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	How do I restore my Composr website from a backup?
Answer	Composr backups come as .tar or .tar.gz files. Extract the archive using an extraction program like 7-zip or your web hosting control panel. To restore a full backup: Upload the extracted files to your webserver, overwriting the existing files. Run the included restore.php script in your browser. This script will restore the database from the restore_data.php file. To restore incremental backups: Restore the initial full backup. Sequentially extract and overwrite files from each incremental backup over the restored full backup. The last extracted restore_data.php will contain the latest database state. Run restore.php to restore the final database version.

Question	What alternative backup strategies are available?
Answer	Many web hosting control panels include built-in backup features that operate at the system level, often offering higher reliability than web-based scripts. Ensure you back up both files and the database. For database backups, you can use tools like phpMyAdmin, which allows you to export your database as a .sql file.

Question	How do I create a backup of my Composr website?
Answer	Composr offers a built-in backup addon accessible from Admin Zone > Tools > Backups. You can choose between full, incremental, and database-only backups. Full backup: Backs up all files and folders within the Composr installation directory, including the database. Incremental backup: Backs up only new or changed files since the last backup, resulting in smaller backup files. Database backup only: Backs up only the database. The addon allows scheduled backups or manual backup generation. It is recommended to download backups to a location outside your web server for better security. Note: The Composr backup addon is limited by server-side PHP capabilities and might not always be reliable. Consider using alternative backup strategies offered by your web hosting control panel for increased reliability.

Question	Why are backups necessary for my Composr website?
Answer	Disasters like hard disk failures, data corruption, and unexpected errors can happen at any time. A good backup strategy helps you recover your website and its data in case of such events. Backups can also help you roll back to a previous state if needed, such as after a failed upgrade or accidental changes.

Question	How can I control the privacy of member profile fields?
Answer	You can control the privacy of member profile fields through the "Member privacy controls" configuration option. If you enable the "Extended privacy option control", you can fine-tune visibility settings for each field. Otherwise, you can set simple access levels (e.g., not at all, to members, to friends, to everyone) for each field.

Question	What is the difference between a Composr member and an author?
Answer	A member is someone who has created an account on your Composr website and can log in. They have a unique member ID and username, and can interact with the site's features. An author is someone who creates content for the site. They may or may not be a member. For example, you might have an author who submits articles via email but never actually visits or joins the website.

Question	What advanced techniques are available for dealing with persistent spammers who repeatedly create new accounts?
Answer	Composr's advanced banning features target sophisticated human spammers. Automatic bans can be configured to block users based on specific strings in their posts, while reasoned bans display customized messages to banned users, potentially deterring them. These measures, coupled with the ability to investigate users via IP address analysis, offer robust tools for managing persistent threats. You can configure advanced banning under Admin Zone > Security > Configure advanced banning.

Question	How does Composr handle user banning and what options are available?
Answer	Composr offers various banning mechanisms. You can ban members by editing their accounts (ban member tick box), preventing logins while still allowing guest access. IP address banning blocks access from specific IP addresses or ranges (Admin Zone > Security > Members > Investigate user to see their IP addresses and flag certain ones for banning). You can also restrict member submissions, or you can effectively "suspend" users by assigning them to a usergroup with minimal privileges (e.g. probation).

Question	What is the "Warn Member" form and how can I use it to handle rule violations?
Answer	The "Warn Member" form provides a centralized interface for addressing user misconduct. You can issue formal or off-the-book warnings, apply punitive actions like IP bans, usergroup changes, or probation, and even delete content or charge points. This form allows you to document reasons for actions, improving transparency and consistency in moderation. This tool can be accessed on a member's profile as staff, under Audit > Warn member. You can also review their warnings history on their "Standing" tab.

Question	How does Composr track user activity?
Answer	Composr logs IP addresses for various actions like guest posting, page views, and content submissions. This data helps identify potential spammers and track user behavior. The "Investigate user" module provides tools to analyze IP addresses and gather additional information about suspicious activity.

Top 10 Entries

Question	Can I display different content to different usergroups?
Answer	Yes, you can achieve this by leveraging Tempcode within your templates. By using conditional statements like `{$IS_IN_GROUP}` and `{$HAS_PRIVILEGE}`, you can show or hide specific content sections based on the user's group membership or privileges. This technique allows you to "tease" premium content to non-paying users or tailor the user experience based on their access level.

Question	What are match-key permissions and why would I use them?
Answer	Match-key permissions provide a more granular level of access control beyond the standard zone, page, and category permissions. They allow you to restrict access based on specific "match-keys", which are unique identifiers for different actions or content within Composr. For instance, you could use match-key permissions to prevent guests from submitting banners or to restrict access to the member directory for all but specific usergroups. You can also specify custom access denied errors for each match-key. A "match-key" is typically a page-link, such as `cms:cms_banners:add`.

Question	How can I control who can view specific pages or categories?
Answer	You can manage access control for zones, pages, and categories primarily through the Permissions Tree Editor (Admin Zone > Security > Permissions Tree Editor). This tool provides a central location to set view permissions for different usergroups. You can also edit individual zone and category permissions through their respective editing interfaces, but the Permissions Tree Editor offers a more streamlined and efficient approach.

Question	What is the difference between access permissions and privileges in Composr?
Answer	Access permissions control whether members of a certain usergroup can view specific areas of your site, such as zones, pages, and categories. A member only needs one of their usergroups to have access permission to view the content. But permissions work on a deny-first policy; if one of the permissions applicable to viewing something is denied for a usergroup, then the whole thing is denied for that usergroup (e.g. even if a download itself grants access, access will be denied if its category denies access). Privileges, on the other hand, dictate what actions a usergroup is allowed to perform across the website, like using advanced Comcode or bypassing the word filter.

Question	How can I change the news archive display to show summaries instead of just headlines?
Answer	By default, the news archive screen shows only headlines. To display summaries like the news block, add :inline=1 to the page-link. For example, if your news archive page-link is site:news, modify it to site:news:inline=1. This will show summaries instead of just the headlines in the archive view.

Question	What are Trackbacks and how do they work in Composr?
Answer	Trackbacks are a blogging feature that creates a link from an article on one blog to an article on another, acting as a citation mechanism. How Trackbacks Work: The original article includes a "trackback" link in its HTML. When another blogger writes an article referencing the original, their software uses the trackback link to inform the original site. Composr receives the trackback and displays a list of articles linking back to the original. To enable trackbacks, go to Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Feature options and check the "Trackbacks" option. You can then enable trackbacks for individual content items.

Question	How can I filter the news archive to show specific content?
Answer	The news system allows advanced filtering: Blog vs. Non-Blog Posts: Choose to display blog posts only, regular news posts only, or both. Category Filtering: Limit results to specific news categories. Double Filtering: Apply a second category filter for a two-level categorization system (useful for large sites). These filters are controlled through parameters passed to the news blocks and carried through navigation links. When viewing a news post, you can also filter by the categories associated with that post.

Question	How do I display external RSS feeds on my Composr website?
Answer	Composr offers two blocks for displaying RSS and Atom feeds in a news-like format: main_rss block: Suitable for main content areas side_rss block: Designed for sidebars and smaller spaces To add a block, use the Block Construction Assistant or insert the following Comcode into your page: `[block="http://example.com/feed.xml"]main_rss[/block]` `[block="http://example.com/feed.xml"]side_rss[/block]` Replace "http://example.com/feed.xml" with the actual feed URL. Important: Exercise caution when using external feeds. Ensure the source is trustworthy, as malicious feeds can contain harmful code.

Question	What are RSS/Atom feeds and how do they benefit my website?
Answer	Feeds, in formats like RSS and Atom, are XML files that syndicate your website content, making it accessible beyond your website. They can be viewed using feed reader applications (e.g., Feedly, Vienna) or integrated into other websites or web browsers. Composr supports both RSS and Atom for syndicating news and other content. While RSS is more common, Atom is a cleaner, standardized format. Both effectively share your content updates. Benefits: Wider audience reach: Your content becomes accessible to those using feed readers and aggregators. Content repurposing: Other websites can incorporate your feed, increasing visibility. Increased traffic: Users discovering your content in feeds may visit your website directly. Staying on top: Those who use your RSS feeds will see when you post new news articles.

Question	What are Personal Categories/Blogs in Composr? How do I create one?
Answer	Composr allows members of permitted usergroups to have their own personal news categories, also known as "blogs". These blogs appear as a tab on the member's profile (Conversr-only) and may also appear in the main news block depending on your configuration. To create a blog, a member simply adds a news post and selects their personal category. If the category doesn't exist, it will be automatically created upon submission. A dedicated "Blogs" CMS module (Admin Zone > Content > Blogs) is available if the "Separate blogs" configuration option is enabled. This simplified module focuses on blog posting and can be used to restrict members from submitting to general website news.

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