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 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.
Question How can I implement security measures for my quizzes?
Answer Composr provides several features to enhance quiz security and prevent cheating:
  • Restrict access: Limit quiz participation to specific usergroups or newsletter subscribers.
  • Shuffle content: Randomize question and answer order to make it harder to copy answers.
  • Set time limits: Enforce quiz completion within a specified timeframe.
  • Define open time ranges: Control when the quiz is accessible to participants.
Question How do I create and manage quizzes in Composr?
Answer You can create, edit, and delete quizzes from the Composr Admin Zone:
  • Navigate to Admin Zone (or CMS Zone) > Content > Quizzes.
  • Use the provided interface to define your quiz questions, answer options, and settings.
  • You can manage quiz results and view participant responses under Admin Zone > Audit > Quizzes.
Question What types of quizzes can I create in Composr?
Answer Composr supports three main types of quizzes:
  • Surveys: These quizzes gather information from participants without right or wrong answers, making them ideal for collecting opinions and feedback.
  • Tests: Tests assess knowledge with right and wrong answers and provide immediate feedback to participants, including pass/fail results. They're suitable for evaluating understanding of a topic.
  • Competitions: These quizzes rank participants based on their scores, allowing you to select winners. Competitions are great for engaging users and promoting specific content or events.
Question How does rank work in Conversr?
Answer Conversr utilizes a rank system based on your accumulated rank points. As you earn points, you progress through different usergroups, unlocking new privileges and benefits. Your rank is a status symbol within the community and often grants access to exclusive features or content.

This is subject to your configuration. To make a rank ladder based on points, go to Admin Zone > Security > Usergroups. You are given options regarding ranks when adding or editing a usergroup.

Members can see their rank and progress on their member profile rank tab. They can also see all the rank-based benefits they unlocked and ones yet to unlock in future ranks.
Question What is points escrow and when would I use it?
Answer Points escrow is a system that holds points securely during transactions involving a written agreement, often for a product or service. This ensures trust and provides a resolution mechanism in case of disputes.
  • Creating an Escrow: You initiate an escrow on the member's profile points tab, specifying the amount, reason, and any agreement details.
  • Points Held: The points are deducted from your balance and held by the system.
  • Agreement Fulfillment: Both parties must mark the escrow as satisfied upon fulfilling the agreement.
  • Points Release: Once both parties are satisfied, the recipient receives the points.
  • Disputes: If either party has a dispute, they can dispute the escrow, which then locks it down and notifies a staff member to review and take a resolution action.
Question Can I create a leaderboard to showcase top point earners?
Answer Yes, Composr offers a leaderboard block and module to display top point holders. You can customize the leaderboard to show weekly, monthly, or yearly rankings, filter by usergroups, and exclude staff members if desired. This can encourage healthy competition and motivate members to earn points.

Go to Admin Zone > Setup > Leader-boards to create a leader-board.
Question How can I modify points for members?
Answer Staff members with the "Moderate members' points" privilege can directly credit or debit points from members' accounts. This can be used to reward exceptional contributions, refund purchases, or penalize rule violations.
Question What is the purpose of the points ledger?
Answer The ledger provides a transparent and immutable record of every point transaction on the website. It ensures accountability and allows members to track their point activity. Members can view their own ledger, and with the appropriate privilege, they can also see the ledgers of others.

Top 10 Entries

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 Image
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

Name Robert Goacher
Photograph Image
Title / Role Founder
Contributions / Notes

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

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

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.

Links

gameRevolt (@[email protected]) - LinuxRocks.Online

Website Earth & Sky
Screenshot Image
Short Description Earth & Sky is a Composr v11 gallery website showcasing natural photography by Mark Brunner.
Website Saving Wallden
Screenshot Image
Short Description This is an informational website for a Visual Pinball X game in development called "Saving Wallden". The site features the planned game rules, development news, and a download of the game as it is so far.
Website PDStig, LLC
Screenshot Image
Short Description This is an informational site / portfolio for PDStig, LLC, the company run by one of Composr's lead developers, Patrick Schmalstig.
Website Composr CMS: Content management meets social media
Screenshot Image
Short Description This is the main website for Composr CMS version 11. It runs the latest build of v11. Currently it is just a placeholder but will soon replace compo.sr when v11 becomes stable.
Question Should I use the bleeding edge releases or the git repository?
Answer

That depends on several factors. Here are some pros and cons of each:

Bleeding edge releases Git repository (v11 branch)
Easier to set up and use, and does not require knowledge of git Harder to set up and use unless you are familiar with git; must routinely run the file integrity check, database upgrade tool, and check database schema tools in the upgrader after pulling
More stable, but less frequent updates Less stable, but more frequent updates (almost daily!)
Only contains core code and addons unless you manually install non-bundled addons; non-bundled addons must be manually updated Contains all core code and non-bundled addons; non-bundled addons are updated with pulls (though you will need to check file/database integrity often and check blocks/modules for available upgrades)
Ability to test the upgrader / upgrading between new v11 versions Not able to effectively test the upgrader because git pull might load in and update new code early before the release is available
Always contains the latest files.bin and db_meta.bin because these are compiled with every release Does not always contain the latest files.bin and db_meta.bin. Therefore, file and database integrity may report false-positives.
Intended for general user testing Intended for developers / developer testing:
* special run-time checks are enabled for extra debugging (if the .git directory exists in the install)
* contains the automated test suite for running tests

Click here to access the git repository.
Question Can I switch a v11 install from git over to using the releases from composr.app?
Answer

It is not recommended you do this because you may run into issues. For example, some changes were made in crypto_master.php and data/upgrader2.php prior to the first v11 alpha. These changes will result in a broken upgrade unless you already pulled these changes from git. Similar situations could happen in the future as well.

It is recommended you either discard the git install and use a fresh install from the Downloads, or to maintain a git install and a bleeding-edge release install separately. Do not combine the two.