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 can potential conflicts between staff members be avoided (regarding content moderation)?
Answer	Composr incorporates "conflict detection" features to prevent staff from accidentally overwriting each other's work. When multiple staff members attempt to edit the same resource simultaneously, a warning message appears, prompting communication and coordination. Open communication and transparency are crucial. Encourage staff to share their ongoing tasks and plans with each other to prevent overlaps and potential conflicts. Utilizing shared tools like the staff checklist and private forums can further facilitate coordination.

Question	What should be considered when assigning roles and responsibilities to staff?
Answer	When assigning roles, it's recommended to start new staff with limited responsibilities and gradually increase their authority based on performance and dedication. This fosters a sense of progression and prevents discouragement among existing staff. Always consider the individual's skills and interests when assigning tasks. For example, someone with strong writing skills might be well-suited for managing content creation, while a technically-minded person could excel at site maintenance.

Question	How can staff be effectively managed in a Composr community?
Answer	Successful staff management requires a mindful approach that prioritizes fostering a positive and productive environment. Key recommendations include: Respect staff limitations: Avoid overwhelming staff with excessive workload or overly ambitious site expansions. Active involvement: Maintain active involvement in overseeing staff activities and ensuring their effective functioning. Open communication: Engage in regular communication, providing feedback, addressing concerns, and recognizing achievements. Foster teamwork: Encourage collaboration and information sharing among staff members. Lead by example: Ensure staff adhere to community rules and demonstrate expected behavior. Empowerment and trust: Grant sufficient freedom and control to enable staff to excel in their roles. By fostering a supportive and empowering environment, community managers can enable staff to contribute their best efforts and drive the community's success.

Question	How should staff members be chosen for a Composr-based online community?
Answer	Choosing staff for online communities differs from traditional hiring processes due to factors like unpaid positions, varying time commitments, and remote interactions. Focus should be placed on identifying individuals with: Genuine interest: Look for members passionate about the community and its goals. Available time: Ensure potential staff can dedicate sufficient time to fulfill their responsibilities. Relevant skills: Prioritize skills and experience aligned with the specific role requirements. Maturity and discipline: Seek individuals who demonstrate responsible behavior and commitment. Recruitment methods like directly approaching active community members or allowing the Composr points system (or the karma non-bundled addon) to identify dedicated contributors can be more effective than traditional advertising.

Question	How can content issues be reported and addressed by staff?
Answer	Composr's content reporting system, powered by the Tickets addon, allows users to report problematic content to staff. Key features include: Report links: "Report this" links embedded throughout the site enable users to flag content for review. Custom reporting interface: Forums offer a dedicated interface for reporting individual posts. Anonymous reporting: Logged-in users can choose to report content anonymously. Ticket-based management: Reports are automatically created as support tickets, facilitating staff collaboration and record-keeping. Comprehensive report details: Tickets include content title, type, ID, submitter information, an embedded rendering of the reported content, and the reporter's explanation. This system ensures efficient handling of content issues, allowing staff to address concerns effectively while maintaining a transparent record of actions taken.

Question	How can staff members collaborate effectively in Composr?
Answer	Composr offers various tools to facilitate staff collaboration: Private forums: Dedicated forums with restricted access enable staff to discuss site operations and coordinate activities. Composr installs a staff forum by default in Conversr. Conflict detection: When multiple staff members attempt to edit the same resource simultaneously, Composr displays warnings at the top to prevent accidental overwrites. Staff checklist & dashboard: The Admin Zone dashboard provides a shared checklist for task management, along with space for notes and links. Staff notifications and tickets system: Staff receive notifications about various site events, including support tickets from the "Contact Us" page, allowing for efficient issue handling. Content notes: Staff can embed notes within Comcode or use dedicated "staff notes" fields for various content types to share information and context. Validation and workflows: Content can be intentionally left unvalidated even by staff, enabling secondary checks before publishing. A dedicated workflows addon allows for complex approval processes with multiple stages involving different staff groups.

Question	What defines a staff member in Composr?
Answer	There are two ways to define "staff" in Composr: System-defined staff: This includes administrators and super moderators who have specific privileges within the forum/member system (Conversr). Privilege-based staff: Anyone granted the necessary permissions for a particular situation is considered staff for that context. Composr prioritizes flexibility by utilizing privileges over fixed roles, allowing for customized staff responsibilities. However, certain features like "staff reply" in tickets inherently rely on a pre-existing understanding of "staff."

Question	What steps should I take if my website has been hacked?
Answer	If you suspect a security breach, take immediate action: Identify the Cause: Analyze access logs for suspicious activity and pinpoint the vulnerability. Clean and Restore: Restore your website from a clean backup and thoroughly remove any malicious code. Address Vulnerabilities: Patch security holes, update software, and strengthen security configurations. Seek Expert Help: If needed, consult security professionals for assistance with cleanup and prevention.

Question	What additional security measures can I implement for my Composr website?
Answer	SSL: Enable HTTPS for encrypted communication and improved user trust. Secure Zones: Configure sensitive zones to require confirmed sessions. Restrict Logins: Enforce IP address confirmation for enhanced account security. Maintenance Scripts: Restrict access to maintenance scripts like upgrader.php via IP restrictions. Server Hardening: Disable unnecessary services, change default ports, enable automatic updates, and more. Robots.txt: Use the robots.txt file to prevent search engine indexing of sensitive areas.

Question	How does Content Security Policy (CSP) contribute to Composr security?
Answer	CSP adds a layer of protection by controlling the resources the browser is allowed to load. It helps prevent: XSS Attacks: By restricting inline scripts and limiting script sources. Data Injection Attacks: By controlling the allowed origins for data requests. Clickjacking: By specifying allowed framing sources. Composr's CSP implementation utilizes "Trusted partner sites" and nonces for fine-grained control.

Top 10 Entries

Question	What are some of the default endpoints available in the server-side API?
Answer	Default endpoints cover various functionalities, including: Account: join, login, lost_password, setup_push_notifications Misc: contact_us Content: commandr_fs Specific details on parameters and response data for each endpoint can be found in the documentation.

Question	How does authentication work with the server-side API?
Answer	Authentication is handled automatically using cookies, similar to regular website requests. If cookies are not feasible, the response parameters device_auth_member_id_cn/device_auth_pass_hashed_cn/device_auth_member_id_vl/device_auth_pass_hashed_vl from the login endpoint can be resent as POST parameters in subsequent requests.

Question	How do I access the server-side API for my mobile app?
Answer	The server-side API can be accessed via HTTP calls to http://yourbaseurl/data/endpoint.php. Results are returned in JSON format. The API utilizes endpoints with a 'hook' name and a 'hook type' categorization. Both REST-style and GET-parameter style requests are supported, with the latter recommended for simplicity.

Question	What is the purpose of the Composr Mobile SDK Toolkit?
Answer	The Toolkit, part of the composr_mobile_sdk addon, aids in mirroring Composr website resources into a mobile app. It includes tools for generating iOS/Android string resources from language files and exporting theme images in a directory structure suitable for iOS/Android app image assets.

Question	How can I obtain Composr Mobile SDK?
Answer	The iOS/Android SDK can be found on GitLab at: Composr ecosystem / Composr Mobile SDK · GitLab. To connect to a Composr site, you will need to install the composr_mobile_sdk addon, which is not bundled. This addon provides scripting to generate app assets from the Composr site.

Question	What is Composr Mobile SDK?
Answer	Composr Mobile SDK (CMS SDK) is a toolkit designed for experienced iOS and Android developers to build mobile apps that integrate with a Composr-powered website. It offers both Composr-specific integrations and a collection of standalone utilities for building apps, providing a common base between iOS and Android akin to the PHP and Composr APIs, enabling easier code porting while maintaining a native experience.

Question	What is the Composr maintenance policy?
Answer	Composr follows a rolling release model. This means: New major/minor versions are released as they are ready. Patch releases, primarily containing bug fixes, are only released for the latest supported major/minor version branch. Users are responsible for staying updated to the latest release or applying necessary hotfixes. This policy allows developers to focus resources on the latest versions and encourages users to leverage the ongoing improvements. You can find the release status on the Composr maintenance status page.

Question	What are the general courtesy guidelines for interacting with the Composr community?
Answer	Understand that Composr is developed and maintained by volunteers who dedicate their time to the project. Refrain from demanding free support or expecting developers to work on specific schedules. Avoid placing undue pressure on volunteers or pushing them beyond their capacity. Approach the community with respect and a collaborative spirit. Remember that offering financial sponsorship for desired features can accelerate development.

Question	How can I provide design feedback for Composr?
Answer	Constructive design feedback is valuable. To provide effective feedback: Be specific and detailed. Identify particular issues and provide clear examples. Offer solutions. Suggest improvements or provide mockups demonstrating your ideas. Avoid vague statements. General comments like "it looks dated" are unhelpful. Understand design constraints. Consider factors like modularity, generality, feature density, compatibility, performance, and the subjective nature of design. Directly reporting specific design bugs to the tracker or redesigning Composr interfaces yourself are excellent ways to contribute.

Question	How do I make a feature suggestion for Composr?
Answer	You can suggest features through the tracker or the Report Issue Wizard. When making a suggestion: Be comprehensive and self-contained. Provide all necessary information and context for the developers to understand your suggestion. Focus on widely beneficial features. Esoteric suggestions are less likely to be implemented. Understand developer constraints. Feature development depends on factors like developer availability, funding, and project strategy. Consider sponsoring features. Financial contributions can prioritize the development of desired features as it affords developers the time to implement it.

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