Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis Image 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

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C

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham Image 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.

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Chris Warburton developer for ocProducts

Made some key contributions to ocPortal

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H

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment project manager for ocProducts

None available

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J

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson contributor

written many tutorials via Arvixe

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P

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig Image 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.

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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

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R

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher Image 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

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S

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis project manager for ocProducts

Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe

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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 Can I use the calendar as a personal diary and keep my entries private?
Answer Yes. When adding an event to the calendar, you can choose to make it public or private. Private events are generally used when someone wants to use the calendar system as a diary.
Question How can I set up reminders for events?
Answer When adding or editing an event, you can enable reminders for yourself and specific user groups. You can also choose how much notice you want for each reminder.

Members can subscribe for reminders on an individual event screen. They can also personalize their reminder settings, including removing reminders or having multiple reminders at different times.

Members can also subscribe for notifications to specific event types to be notified whenever events under those types are scheduled.
Question How can I schedule Commandr commands to run automatically?
Answer To schedule commands, create an event with the "System command" event type. This option needs to be enabled in the configuration first. In the event details, you can specify either a URL for Composr to call or a snippet of Commandr code to execute. Be sure to disable the WYSIWYG editor for this type of event. You'll also need to have the system scheduler configured for the commands to run automatically.
Question Can I add external feeds to the calendar?
Answer Yes, you can add RSS or Atom feeds to your calendar. This lets you view time-based information from external sources alongside your calendar events.
Question What do I do if a recurring event needs to be changed or skipped?
Answer Composr has a "fixing an event" feature to handle changes to recurring events. This is useful if an event needs to be cancelled or rescheduled. You edit the event as if it were a new, standalone event and choose the "Edit with fixing past recurrences" option. This separates the past occurrences from the modified event, ensuring future recurrences reflect the changes.
Question What is the "recurrence pattern" and how does it work?
Answer The recurrence pattern is a powerful tool that defines how often an event repeats. While it might seem complex at first, it provides a lot of flexibility. Think of it as a binary code where each digit represents a time period (like a day or week). A "1" indicates the event occurs, and a "0" means it doesn't. This lets you create complex schedules like "every weekday" (daily with pattern 1111100 if it starts on a Monday) or "every other Tuesday" (weekly on Tuesday with the pattern 10).
Question What are the different views available in the calendar?
Answer The calendar has five views:
  • Year view: Displays an overview of the entire year.
  • Month view: Shows events within a specific month.
  • Week view: Displays events for a selected week.
  • Day view: Shows events scheduled for a specific day.
  • Event view: Displays the details of a single event.

You can easily navigate between these views to get different levels of detail and focus on specific periods or events.
Question How do I add events to the calendar?
Answer You can add events in several ways:
  • Through the Admin Zone or Content Management Zone: Go to Admin Zone > Content > Calendar.
  • Directly on the calendar: Click on a date box on the calendar view.
  • Using the "Add Event" button on any calendar view.

Deleting events can be done at the bottom of the event's edit form. You have options for recurring events, such as editing/deleting the specific occurrence, editing/deleting future ones, or all of them.
Question How do I categorize events?
Answer You categorize events using "Event types". Composr provides default types like "Anniversary", "Appointment", "Birthday", "General", "Public Holiday", "Task", "Vacation", and the special "System command" for executing Commandr commands. You can also add your own custom event types to suit your specific needs, such as "Appraisal Session" for a business website.
Question What is an "event" in the Composr calendar system?
Answer An event is any entry in the calendar. Importantly, an event isn't limited to a single point or range in time. Events can recur based on a schedule you define. This makes them very flexible – they can represent anything from one-time appointments to recurring birthdays or even weekly team practices.