Contributors: A-Z Index

A

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Allen Ellis Image 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

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C

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Chris Graham Image 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.

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Chris Warburton developer for ocProducts

Made some key contributions to ocPortal

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H

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Haydn Maidment project manager for ocProducts

None available

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J

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Jim Davidson contributor

written many tutorials via Arvixe

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P

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Patrick Schmalstig Image 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.

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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

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R

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Robert Goacher Image 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

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S

Name Photograph Title / Role Contributions / Notes
Steve Jarvis project manager for ocProducts

Wrote many tutorials via Arvixe

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Newest 10 Entries

Question Can I filter my search results?
Answer Yes, you can filter your search results by:
  • Content type: Choose to search specific content types like news, forum posts, or Comcode pages.
  • Author/Submitter: Search for content submitted by a specific member.
  • Date: Limit your search to content submitted within a specific time frame.
  • Category (for certain content types): Narrow down your search to specific categories within a content type.
Question What is the difference between natural and boolean searching?
Answer Natural search is a more relaxed approach where you type in your search terms and Composr tries to find the most relevant results, even if they don't contain all the words. It's like a Google search.

Boolean search requires more precision and uses operators like "+", "-", and quotation marks to define exactly what you're looking for. For example, searching for "+car -maintenance" will only return results that contain the word "car" but not "maintenance".
Question How do I search my Composr website?
Answer There are a few ways to search your Composr website:
  • Using the search bar in the header: This is the simplest way to search. Just type your search term in the box and click the search button.
  • Using the 'Search' module: This module offers more detailed search options. You can access it via the 'site:search' page-link (usually under About > Search in the default menu).
  • From the Forum: Click the 'Search' button on the forum or use the contextual search box on the forum member bar. This will search within your current forum or topic.
Question How do I mark correct answers in a quiz?
Answer For questions with predefined answers, you can mark correct answers by adding [*] after the answer. If no answer is marked correct, the question will require manual marking. You can also use the [UNMARKED] tag after a question to exclude it from scoring.
Question What is the input syntax for quiz questions?
Answer Quiz questions are inputted in blocks, separated by blank lines. The first line is the question, followed by potential answers on subsequent lines. Different question types are indicated by tags after the question, such as [MULTIPLECHOICE], [MULTIMULTIPLE], [LONG], [SHORT], and [SHORT_STRICT].
Question Can I create complex, multi-screen quiz interfaces in Composr?
Answer While Composr's built-in quiz system is excellent for standard formats, creating intricate multi-screen quizzes might require custom development using Composr's decision tree framework or other programming tools. This allows for highly customized quiz structures and advanced branching logic.
Question How can I analyze quiz results effectively?
Answer Composr enables you to export quiz results to a spreadsheet file, facilitating in-depth data analysis. This is especially useful for manually marked questions, identifying competition winners, and processing data for marketing or research purposes.
Question What are Quiz Sets and how can I use them?
Answer Quiz Sets are a helpful organizational feature in Composr. By prefixing quiz names with "Example: ", you can group related quizzes together. This allows for combined scoring and percentage calculations, particularly beneficial for multi-part questionnaires or tests.
Question How does scoring work for quizzes with different question types?
Answer
  • Multiple-choice and short answer questions: These are automatically marked based on your defined correct answers.
  • Long answer questions: These require manual marking, resulting in a percentage range being displayed to the user until you assess their response.
  • Unmarked questions: These questions are collected but don't contribute to the overall score, allowing you to include optional or non-scored elements.
Question Can I reward users for completing quizzes?
Answer Yes, you can reward users with points for successfully passing a test. This incentivizes participation and encourages users to engage with your content.

Top 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.