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

Question What are gift points, and how do they work?
Answer Gift points are a separate points balance that can only be sent to other members as gifts. They cannot be spent directly or used in escrow transactions.

Gift points are earned daily based on usergroup membership and replenish independently of the regular points balance. When a member sends gift points, they become regular points for the recipient.
Question Can members send points to each other?
Answer Yes, members can send points to each other as a token of appreciation, reward for a service, or as part of an agreement using the Points Escrow system.
Question How does content validation affect point earning?
Answer Points are typically awarded immediately upon content submission to encourage participation. However, forum posts requiring validation only earn points after approval to deter spam. To further encourage high-quality content, consider using the "awards" addon to reward exceptional contributions.
Question Can I reward members who use specific browsers or operating systems?
Answer Yes, Composr allows you to configure bonus points based on browser/platform criteria. You can set bonus points for members using Open Source browsers, specific operating systems, or even those who have enabled privacy features like "Do Not Track" (DNT) or "Global Privacy Control" (GPC).
Question What's the difference between points balance and rank points?
Answer Points balance refers to the number of points a member currently has available to spend. This is the 'liquid' currency they can use for various actions.

Rank points represent the total points a member has accumulated throughout their time on the website. These points determine the member's rank, which can grant access to additional privileges and act as a status symbol.
Question How can members earn points on my Composr website?
Answer Members can earn points in various ways, including:
  • Joining the website: A welcome bonus for new members.
  • Daily visits: Encourage regular engagement.
  • Content interactions: Liking, rating, and submitting various forms of content.
  • Forum participation: Posting and having posts validated.
  • Chatroom activity: Reward active participation in chatrooms.
  • Quizzes and polls: Encourage learning and engagement.
  • Website recommendations: Reward referrals.
  • Receiving points from other members: Facilitate community appreciation.
  • Selling downloads: Monetize content creation.
  • Birthdays: Offer a special bonus on their birthdays.

Most earning methods can be customized in the Admin Zone > Setup > Configuration > Points options to fit your website's needs.
Question What are cleanup tools in Composr and how do I use them?
Answer Cleanup tools assist with website maintenance by deleting unnecessary data and optimizing database tables. They are divided into "De-cachers" and "Optimizers". You can access them through:

Admin Zone > Tools > Cleanup tools.
Question How can I access PHP-Info in Composr?
Answer PHP-Info provides a comprehensive overview of your PHP configuration. You can access it within Composr by navigating to Admin Zone > Tools > PHP-Info / Server Checks.

This page also provides additional useful server information.
Question What is the purpose of the Health Check feature in Composr?
Answer The Health Check feature in Composr proactively identifies potential issues that may affect your website's performance, security, and overall health. It performs various checks and alerts you to problems like:
  • Broken links and forms
  • Security vulnerabilities
  • Outdated software versions
  • Server performance issues
  • Email configuration problems

The Health Check can be run manually or scheduled to run automatically and send e-mail notifications of results.
Question How can I use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to enhance my website?
Answer CDNs improve website performance by serving content from geographically distributed servers, reducing latency and server load. You can leverage CDNs for your Composr website by:
  • Configuring the CDN option in Composr with a comma-separated list of CDN domain names.
  • Ensuring your files are mirrored on the CDN servers.
  • Utilizing the CDN_FILTER directive and symbol to control what content is served via CDN.