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 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.

Question	What is the Composr Member System?
Answer	The Composr Member System is the system used by the Conversr forum software to manage user accounts and information. This includes usernames, passwords, profile information, and usergroups. It also handles user registration, login, and account management. For websites not using Conversr, the member system of the third-party forum software would be used.

Question	Can I Use Composr Galleries to Publish Podcasts?
Answer	Yes, Composr supports creating podcasts from galleries. The podcast URL follows this format: `http://yourbaseurl/backend.php?mode=galleries&select=galleryname&type=rss&itunes=1`. Replace yourbaseurl and galleryname accordingly. This URL can be used to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or other podcast applications.

Top 10 Entries

Question	Can I integrate a dedicated issue management system with Composr?
Answer	While Composr doesn't have a built-in issue tracker, a non-bundled addon (cms_homesite_tracker) provides an integrated, modified version of Mantis. Additionally, the Support Ticket system can function as a basic private issue tracker using features like Post Templates.

Question	How can I restrict access to the support system to specific users?
Answer	Utilize Composr's page access permissions to control who can access the Support Ticket page. This ensures only authorized users can submit support requests. You can also control permissions based on ticket type when adding or editing a ticket type. Make sure if you go this route that the Support Ticket page permissions are very liberal (e.g. allow anyone to access, or just restrict to guests if you will never allow guests to make tickets). Otherwise, some people cannot make tickets even if they have permission on the type.

Question	What are Post Templates and how are they beneficial for support?
Answer	Post Templates are predefined text blocks that can be used as templates for new forum posts. They are particularly useful in support scenarios by: Providing quick responses to common questions. Ensuring consistency in staff responses. Saving time and effort for staff. Post Templates can be configured to be the default post in specific forums or restricted to certain user groups. Go to Admin Zone > Structure > Forums > Post Templates.

Question	How does Composr handle email integration for support?
Answer	Composr can integrate with email for ticket management, assuming certain requirements are met: PHP IMAP extension installed. Functional PHP mail command (local SMTP server or configured Windows SMTP settings). Active system scheduler (Cron). With email integration, users can submit tickets via email, and staff can reply through the system. Composr cleans up email text for ticket clarity and allows forwarding emails to the integrated address for efficient handling.

Question	How can I categorize and prioritize support requests?
Answer	Support Ticket System: Utilize support ticket types, managed in the Admin Zone > Setup > Support tickets. Staff can set individual notifications for different types. Discussion Forums: Create dedicated subforums for different support categories or priority levels. Feedback System: The content to which the feedback is attached implicitly categorizes it. For prioritization, subforums can be used.

Question	What are the advantages of using the Support Ticket system over the Discussion Forums?
Answer	While both systems can be used for support, the Support Ticket system provides advantages like: Separating replies into individual tickets. Ticket assignment to specific staff members. Tracking who has read a ticket. Private replies between staff members. Filtering tickets by type. Automatic ticket creation, unlike manually creating forum topics. Conflict detection when multiple staff are working on the same ticket. Real-time alerts and display updates upon ticket replies.

Question	How can Composr be used as a support desk tool?
Answer	Composr offers three main systems for providing online support: 1. Support Ticket System: This system allows users to submit tickets and staff to respond, track, and resolve them. It features email notifications, ticket categorization and prioritization, staff assignment, and attachment support. 2. Discussion Forums: Conversr, Composr's built-in forum software, can be utilized for support by creating dedicated forums or subforums. Features like post templates and multi-moderations enhance support capabilities. 3. Feedback System: This system allows for comments on various content types, facilitating support directly related to that content.

Question	How can I access the raw data behind the statistics graphs?
Answer	Every graph in Composr offers a spreadsheet export option. This allows you to download the data in a spreadsheet format, enabling detailed manual review or further analysis using third-party tools.

Question	How are time zones handled in Composr statistics?
Answer	All times in Composr statistics are displayed according to the configured website time zone, regardless of visitor or user account time zones. While this is a limitation due to pre-computation, some graphs displaying hourly stats and country filtering offer insights into local times for manual analysis.

Question	What are the limitations of pre-computed statistics in Composr?
Answer	Pre-computed statistics introduce certain limitations: Filtering constraints: Limits filtering options to those incorporated in the data structure. Historical data limitation: To maintain site stability, statistics older than 31 days aren't pre-processed. This may lead to data gaps if the system scheduler malfunctions or statistical data is manually deleted.

Statistics

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