Features: A-Z Index
A
Administration Zone
B
Banners
C
Calendar
Catalogues
Chatrooms and IM
Community features
Content Sharing
Conversr Forums
Conversr Topic Polls
D
Design without barriers
Downloads
E
Ease of Use
eCommerce and Subscriptions
Extendable
F
Featured Content
G
Galleries
I
Installation
Integration
L
Localisation
M
Membership
N
News and Blogs
Newsletters
P
Parental Controls
Performance
Points
Privacy Tools
Q
Quizzes and Surveys
R
Rich Media
S
Search Engine Optimisation
Searching
Security
Spam Protection
Stay on Top
Structure / Navigation
Support Tickets
T
Template Programming Language
Testing tools
Themeing tools
Third party integration
W
Warnings / Moderation
Web Pages
Web standards
Website Polls
White-labeling (Debranding)
Wiki+
Newest 10 Entries
| Title | Calendar |
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| Icon | |
| Description | Day/week/month/year views Advanced “recurring event” settings Event subscriptions: Receive reminders and notifications by event or event type Warnings about conflicting events Microformats support Integrate a calendar month view, or an upcoming events view, onto your design Supports categories: Have multiple event types Multiple time zones: Have different events in different time zones with configurable conversion settings. Priority flagging: Choose between 5 priorities Programmers can even use the calendar to schedule custom tasks (Commandr) to be run RSS and Atom support: Export support, but also support for overlaying news feeds onto the calendar. Supports geotargeting Feedback: Allow members to comment and rate events. Segregate feedback on recurring events by date. |
| Title | Galleries |
|---|---|
| Icon | |
| Description | Multimedia: Supports images, videos, audio, and more. Personal galleries: Allow your members to create their own galleries which show up on their profile. Support for embedding YouTube videos: Save on bandwidth. Auto-detection of video length and resolution (most file formats) Full tree-structure support: Have galleries within galleries within galleries. Multiple display modes View entries as a slideshow Automatic thumbnail generation Mass import: Also supports importing metadata Optional watermarking: To guard against thieving swines
Geotargeting Adjustments: Automatic size and orientation adjustments according to metadata. |
.| Title | Catalogues |
|---|---|
| Icon | |
| Description | Think “databases on my website”. Flexible data control: Set up multiple catalogues, each with its own set of fields. There are many types of fields, such as short text fields, upload fields, and date fields. Multiple display modes: Display the contents of categories using tables, boxes, or lists. Powerful structure: Each catalogue contains categories which contain entries. Catalogues can have a tree structure of categories and/or work from an index. Configurable searching: Choose which fields are shown on categories, and which can be used to perform searches (template searches). Compliance with data protection legislation: Specify which fields may contain sensitive data. These fields will be anonymised as appropriate when members download or purge their data. Entirely customisable: Full support for customising catalogues, categories, and entries, exactly as you want them- field by field. You can even make custom page templates per-catalogue. Classified ads: Entries can automatically expire and get archived. You can also send out view reports. Community interaction: You can allow users to comment upon and rate entries. Import data from CSV files Periodic content reviews: Helping you ensure ongoing accuracy of your data. |
| Name | Patrick Schmalstig |
|---|---|
| Photograph |  |
| Title / Role | Core Developer |
| Contributions / Notes | 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. Stepped back as lead developer in April 2025 due to economic constraints. |
| Links |
| Name | Jim Davidson |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | contributor |
| Contributions / Notes | written many tutorials via Arvixe |
| Name | Chris Warburton |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | developer for ocProducts |
| Contributions / Notes | Made some key contributions to ocPortal |
| Name | Haydn Maidment |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | project manager for ocProducts |
| Contributions / Notes | None available |
| Name | Steve Jarvis |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | project manager for ocProducts |
| Contributions / Notes | Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe |
| Name | Philip Withnall |
|---|---|
| Title / Role | Early Developer |
| Contributions / Notes | 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 |
| Name | Allen Ellis |
|---|---|
| Photograph |  |
| Title / Role | Founder |
| Contributions / Notes | 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 |
Top 10 Entries
| Question | What advanced techniques are available for dealing with persistent spammers who repeatedly create new accounts? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Composr's advanced banning features target sophisticated human spammers. Automatic bans can be configured to block users based on specific strings in their posts, while reasoned bans display customized messages to banned users, potentially deterring them. These measures, coupled with the ability to investigate users via IP address analysis, offer robust tools for managing persistent threats. You can configure advanced banning under Admin Zone > Security > Configure advanced banning. |
| Question | How does Composr handle user banning and what options are available? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Composr offers various banning mechanisms. You can ban members by editing their accounts (ban member tick box), preventing logins while still allowing guest access. IP address banning blocks access from specific IP addresses or ranges (Admin Zone > Security > Members > Investigate user to see their IP addresses and flag certain ones for banning). You can also restrict member submissions, or you can effectively "suspend" users by assigning them to a usergroup with minimal privileges (e.g. probation). |
| Question | What is the "Warn Member" form and how can I use it to handle rule violations? |
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| Answer | The "Warn Member" form provides a centralized interface for addressing user misconduct. You can issue formal or off-the-book warnings, apply punitive actions like IP bans, usergroup changes, or probation, and even delete content or charge points. This form allows you to document reasons for actions, improving transparency and consistency in moderation. This tool can be accessed on a member's profile as staff, under Audit > Warn member. You can also review their warnings history on their "Standing" tab. |
| Question | How does Composr track user activity? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Composr logs IP addresses for various actions like guest posting, page views, and content submissions. This data helps identify potential spammers and track user behavior. The "Investigate user" module provides tools to analyze IP addresses and gather additional information about suspicious activity. |
| Question | What is post history and why is it important? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Post history tracks changes made to forum posts, including edits and deletions. This feature helps monitor for inappropriate edits or attempts to cover up spam or rule violations. Staff can review the history, restore deleted content, or even permanently erase it. |
| Question | Can I moderate content in Composr forums? |
|---|---|
| Answer | Yes, Composr provides various moderation tools for managing forum content. Moderators can edit or delete posts and topics, move topics between forums, close or open discussions, and validate content submitted by users who require approval. These are done in an actions dropdown on a topic, or through buttons on individual posts. |
| Question | What is the "black hole" technique and how does it work? |
|---|---|
| Answer | The "black hole" technique involves adding hidden fields to forms. While invisible to human users, bots often detect and fill these fields, revealing their nature. Composr uses this information to flag and block suspected spam submissions. |
| Question | How can I report spam in Composr? |
|---|---|
| Answer | You can report spam using the "report this" link or "report" (forum post button) feature. This alerts staff to the issue, allowing them to investigate and take appropriate action, such as deleting the spam, warning the user, or banning them. It also creates a Support Ticket between the reporter and staff in case the staff need further information. |
| Question | What are Remote Block Lists (RBLs)? |
|---|---|
| Answer | RBLs are third-party lists that track IP addresses associated with spamming activity. Composr can be configured to consult these lists and block or flag requests from suspicious IPs. However, relying solely on RBLs may lead to false positives, as some lists are overly broad. |
| Question | What are CAPTCHAs and how do they work? |
|---|---|
| Answer | CAPTCHAs are tests designed to differentiate between human users and bots. Composr's unique CAPTCHA method uses CSS and JavaScript to generate images or audio challenges that are difficult for bots to solve. While effective, some spammers use human workers to bypass CAPTCHAs, leading to the need for additional anti-spam measures. |
