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	What special features does Composr's Conversr offer compared to other forum software?
Answer	Advanced Polls: Blind polls, forcing or setting of default options, and point-weighting. Private Topics: More sophisticated than traditional private messages. Forum Introduction Questions: A flexible way to control access and encourage engagement (e.g. forum-specific rules or forum passwords). Cascading Topics: Pinned topics that appear in multiple forums. Integrated Moderation: Streamlined moderation tools within the forum interface.

Question	How do topic polls work?
Answer	Topic polls are a powerful tool for gauging opinion within discussions. You can: Control Result Visibility: Choose whether results are visible before voting. Require Topic Reply: Force users to reply to the topic before voting. Show Voter Identities: Optionally display which members voted for each option. Allow Vote Revocation: Let voters change their vote while the poll is open. Set Voting Close Time: Define a specific date or time for the poll to close. Restrict Selections: Limit the number of options voters can choose. Allow Guest Voting: Enable voting for unregistered users. Weight Votes by Points: Give more influential members greater voting power (requires the points addon).

Question	What are the different types of posts in Composr forums?
Answer	Regular Posts: Standard posts made by members within a topic. Quick Replies: Shorter replies made directly from the topic view. Anonymous Posts: Members can choose to post anonymously, appearing as a guest. Staff can track the actual user if needed. Emphasised posts: Posts made by staff (or marked by staff) which are highlighted to draw attention as they are important. Whispers: Private messages embedded within public topics, allowing for side conversations. Private Topic Posts: Private messages sent between specific members (e.g. an on-site "inbox").

Question	Can I integrate email with my forums (mailing list)?
Answer	Yes, you can enable email integration for each forum individually. This allows members to post and receive updates via email. Requirements: PHP IMAP extension installed System scheduler (Cron) running IMAP-compatible mail server Recommended: Mail server enforces SPF and DKIM for email validation Mail server limits email size to prevent abuse System scheduler runs frequently (e.g., every minute) so members get prompt updates

Question	How do I organize my forums effectively?
Answer	Structure: Composr's forums follow a hierarchical structure. You can create forum groupings, forums, and sub-forums (and sub-sub-forums etc) in that order of hierarchy. Strategies: Avoid creating too many forums, which can dilute activity. Start with a few well-defined forums and expand as needed. Permissions: Use Composr's permission system to control access to forums and features. For example, you can create private staff forums.

Question	How can I keep track of activity in busy forums?
Answer	Composr provides several tools to help you stay up-to-date with forum activity: Virtual Forums: Special forums like "Posts since last visit" and "Topics with unread posts" provide filtered views of recent activity. Read Status: Topics with unread posts are displayed in bold with a jump-to-first-unread link. You can manually mark topics or entire forums as read or unread. Notifications: You can enable email notifications for specific topics or forums, either manually or automatically based on your activity.

Question	What security measures should I consider for local payments?
Answer	While Composr supports local payments (Authorize.Net), it requires high PCI compliance. Ensure you adhere to the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) guidelines, including secure coding practices, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, regular security audits, and staff screening.

Question	How can I audit my eCommerce activity in Composr?
Answer	Composr provides tools for monitoring your eCommerce activities: Sales list management: Cancel purchases, view sales history, and manage refunds (Admin Zone > Audit > eCommerce > Sales list management). Charts: Generate profit/loss accounts and cash flow diagrams for specific periods (Admin Zone > Audit > eCommerce, and Admin Zone > Audit > Site statistics). Manual transactions: Record transactions outside of Composr for accurate accounting (Admin Zone > Audit > eCommerce > Manual transaction).

Question	How do I manage refunds in Composr?
Answer	Monetary payments: Issue refunds through your payment gateway. Point payments: Manually refund points through the points system. Cancellations: Cancel purchases in the Admin Zone to allow repurchasing. Remember to manually undo any associated actions (e.g., removing name highlighting).

Question	What are the shipping options in Composr?
Answer	You can handle shipping costs in three ways: Flat rate per order: Configure a fixed shipping cost for all orders. Weight-based calculation: Define shipping costs based on the order's total weight. Shippo integration: Get real-time shipping quotes from various carriers based on weight, dimensions, and destination.

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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