[RFC] Improved Subscription Options

[KnocksX]

For every new forum, I have to mod phpBB manually to enable email notifications for all users, which also involves modifying the MySQL database for existing users. It shouldn't be this hard and needs to be done through ACP.

[DavidIQ]

For every new forum, I have to mod phpBB manually to enable email notifications for all users, which also involves modifying the MySQL database for existing users. It shouldn't be this hard and needs to be done through ACP.

Then you're doing it wrong. You can do this by just editing a single template file, maybe two.

[KnocksX]

You can't do it by editing a single template file after you've already had several users and active threads.

[Pony99CA]

You modify the template first, to get it selected for new users, then run the script once for existing users. On new boards, you change the template before going live. What's the problem?

I do agree that the default should be set via the ACP, but there's no reason to implement a global change feature in the ACP, IMHO.

Steve

[DavidIQ]

You can't do it by editing a single template file after you've already had several users and active threads.

Sure you can. In posting_layout.html:
FIND:

Code: Select all

				<div><label for="notify"><input type="checkbox" name="notify" id="notify"{S_NOTIFY_CHECKED} /> 

REPLACE WITH:

Code: Select all

				<div><label for="notify"><input type="checkbox" name="notify" id="notify" checked="checked" /> 

That would cover the regular post reply page. If you want to also cover the Quick Reply editor then open viewtopic.php
FIND:

Code: Select all

		($topic_data['topic_status'] == ITEM_LOCKED) ? $qr_hidden_fields['lock_topic'] = 1 : true;

ADD AFTER:

Code: Select all

		$qr_hidden_fields['notify'] = 1;

And that's it.

Now if you still want users to be able to unsubscribe simply open includes/functions_user.php
FIND:

Code: Select all

'user_notify'			=> 0,

REPLACE WITH:

Code: Select all

'user_notify'			=> 1,

Then run the following SQL statement:

Code: Select all

UPDATE phpbb_users SET user_notify = 1;

Either option looks like very little work to enable topic subscription by default for both new and existing users.

[KnocksX]

So you're suggesting hard-coding the subscription option into the template? Ok...

Either option looks like very little work

I suppose it depends on how you define "very little." For some people writing eight pages of code might be very little work also. But usually it's still not as little as putting a simple checkmark next to the option in ACP, like it's been done in vBulletin for half a decade now.

[DavidIQ]

So you're suggesting hard-coding the subscription option into the template? Ok...

I was merely giving an example of how complicated it really is. Either is a viable and very simple solution to your "problem".

Also it's a bit of a gray area auto-subscribing a user without their consent which is why it's been kept out of the ACP up until now. Would that ever change? Never say never they say...

But usually it's still not as little as putting a simple checkmark next to the option in ACP, like it's been done in vBulletin for half a decade now.

Yet another reason why their admin panel looks so enormous, much more so than phpBB's ACP. Not that this is necessarily bad, mind you, but it really is pretty big.

[RMcGirr83]

..and vBulletin doesn't have the best history when it comes to security to begin with. Maybe one should just simply stay with vBulletin.

[gotwings]

Is there any official decision regarding this RFC? A subset of my forum's community would find the inclusion of post content in the 'subscribe' email message very useful, and would like to have the option of receiving an email for every post within a subscribed forum.

I realize that this might not work well for large, high-traffic boards.... But that's why it would be up to the admin to either enable or disable the feature.

[dreameagle]

This subject has not be revisited in a while..

I have many users that are requesting their email subscriptions to have the post included in the send.. They like to read the posts from their cell phones and on their computers on the fly when they cannot get to the forum directly.

Please is there a way to do this.. I too believe that this would be best accomplished by including it in the board and not as a mod that could be rendered obsolete with a new update.

There seems to be many suggestions on how to implement it in the ACP and to be turned off and on thru the UCP. I am sure there would not be too many complaints (at least from my users of just seeing text and no bb code or html.. Just the message is what they are interested in.

Thanks in Advance for any help in this matter..

-Dreameagle