Fantastic Idea

[pete]

Email sent  ....... It will be interesting to see how this can be done for one board only.  :)

You suggestions will be much appreciated.

[gw]

Pete,

Just now checked my email and found it.  I'm a bit new to Eudora so let me know whether you received my reply.

gw

[pete]

Nope didn't get it ....

Why don't you reply here?

Thx

[Fozzer]

A wise old saying from our Forum Sage, Hagar....>>>

"...If it ain't broke don't waste your time trying to fix it..."

Paul.... ...!

[C]

A "...If it ain't broke don't waste your time trying to fix it..."

...and you're less likely to break it in the process...

[pete]

One of my least favourite sayings of all time ...  ;D ... In my mind just about everything is broke - because everything can be improved .....

[gw]

Pete,

Here goes ...

The location I found is in yabb/sources/Post.pl.  The version I have has this version info at the beginning:

# Version:        YaBB 1 Gold - SP 1.3                                      
# Released:       December 2001; Updated April 6, 2003                      

In the function Post2, at line 663, there is this bit of code:

if($username ne 'Guest') {
   # Increment post count for the member.
   $settings[6] =~ s/[\n\r]//g;
   ++$settings[6];
   fopen(FILE, ">$memberdir/$username.dat") || &fatal_error("213 $txt{'106'}: $txt{'23'} $username.dat");
   foreach (@settings) {
       print FILE qq~$_\n~;
   }
   fclose(FILE);
}

This appears to be the code that increments post count ($settings[6]) if the user is not Guest and writes it back out to the user's dat file.  Just above this, at line 647, is this guy:

fopen(FILE, "+<$boardsdir/$currentboard.txt", 1) || &fatal_error("211 $txt{'106'}: $txt{'23'} $currentboard.txt");

This line is opening the current board's txt file.  We're not necessarily interested in the txt file but the line does show that the current board name is in the variable $currentboard.

So, at a minimum, you could do something like this at line 663:

if($username ne 'Guest' && $currentboard ne 'xxxx') {

where xxxx is the internal name of Cafe Simviation, for example.

Here's what I'll do.  To make sure that this idea works I will try it on my yabb system at work on Monday.  It's lightly used so, if I break something, I can repair it without a lot of problem.

What I'm inclined to do is insert a function call so you can get more elaborate in your decision making.  So the post count code above would be changed to look like this:

if($username ne 'Guest') {

   $countPosts = doWeCountPosts($username, $currentboard);   # do we count this post?
   if($countPosts == 1) {

       # Increment post count for the member.
       $settings[6] =~ s/[\n\r]//g;

       ++$settings[6];
       fopen(FILE, ">$memberdir/$username.dat") || &fatal_error("213 $txt{'106'}: $txt{'23'} $username.dat");
       foreach (@settings) {
           print FILE qq~$_\n~;
       }
       fclose(FILE);
   }
}

I would insert the function doWeCountPosts at the end of Post.pl.  In it you could do whatever logic was necessary to determine whether to count posts or not.  For example, you could have a text file in the Boards directory that listed the internal names of the boards you didn't want to count posts for.  If you find $currentboard in the file then return 0 otherwise return 1.  To make it a bit more bulletproof, if our special file doesn't exist then return 1.  Initially you'd have to maintain the file with vi but we could probably add an admin function to make it more friendly.

This all sounds great but, just to make sure, I will try this on Monday and let you know.

Gordon

[RichieB16]

You know, I don't really understand this whole thing.  I have been on other forums (who don't use the YABB system) and they have their "general" boards not counting in the post count and I think its really dumb.

It seems to me, when you do that you say that certain posts are more important than others.  It is true that posts in the FS2004 board are usually more focused on the topic of Simviation (than those in the Cafe) but over the years this place has become more than just a flightsim web site to me-its a community.  I have made friends here and to me the conversations in the Cafe and General board are just as important it seems.  Now, I know there have been some posts that seem to be just there to build post numbers-but who cares.  Post numbers don't really mean that much.

But, some of us probably do use their post counter.  For me, I use it to give me an idea how much I have contributed to the board over the years I have been here-nothing more.  I think it is nice to be able to check every so often that I have made so many posts total (I think I'm around 3000 right now-not sure though).  So, I would prefer to leave it the way it is.  Then again, I try and use each post to usually really say something-I don't just post a " ".

Anyway, that probably didn't make a whole lot of sense-but I just think its fine the way it is.  

[Jared]

Personally I would just leave it be...

BUT, feel free to do what you think you gotta do..

[Hagar]

A wise old saying from our Forum Sage, Hagar....

The saying might be wise but I'm no sage, more like an onion.

I'm not against change providing it's an improvement. In many cases these things are change for the sake of change. Some people spend their lives trying to change things that have worked perfectly well for years. They don't seem to appreciate it's all been done before, possibly on a regular basis. You change it & before you know it someone suggests changing it back. The whole cycle starts all over again & you're back where you started - until someone else chips in & suggests changing it again. We end up continually going round in great big circles so they might just as well leave it how it was in the first place.

In this case it's impossible to please everyone so you have to go with a majority decision. The number of posts doesn't seem to bother the majority. In fact most people seem to like it how it is so why change anything?

[RichieB16]

fact most people seem to like it how it is so why change anything?

I agree with Hagar, most people seem to like the current system (or are fine with it).

[Craig.]

In fact most people seem to like it how it is so why change anything

Maybe to stop these pointless number building posts that are taking over the place?

[Hagar]

Maybe to stop these pointless number building posts that are taking over the place?

Most people agree that the number of posts is irrelevant so I don't see that it matters in the slightest.

Who is to say if a topic is pointless or not? Note that many of these so-called pointless topics have far more views & replies than all the others put together. Most people like chatting about pointless things, just go to the average party & listen to what they call small-talk. Nobody forces you to look at anything that doesn't interest you. It's a bit of fun that's all.

[Craig.]

Most people agree that the number of posts is irrelevant so I don't see that it matters in the slightest

So why have the posts in the first place? The intention of them is not to have mindless chatter. I usually wouldn't care but its not just 1 or 2.

[Hagar]

So why have the posts in the first place? The intention of them is not to have mindless chatter. I usually wouldn't care but its not just 1 or 2.

I've often remarked that I never understood why the number of posts is considered important. Apparently it matters to some people & that's fine with me. Live & let live. If you feel as I do, the number of posts or stars that someone might have doesn't impress me or interest me in the slightest. They could have a million posts & still be an idiot which is quite obvious if you read what they have to say. That doesn't mean they have no right to say it, providing it's not offensive.

This is not directed towards you Craig (or anyone else in particular) but it strikes me that too many people spend their lives looking for silly little things to moan about. Like the people who watch a TV show & then write & complain about it. I never understood that either as nobody forces them to watch anything they might find offensive & they seem to do this deliberately.

Until recently most of my considerable number of posts in this forum were answers to people wanting help. I must have come across to many people as a humourless old git.  I've lost touch with most of it now & many members know far more than me so I leave them to it. This means I spend far more time joining in with the banter in the Cafe & joking around with Fozzer. When I do try to say something interesting (well I think it's interesting) very few people bother to reply. I've posted plenty of useless stuff over the last few months. Unless anyone tells me not to I'll probably continue doing so.