Forum Software

[yankee]

What software is Paddleducks using to operate this forum?

I am a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers.  Headquarters is asking for ways to improve communication.  I suggested a forum page on their site for their local sections to use.  Although I am still getting used to it, your system appears to work well.

[Red_Hamish]

Hello all, the forum is a powerful updated version of an old system (in relative terms) which regularly undergoes development and is user friendly in all forms. The software link can be found here www.simplemachines.org/about/ It has proven to be a good and stable platform which can be tweaked to suit the individual forums needs. Eddy is brilliant at the technicalities of the system and all praise for getting this to work so well for us all should be directed his way. Walter, David and PJ too should be thanked for their foresight in developing Paddleducks to the resource that it has become since their early days on Yahoo groups.

cheers

Jim

[steamboatmodel]

Could Eddy explain in simple terms how this works? Does one of our Moderators have to have a computer running 24/7 in there home to host Paddleducks?
Regards,
Gerald

[Eddy Matthews]

I'm not sure it's actually easy to explain how it all works....

We use a "Host" which provides the server space on which the website runs, so no, we don't have one of our computers running 24hrs per day - The "Host" charges a fee which is based on the amount of space required and the amount of bandwidth we use.

The website uses a program called MKPortal as the front-end which ties everything together - MKPortal provides the basic menu structure you see on the left of your screen. Everything else is grafted onto this front-end, so you can seemlessly move from one part of the website to another without having to constantly login to a new program with each move - Forum, Photo Gallery, Downloads, Website and Book database etc etc.

The forum uses a program called SMF (Simple Machines Forum) - This is perhaps the most flexible free forum software out there. There are others which offer more features, but at a price!! And some of them are DAMNED expensive!

All the software runs using PHP (a type of programming language), and all the data is stored in a database which uses a standard format called MySQL. There are also a few bits of HTML code (HyperText Markup Language), and JavaScript for some of the active stuff such as the random images on our homepage, and the popup images in the photo gallery etc.

I hope that explains the basics without getting too technical, or has everyone nodded off? 

Eddy

[yankee]

Thanks a lot guys.  That is exactly what I was looking for.

I know just enough about programming to understand your response, and to appreciate a system that works this well.

[steamboatmodel]

Thanks Eddy,
Your explanation makes it clear, at least clear enough that I'm glad its not my job.
Regards,
Eddy

[Eddy Matthews]

Although a basic website can be setup with virtually no programming experience, it does help to know some when you want to alter the way things work or add your own bits... I've tinkered with almost every part of the website at some stage or another, to get things the way I want them.

As an example of the sort of gibberish I have to write, here's the code that selects a random image on our homepage....

Code: [Select]

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
    // JavaScript to interpolate random images into a page.
    var ic = 61;     // Number of alternative images
    var xoxo = new Array(ic);  // Array to hold filenames


xoxo[0] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/a_mackenzie1.jpg";
xoxo[1] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/ameriqueen97.jpg";
xoxo[2] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/bellecincinnati15.jpg";
xoxo[3] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/donald-b.jpg";
xoxo[4] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/geo-m-verity01.jpg";
xoxo[5] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/golden-girl.jpg";
xoxo[6] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/ladylois.jpg";
xoxo[7] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/sprague20.jpg";
xoxo[8] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/ss-moose.jpg";
xoxo[9] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/star92.jpg";
xoxo[10] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/waverley.jpg";
xoxo[11] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/MQ.jpg";
xoxo[12] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Natchez05.jpg";
xoxo[13] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/1.jpg";
xoxo[14] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/2.jpg";
xoxo[15] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/3.jpg";
xoxo[16] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/4.jpg";
xoxo[17] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/reliant.jpg";
xoxo[18] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/jason.jpg";
xoxo[19] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Finlandia.jpg";
xoxo[20] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Elias.jpg";
xoxo[21] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/FinlandiaQ.jpg";
xoxo[22] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Ilmarinen.jpg";
xoxo[23] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/lonnrot.jpg";
xoxo[24] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/lonnrot2.jpg";
xoxo[25] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/josifstalin.jpg";
xoxo[26] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/turgenev.jpg";
xoxo[27] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Hjejlen1.jpg";
xoxo[28] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Hjejlen2.jpg";
xoxo[29] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Skibladner.jpg";
xoxo[30] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Skibladner2.jpg";
xoxo[31] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Uusi.jpg";
xoxo[32] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Lahtis.jpg";
xoxo[33] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Borussia.jpg";
xoxo[34] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Alameda.jpg";
xoxo[35] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/DerShelde.jpg";
xoxo[36] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Elisabeth.jpg";
xoxo[37] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/President.jpg";
xoxo[38] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Indalen.jpg";
xoxo[39] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Constitution.jpg";
xoxo[40] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Dostojevski.jpg";
xoxo[41] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Goethe.jpg";
xoxo[42] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/MurrayRiverPrincess.jpg";
xoxo[43] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/MurrayRiverPrincess2.jpg";
xoxo[44] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Helvetie.jpg";
xoxo[45] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Italia.jpg";
xoxo[46] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Kingswear.jpg";
xoxo[47] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Maidoftheloch.jpg";
xoxo[48] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/Montreux.jpg";
xoxo[49] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/PSRuby.jpg";
xoxo[50] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/caledonia.jpg";
xoxo[51] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/jeanied.jpg";
xoxo[52] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/mercury.jpg";
xoxo[53] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/southendbelle.jpg";
xoxo[54] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/royaleagle.jpg";
xoxo[55] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/clactonbelle.jpg";
xoxo[56] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/lamarguerite.jpg";
xoxo[57] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/victory.jpg";
xoxo[58] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/cardiffqueen.jpg";
xoxo[59] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/johnbenn.jpg";
xoxo[60] = "http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/rotate/wav33.jpg";

function pickRandom(range) {
if (Math.random)
return Math.round(Math.random() * (range-1));
else {
var now = new Date();
return (now.getTime() / 1000) % range;
}
}
// Write out an IMG tag, using a randomly-chosen image name.
var choice = pickRandom(ic);
// -->
</script>


<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript">
document.writeln('<IMG SRC="'+xoxo[choice]+'" WIDTH="100%" >');
</SCRIPT>


Eddy

[Tug--Kenny]

I wondered why the Waverley  'popped up'   

[steamboatmodel]

I'm trying to pick up assembly and C, having been out of school for almost 20years, and and the only programming I have done since then was CNC, its a bit rough picking it up and geeting the rust out of the old brain.
Regards,
Gerald