This is just a placeholder site for Composr CMS 11 beta. It will become the new homesite once version 11 reaches stable. For the current v10 homesite, click here. Please also use the v10 tracker to report v11 issues.

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 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.

Question	What is the purpose of "confirmed" and "non-confirmed" sessions?
Answer	Composr distinguishes between confirmed and non-confirmed sessions for added security: Confirmed: When you actively log in with your credentials. Non-confirmed: When you return to the site and are automatically logged in via cookies. You can configure zones to require confirmed sessions, preventing access from cookie-based logins alone. The Admin Zone uses this by default.

Question	How can I enhance the security of my Composr installation on shared hosting?
Answer	Shared hosting environments can be inherently less secure. Here are some tips: Choose a Secure Host: Opt for hosts that offer suEXEC and open_basedir for better account isolation. Test Security: Verify the host's security measures with the provided filesystem_browser.php script. Restrict _config.php: Remove world-writable permissions from _config.php after installation.

Top 10 Entries

Question	How do I change my website's logo?
Answer	You can change your site's logo manually or by using the Logo Wizard. To change it manually, go to Admin Zone > Style > Themes. Choose "logo/-logo" from the dropdown list, which represents the logo for the Welcome Zone and any zone without a specific logo. Replace the current image by uploading a new .jpeg, .gif, or .png file. Ensure that the 'Name' field remains unchanged.

Question	What are Composr addons and how do I manage them?
Answer	Composr is built using a series of addons that provide different functionalities. All "bundled" addons are installed by default. Once you are familiar with Composr, it's recommended to remove any bundled addons you don't need to simplify your site and prevent accidental exposure of unconfigured features to visitors (the Setup Wizard can also uninstall these addons based on your preferences). You can manage addons by navigating to Admin Zone > Structure > Addons. Uninstalled addons are archived and can be restored later, but any associated data will be permanently lost. Composr also offers non-bundled addons. These addons are not bundled because they are not considered mainstream, rely on third-party services, haven't been vetted to Composr standards, or don't fully conform to those standards. You can install non-bundled addons by going to Admin Zone > Structure > Addons, scrolling to the bottom and clicking "Import non-bundled addon(s)". You will need to browse to the addon file and click the import button. Once imported, review the warnings and proceed to install the addon. You can also download and import addons from this website under the Downloads section.

Question	What are some of the default Comcode pages in Composr?
Answer	Composr includes several default Comcode pages, each serving a specific purpose: home (Welcome and Site zones): The default front pages for the respective zones. sitemap (Welcome zone): Displays the sitemap, typically generated automatically. _rules (Welcome zone): Outlines the site rules, also displayed during registration. The "rules" page (no underscore) is a wrapper for this page. privacy (Welcome zone): Provides privacy policy information. By default, this is generated automatically with Composr's privacy policy generator block. 404 (Welcome zone): The page shown for 404 errors (page not found) and includes a sitemap. help (Site zone): Contains general help information. userguide_comcode (Site zone): A basic guide to Comcode for users. Remember that you can edit these default pages or create entirely new ones to tailor your site's content to your specific needs.

Question	How do I hide a Comcode page from the sitemap?
Answer	If you want to prevent a Comcode page from appearing in your sitemap, you can simply prefix its name with an underscore (_). For example, pages named "_test" or "_example" would be excluded from the sitemap. Note that this generally does not hide the page from your site itself (to do that, use the validation addon to turn validated to "OFF" for the pages); it only hides them from the sitemap / search engines.

Question	Can I organize Comcode pages in a hierarchical structure?
Answer	Yes, Composr allows you to simulate a hierarchical structure for your Comcode pages using multi-part paths in the page monikers. By editing the page monikers to include slashes (e.g., "about/team"), you can create a virtual directory structure within a single zone, enhancing your site's organization and navigation.

Question	How do I embed content from other modules into a Comcode page?
Answer	You can use various blocks to embed content from different modules: main_content block: Allows you to feature individual entries from modules/content like news or articles. main_multi_content, main_cc_embed, main_gallery_embed, main_news blocks: Enable you to pull in and display multiple entries based on categories or other criteria. main_include_module block: Provides a powerful way to integrate any module screen directly into a Comcode page.

Question	What is the difference between blocks and boxes in Composr?
Answer	While both terms may seem similar, they have distinct meanings in Composr: Blocks are functional units that generate dynamic content or provide specific features. They don't inherently have a visual form and their output can vary widely. Boxes are a visual design element in Composr, essentially containers that visually group content on a page and often with a title at the top. In practice, blocks often place their content within a box, but this isn't a requirement / standard.

Question	Can I customize the appearance of blocks?
Answer	Yes, you can customize the appearance of blocks by editing the associated templates and CSS. Each block typically has a corresponding template file (e.g., BLOCK_MAIN_NEWS.tpl for the main_news block) that controls its HTML structure. You can modify this template to change the layout and styling of the block's output. An easy way to do this is through the template editor in Admin Zone > Style > Themes, and click edit templates for the relevant theme.

Question	How do I add dynamic content to my Comcode pages?
Answer	Composr utilizes "blocks" to embed dynamic content and functionality within Comcode pages. These blocks can range from displaying recent forum posts to showing information about the logged-in user. To add a block, you can use the "block construction assistant" accessible via a button above the editor. This tool provides a user-friendly way to: Browse and select available blocks. Configure the block parameters. Preview the block output. Generate the necessary Comcode to embed the block.

Question	How do I create a new Comcode page?
Answer	Composr provides two easy ways to create a new Comcode page: Method 1: Direct URL Entry Type the desired URL of your new page into your browser's address bar. Since the page doesn't exist yet, Composr will present you with a 404 error and a link to create it. Click the link to open the Comcode page editor. Method 2: Admin Zone Navigate to Admin Zone > Content > Pages (Comcode pages). Scroll down to the list of existing pages and enter the name of your new page using the ":" (page-link) format. For example, a new page in the Welcome zone named "about" would be entered as ":about", or a new page in the "site" zone named "foobar" would be entered as "site:foobar".

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