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 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.

Question	How does Composr protect against Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks?
Answer	Composr utilizes multiple layers of defense against XSS attacks: HTML Filtering: Configurable levels of filtering prevent malicious script injection. Content Security Policy (CSP): Restricts the sources from which scripts and other resources can be loaded. Input Sanitization: Data is sanitized before being processed to prevent malicious code execution. Output Encoding: Data displayed to users is properly encoded to prevent interpretation as active code.

Question	What are the different types of security alerts in Composr?
Answer	Composr has a variety of hack-attack codenames that trigger security alerts and logging. Some common examples include: DODGY_GET_HACK: Suspicious URLs with potentially harmful characters. EVIL_POSTED_FORM_HACK: Possible CSRF attempts via malicious form submissions. SCRIPT_UPLOAD_HACK: Attempts to upload PHP scripts, potentially malicious. DOWNLOAD_PRIVATE_URL_HACK/TRY_TO_DOWNLOAD_SCRIPT: Attempts to download sensitive files. BRUTEFORCE_LOGIN_HACK: Repeated failed login attempts. SQL_INJECTION_HACK: Attempts to exploit SQL queries for data extraction. You can customize alert handling for each type in data_custom/xml_config/advanced_banning.xml (Admin Zone > Security > Configure advanced banning).

Question	What are some tips for secure website maintenance?
Answer	Avoid FTP: Use secure alternatives like SFTP or SSH for file transfer. Secure Email: Enable SSL for IMAP and POP3 email protocols. Strong Passwords: Use unique and complex passwords for different services. Secure Computers: Keep your own devices patched and secure. Maintenance Password: Remove the maintenance password from _config.php when not in use.

Question	What are the main security features of Composr?
Answer	Composr has a robust set of security features to protect your website, including: Passwords: Visual representation of password quality and enforcement of complexity rules. Password expiry and prevention of re-use. Secure password hashing, even if the database is compromised. Temporary passwords for staff setup. Login Restrictions: Two-factor authentication via IP address approval. IP address banning, including wildcard banning. Session locking to IP addresses. Configurable session expiry times. Ability to prevent privileged actions from auto-logged in sessions. Optional member approval process. Auditing Systems: Comprehensive audit logging of administrative actions. Logging of user actions and IP address history. Tools to analyze audit logs. Failed login logging. Hack attack detection, logging, and banning. Email notifications for changes to user credentials. Framework Security: Protection against CSRF attacks. Click-jacking prevention via CSP implementation. Secure coding standards and scanning techniques. Configurable HTML filtering to prevent XSS attacks. Secure code modularization standards. Other features: Granular privileges and access permissions. Content submission validation process. Rootkit detection system. Spam prevention systems. Web application firewall rules. Moderation systems.

Question	Why are my searches slow, and how can I improve search speed?
Answer	Slow searches can occur when dealing with large amounts of content. Here are some workarounds and solutions: MySQL timeout setting: For MySQL 5.7+, set a query timeout to prevent searches from locking up your database. Composr automatically sets this, but you can configure it manually if needed. Use InnoDB tables: Switching to InnoDB tables in MySQL can prevent slow queries from affecting other users on your website. Note that InnoDB is not officially supported by Composr yet. Enable the fast custom index: As mentioned earlier, the fast custom index is optimized for handling large datasets and filtered searches, potentially leading to significant speed improvements.

Question	How does the search engine handle different languages?
Answer	Composr's fast custom index supports multiple languages. Content is indexed based on its translated version, ensuring that you get relevant results even when searching in a different language.

Question	What are quoted phrases and how do they work?
Answer	Quoted phrases allow you to search for an exact sequence of words. For example, searching for "red apple" will only return results containing that exact phrase. Keep in mind that enabling quoted phrases can increase disk space usage.

Question	How do stop words affect search results?
Answer	Stop words are common words (like "the", "a", "is") that are ignored by the search engine because they add noise and don't contribute to the meaning of the search query. You can customize the list of stop words for the fast custom index. See the search tutorial for more information.

Top 10 Entries

Question	What is the Composr Repository?
Answer	The Composr repository is a user-friendly representation of Composr's data, which is typically stored in a database and on the filesystem. It presents the data in an easily accessible format using the JSON standard and can be accessed as a folder on your computer via WebDAV.

Question	What is Commandr?
Answer	Commandr is a command-line interface designed for experienced system administrators who prefer using a command line over a GUI. It supplements the Composr Admin Zone, allowing you to execute commands in the form of: PHP code (prefix `:`) SQL database queries (prefix `@`) (queries must be executed one at a time; semi-colon separation is not supported) Shell commands (prefix `#`) Commandr-code scripts (store in the Composr filesystem's bin directory, and just type the name of the script) Commandr-code commands (no prefixes) You can access Commandr via the Admin Zone > Tools > Commandr or using the Commandr button in the footer.

Question	Are there alternative chat solutions that integrate with Composr?
Answer	Yes, you can integrate third-party chat solutions with Composr. For example, CometChat is a commercial chat system that provides a Composr integration. You can also leverage video chat services like Talky, Jitsi, or appear.in by embedding links within your chat templates. For sales-chat needs, consider integrating a dedicated live chat platform like Comm100.

Question	Are there any limitations to the Composr Chat system?
Answer	While the Composr Chat system provides robust chat and IM features, it does have some limitations. Currently, it does not support video chat, sales-focused chat features, desktop app integration, or optimal performance for very high volumes of concurrent users. Additionally, it is only near real-time as Composr queries for new messages using AJAX at a set interval.

Question	Are there any safety guidelines for younger users?
Answer	It's crucial to emphasize safety, especially for younger users. Encourage them to follow these guidelines: never arrange to meet anyone from a chatroom in person, be cautious about sharing personal information, and report any suspicious behavior to moderators.

Question	Can I download chat logs?
Answer	Yes, you can download logs of any chat conversation. Simply navigate to the chatroom, click on the "Download chat logs" link, specify the desired date/time range, and the system will generate a downloadable log file for you.

Question	How can I moderate the chatrooms?
Answer	Composr offers a range of moderation features. Moderators can edit or delete messages, ban disruptive users, and delete entire chatrooms if necessary. Inline moderation links are available within chatrooms for quick actions, while the Admin Zone provides comprehensive moderation tools for managing chat content and user behavior.

Question	What is Chatcode and how can I use it?
Answer	Chatcode is a system of simple commands that you can embed within your chat messages to perform advanced actions. These actions include sending private messages to specific users within a chatroom, interacting with automated bots, sending chatroom invitations, and even creating new chatrooms.

Question	How does the chat system work?
Answer	The chat system utilizes AJAX technology, enabling dynamic updates without requiring page reloads. It includes a "Chat Lobby" where users can view available chatrooms and manage their friend lists for instant messaging. Users can join chatrooms to participate in group conversations or engage in private conversations with friends.

Question	What is the Composr Chat system?
Answer	Composr Chat is a feature built into the Composr CMS that provides both chatrooms and instant messaging capabilities. It offers real-time, text-based communication for users on your website.

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