VPester - Pester Lurkers to Register

[Virgil Sovereign]

VPester v1.1.4

RELEASE

Author: Virgil Sovereign
Plugin: VPester v1.1.4 Release - Download from Proboards Plugin Library
Permissions: Editable
Keys Used: None

Description:

Pesters lurkers and/or mutes on your board until they register. 'Pestering' consists of periodically presenting unregistered or perpetually silent guests with 'helpful reminders'. As of version 1.0.5, pester settings can be configured separately for lurkers (guests who frequent your forum but never register) and mutes (registered members who rarely or never post). Lurkers will not be pestered until they've viewed a minimum number of unique threads. Mutes will not be pestered until they've viewed a minimum number of unique threads since the last time they posted. Customizable settings in the plugin UI are separate but identical for both modes (lurkers and mutes). In both cases, the settings are: minimum number of unique threads viewed before pestering starts minimum number of hours between 'pesters' as of version 1.0.5, maximum number of times to pester a user before giving up pester message to display choice of Proboards v5 Alert dialogs or standard browser alert dialogs to display pesters dialog box caption as of version 1.0.6, a list of specific members and groups to exclude from pestering Note that 'unique threads viewed' does not regard the number of times each unique thread is visited. For example, if a lurker visits only the thread "Why Pokemon Would Beat Harry Potter" every day for a week, and visits all 38 pages of the thread each time, he is still only considered by the plugin to have viewed one unique thread. The plugin is also equipped with reasonable default settings to work 'out of the box'. Note that for backwards compatibility reasons, the default settings pester only lurkers and not mutes. As of version 1.0.3, you can preview the lurker pester message by pressing the keys [Insert], [Home], [Insert] in sequence on your keyboard. If you invoke this command from a computer/browser where you have logged in as a registered member, the %N (number of unique threads visited) token, if present in the pester message, will be zero (0). As of version 1.0.5, you can preview the mute pester message by pressing the keys [PageUp], [Home], [PageUp] in sequence on your keyboard. If you invoke this command from a computer/browser where you have not logged in as a registered member, the %N (number of unique threads visited) token, if present in the pester message, will be zero (0). As of version 1.0.5, you can get VPester to give you a complete listing of its data registry, which includes all of the data it 'tracks', by pressing the keys [Backslash], [Home], [Backslash] in sequence on your keyboard.

Screenshots:

Fig. 1 - The LURKERS tab of the plugin UI is shown here. The UI is extensively documented.

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Fig. 2 - The default pester message for lurkers is shown here using a Proboards v5 Alert modal dialog. The word 'registering' links to the registration page for your forum.

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Fig. 3 - As of version 1.0.5, pressing [Backslash] [Home] [Backslash] will cause VPester to reveal what it knows about you.


Other Issues:

Note that the data registry for VPester 1.0.5 was overhauled. The plugin will ignore any data registered with prior versions of the plugin. This means that any lurkers being tracked on your forum will have a 'clean slate' if updating to v1.0.5+ from a pre-1.0.5 version. For all future versions of VPester, you will be able to update without losing existing data. Note that all data collected by the plugin is collected from the time the plugin is installed. For instance, if you preview either message or dump the VPester registry immediately after installing the plugin, it will show zero (0) threads visited, 'Never' as the last time posted, etc. Note that when in normal operation, VPester will only pester users while they are viewing threads. If you attempt to test the plugin, note that you will not be pestered on any page that is not a thread. Finally, note that disabling VPester, uninstalling VPester, or updating VPester from any version >= 1.0.5 will not cause VPester to lose data.

Bugs and Feedback:

This plugin is a direct upgrade of a Proboards v4.5+ hack with the same function. It was created in response to an upgrade request from a user of the v4.5 hack. Since no new functionality was added during the upgrade and very little of the original code was modified, I expect the plugin to be bug-free. Please notify me of any problems you may have in this thread and I will do my best to resolve any issues promptly. I may also consider certain feature requests if they are reasonable and won't bulk up the code too much. Please keep the interval between pesters reasonably long, and the minimum number of thread views to begin pestering reasonably large. Do not use this plugin for evil. Aside from that, happy pestering!

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Update to v1.0.1

Fixed (relatively minor) 'plugin doesn't actually run' bug. Added debug option: hold down both Shift keys simultaneously to cause plugin to report one of the three following states: a) it recognizes you as a registered member, b) it doesn't recognize you as a registered member, or c) it isn't able to access your browser's localStorage facility.

Update to v1.0.2

Removed debug option added in v1.0.1. Too much chance of an accidental trigger.

Update to v1.0.3

Added in 'Insert, Home, Insert' hack to preview pester message.

Update to v1.0.4

Added support for %R (registration URL) token in pester message. Updated UI documentation. Updated default pester message to include registration link.

Update to v1.0.5

Added support for mutes and split configuration UI into LURKERS and MUTES. Added 'Maximum Pesters' settings to both modes, as well as ability to disable either mode. Added [PageUp] [Home] [PageUp] and [Backslash] [Home] [Backslash] debug/preview features. Updated UI documentation and revised default settings.

Update to v1.0.6

Added ability to exclude specific members and groups from being pestered. Added new information to the [Backslash] [Home] [Backslash] data dump, including exclusion status and disclaimers for browsers that don't support VPester.

[xLc]

Thats great.
Is there any way to get this to 'pester' non posting members?

[Virgil Sovereign]

Feb 14, 2013 1:06:45 GMT -8 xLc said:

Thats great.
Is there any way to get this to 'pester' non posting members?

There is, but if you're truly interested, the upgrade will have to wait until next week.

It's a non-trivial modification because I imagine most admins would want the ability to specify different messages for registered users, as well as different time intervals, etc.

There's also the issue of whether the plugin should treat members that visit frequently but never log in differently from members that are logged in but just never say anything.

Hence, the upgraded plugin would have three tabs: one for lurkers who visit and never register, one for lurkers who have registered but refuse to log in, and one for lurkers who log in but refuse to say anything.

ETA: We could theoretically also put in a fourth tab for members who log in and say things periodically, but never say anything worthwhile listening to. Although that might be beyond my programming ken.

[xLc]

If you could do that, it would be really cool!

Thanks

[яλíĐєn]

Hey Virgil,

Thanks for the code, looks neat!

One lil problem, it's not working for me.
What i do is plug it in, put the info and log out, clear my cookies with ccleaner.
Reopen my FireFox, i check out three topics and no message is displayed.
These are the plugins i currently have incase you need this info.

Styled Member Names

1.0.1

Peter (pixeldepth.net)

All

Sidebar Redux

1.3.0

Venom (Brian)

All

Global Messages

2.4.1

Peter (pixeldepth.net)

All

Icon Next To Members Name

1.1.0

Peter (pixeldepth.net)

All

ColorSmear

1.1.1

Wormopolis

All

VPester

1.0.0

Virgil Sovereign

Regards,
Lu

[Virgil Sovereign]

яλíĐєn, I've updated to version 1.0.1. Try it now.

I've also added a debug feature you can read about under the heading 'Update to v1.0.1'. It will tell you if the plugin is working, and whether or not it recognizes you as a registered member.

[яλíĐєn]

Feb 14, 2013 15:41:27 GMT -8 Virgil Sovereign said:

яλíĐєn, I've updated to version 1.0.1. Try it now.

I've also added a debug feature you can read about under the heading 'Update to v1.0.1'. It will tell you if the plugin is working, and whether or not it recognizes you as a registered member.

WORKS LIKE A MEGA CHARM yeah!
Thanks Virgil, great plugin. Should help me remind my guests to register. Pester the crap out the spanish ppl! xD

Have a great day sir!

[Virgil Sovereign]

яλíĐєn: Note that I've updated to v1.0.2, which removes the Shift hack. It's quite easy to trigger accidentally, as I found out the hard way. The plugin is otherwise identical. Just FYI.

[DeltaDart]

Virgil Sovereign sweet! Is there a way to see the alert dialog for testing purposes? I mean to see what it looks like?

[Virgil Sovereign]

DeltaDart: I've added in a preview hack in version 1.0.3 of the plugin. Press [Insert], [Home], [Insert] in sequence on your keyboard, and the plugin will display the message. See the OP for additional details.

[DeltaDart]

Feb 16, 2013 5:52:59 GMT -8 Virgil Sovereign said:

DeltaDart: I've added in a preview hack in version 1.0.3 of the plugin. Press [Insert], [Home], [Insert] in sequence on your keyboard, and the plugin will display the message. See the OP for additional details.

Thanks very nice!

[rchelitalk]

Virgil Sovereign think instead of the "OK" button that in a future releases it could carry the guest to the registration page of the forum

[Virgil Sovereign]

rchelitalk: Not a bad idea, although the lurker might not appreciate the plugin being so aggressive, especially since it would mean 'beaming' him/her away from the thread he/she just tried to view.

One of the features not documented in the OP is that when Proboards v5 alerts are used, the pester message supports full HTML. Hence as a compromise, an admin might want to add a link to the registration page into the message. Or (as I would do with the default message) convert the word 'Registering' to a link.

In this case, the pester message would be

We notice you've visited over %N unique discussions on this board. Isn't it time you thought
about <a href="https://www.proboards.com/register/1">registering</a>?

Thanks,

Board Administration

[aRMY83]

Virgil Sovereign this is one nice plugin! and opt'd the 'register link' page in the alert.

[Virgil Sovereign]

Feb 17, 2013 9:03:41 GMT -8 aRMY83 said:

Virgil Sovereign this is one nice plugin! and opt'd the 'register link' page in the alert.

Be warned that the example code I provided above is a link to register for this (Proboards Support) board. You'll need to modify it to reflect your own board.

In fact, I've gone ahead and updated to 1.0.4. This adds a new token, %R, which resolves to the URL for registering for the host forum. I've also updated the documentation included with the UI, and set the default pester message to include a hyperlinked version of the word 'registering' that links to the registration for the host forum.