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Question How can I improve my search results?
Answer Here are some tips for improving search results:
  • Use specific keywords: The more specific your keywords, the better your results.
  • Use boolean operators: Use "+", "-", and quotation marks to refine your search.
  • Optimize content titles and meta keywords: These fields are given priority during search, so make sure they accurately reflect your content.
  • Consider enabling the fast custom index: Especially beneficial for large websites or frequent filtered searches.
Question What is the fast custom index and why should I use it?
Answer The fast custom index is Composr's own search engine, designed to be faster and more efficient than MySQL full-text search, especially for large websites and filtered searches.

Benefits of the fast custom index:
  • Faster filtered searches: Significantly improves search speed when you add filters like category or author.
  • Configurable stop words: Control which common words are ignored during search.
  • Better stemming: More accurately recognizes variations of words (e.g., "like" and "liking").
  • Multilingual support: Indexes content based on different language translations.

Downsides of the fast custom index:
  • Slight lag in indexing new content: New content takes a short time to be indexed.
  • Less accurate ranking: Ranking is based on the most obscure keyword, not a blend of all keywords.
  • Cannot perform blank searches: You must enter at least one keyword.
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.

Top 10 Entries

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.
Question How does Composr prevent spam?
Answer Composr offers several tools and techniques to combat spam, including:
  • CAPTCHA: A visual or audio test that humans can easily pass but bots struggle with. This helps prevent automated spam submissions.
  • Heuristics: If Composr thinks an action is spam based off of configurable criteria, it can either flag the content for validation, block the attempt, or ban the IP address outright.
  • Public block lists: Composr can utilize the Stop Forum Spam system or other block list systems to identify and block known spammers based on IP addresses, usernames, and email addresses.
  • Link posting restrictions: Disallowing links in member profiles for users with no posts and adding "nofollow" attributes to links discourages spammers seeking backlinks.
  • Black hole fields: Hidden form fields that should remain empty. Bots often fill these in, allowing Composr to identify them.
  • Project Honey Pot integration: A system that places hidden links on pages, attracting and identifying spam bots.
  • Content/post reporting: Users can report spam, enabling staff to take action.
  • Guest posting limitations: Restricting guest permissions raises the bar for spammers.
  • Advanced techniques: Developer addons like "antispam_question" or probation systems provide additional layers of protection.
Question What is the "Sitemap" in Composr, and how is it used?
Answer The Sitemap is a hierarchical representation of your website's content, including zones, pages, categories, and entries. Composr generates the Sitemap dynamically and uses it for various purposes:
  • Generating menus.
  • Creating the user-facing sitemap page.
  • Generating the XML Sitemap for search engines.
  • Providing a visual representation of your website structure in the Sitemap editor and Permissions tree editor.

You can edit the sitemap under Admin Zone > Structure > Sitemap editor.
Question Can I change the URL scheme after my website is already live?
Answer Yes, you can enable or change a URL scheme on an existing website. Old URLs will redirect to the new format, ensuring that your SEO isn't negatively impacted. The canonical URL will also be specified in your website's HTML, further protecting your search rankings.
Question How do URL schemes work, and what are the benefits of using them?
Answer URL schemes allow you to control the structure of your website's URLs. Composr offers several schemes that create shorter, more user-friendly URLs:
  • /pg/ (e.g., /pg/home)
  • .htm (e.g., /home.htm)
  • Simple unadorned URLs (e.g., /home)

Benefits of using URL schemes include:
  • Improved user experience with more readable URLs.
  • Potential SEO benefits, as some believe search engines favor cleaner URLs.
  • Easier sharing on social media and other platforms.