take to make my website accessible?
Answer	Website accessibility is essential for inclusivity and may be legally required under anti-discrimination laws. Composr is designed to meet high accessibility standards, but you need to maintain this when creating content or modifying templates. Following WCAG guidelines is crucial, and you can find more information in the accessibility tutorial.

Top 10 Entries

Question	What is "pinging" and how does it work in Composr?
Answer	In blogging, "pinging" is an automatic notification sent to blog search engines and other services when you publish a new post. Composr can automatically ping services defined in Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Feature options. These services then index your new article, making it searchable. A default ping service (`http://pingomatic.com/ping/?title=title&blogurl=url&rssurl=rss`) is pre-configured to relay your ping to numerous other services. You can customize the ping URL with these placeholders: title: The article title url: The article URL rss: The URL of your news RSS feed Pinging only occurs for news categories accessible to the public (guests).

Question	How do I schedule a news post to be published at a specific time?
Answer	Once you have enabled the system scheduler (requires the Composr calendar and commandr addons), an advanced scheduling option will appear when adding or editing news posts. By setting a future date and time, your post will remain unvalidated until the chosen time, at which point it will be automatically validated and published.

Question	How can members edit their profiles and account settings?
Answer	Members can edit their profiles and account settings through the "Edit" tab on their profile page. They can change their password, update personal information, manage their avatar and signature, and adjust their privacy settings. Administrators have access to additional options for managing member accounts.

Question	What is the difference between member terms?
Answer	Visitor: Any one or device who visits the site but is not necessarily identified User: Any visitor who can be identified (e.g. has a session ID or tracked IP address) Guest: A user who is not logged in (in Conversr, they all share a special "Guest" ID / account) Member: A user who is logged in with a registered account on the website (they have a username and a member ID) Author: Specific to the authors addon, a profile of an entity (could be a member, individual, or even a company) who makes content for the site Subscriber: A user who receives newsletters from the site (they do not necessarily have to be a member) Submitter: A user who submitted content (usually a member, but could be a guest if the site is very open to submissions) Staff: A member who moderates any significant portion of the website Super-moderator: A staff member with global moderation capabilities Moderator: Same as super-moderator but does not have those capabilities globally; they may only be able to moderate certain sections or content Super-administrator: A staff member with literally undeniable access to everything on the site Administrator: Same as super-administrator but they might not have access to the most elevated of privileges such as accessing maintenance scripts It's important to understand these distinctions to properly manage permissions, track user activity, and personalize the website experience.

Question	What are Welcome Emails and how do they work?
Answer	Welcome Emails are a series of automated emails sent to new members on a predefined schedule. They can be used to introduce the website's features, encourage engagement, and provide helpful information. Website administrators can customize the content and schedule of these emails.

Question	How can I enhance or enforce the security of member passwords?
Answer	Composr offers several features to improve password security: Password Strength Setting: Administrators can set a minimum password strength requirement, forcing members to choose stronger passwords. Password strengths are calculated on a scale of 1-10 using algorithms that take into account letters (including case), numbers, symbols, repeat characters, use of dictionary words, and use of usernames / dates of birth / e-mail addresses. Forced Password Resets: Administrators can force specific members or all members to change their passwords upon next login, enhancing security in case of potential breaches. Expiring passwords: Administrators can require members to change their password after so many days. Encrypted CPFs: If the server has the OpenSSL PHP extension installed, specific CPFs (such as ones containing other passwords) can be encrypted to protect sensitive member data in case of a server compromise.

Question	Can I import or export member data?
Answer	Yes, Composr allows you to import and export member data using CSV spreadsheet files. This is useful for transferring member information between different systems, performing bulk updates, or creating backups. The export feature provides various filtering options, and the import feature supports adding new members and updating existing ones. Go to Admin Zone > Security > Members > Export members.

Question	What are usergroups and how do they work?
Answer	Usergroups are a way to categorize members and assign them specific permissions and privileges. Each member can belong to one or more usergroups, and the permissions granted by those usergroups determine what actions they can perform on the website. Website administrators can create and manage usergroups, define their permissions, and assign members to them. They can also assign leaders who then have permission to manage the members of that specific usergroup.

Question	What are Custom Profile Fields (CPFs) and how are they used?
Answer	CPFs allow website administrators to collect additional information from members beyond the basic profile fields. These fields can be customized to fit the specific needs of the website, such as collecting job roles, hobbies, or interests. CPFs can be used to: Enforce specific requirements for membership (e.g., job role in a company forum). Categorize members based on their interests or affiliations (e.g., football players in a school forum). Display additional information on member profiles and forum posts.

Question	How do new members join a Conversr website?
Answer	Members can join your Composr site in a few ways: Regular Registration: Users can click on "join" links, agree to your rules, and fill out a registration form. They will then receive an activation email to confirm their email address (if enabled). Invites: You can restrict joining to invite-only. Existing members can send invites, and only those who receive an invite can register. Manual Addition: Administrators can manually create member accounts through the Admin Zone. This is useful for pre-joining members or handling issues with the regular registration process. Other Methods: Composr also supports automatic member joining through LDAP and HTTP authentication.

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