Auto Post Plugin Request

[Shawn]

Those of you familiar with Facebook know that you can auto post on a specific date and time.

I was wondering if this was possible with a plugin on the forums?

For example

1. Select new or existing Thread
2. Select new post or existing post
3. Select Date/Time
4. Select Post once or repeat for continuous posting on that date.

I think this would be extremely productive for those of us who have areas of their forum that run off a calendar and repeat special events each year on the same date.  My forum literally has hundreds of duplicate posts that we add to for a project called Today in History.

Thanks for your time

s

[Todge]

To post automatically would mean loading the posting page without the user seeing it, which means that they cannot see the ads, which would violate PB's forum rules.

So no, automatic posting would not be allowed. Sorry.

[Shawn]

Nov 17, 2020 18:51:25 GMT -8 Todge said:

To post automatically would mean loading the posting page without the user seeing it, which means that they cannot see the ads, which would violate PB's forum rules.

So no, automatic posting would not be allowed. Sorry.

Violate the TOS?  My eyes just did a 360

Sorry, i don't quite understand if the post is fresh every time how are members not seeing ads?

How are ads even an issue?

The posts are not hidden, they would just be reposted or duplicated on a specific date.

Can you explain it all to me like i'm 5.  It might save us a lot of time LOL

Thank You for your reply

[Todge]

Nov 18, 2020 8:35:37 GMT -8 Shawn said:

Violate the TOS?  My eyes just did a 360

Sorry, i don't quite understand if the post is fresh every time how are members not seeing ads?

How are ads even an issue?

The posts are not hidden, they would just be reposted or duplicated on a specific date.

Can you explain it all to me like i'm 5.  It might save us a lot of time LOL

Thank You for your reply

Sure.

The Ads are displayed on every page of the forum, and as ProBoards get the majority of their money from these advertisements, they have a rule that they must always be veiwable by the user, so removing the ads is against the rules, unless you pay to have them removed.

To create a plugin that will submit a post automatically, it would need to open the posting page with the post already filled out, then submit it, all in the background, which would mean opening and closing at least 2 pages unseen by the user, meaning the ads will be unseen, which makes it a rule breaker.

[Shawn]

So how does ones staff work ahead on long term projects that are date specific and also archive content that is no longer relevant, proceed if they Violate the TOS. This to me is a huge Issue if i'm processing it correctly. I've been an admin for 12 years, owner of multiple forums. Until now i have never been so confused about how i can run my forum without breaking the TOS. I have 8 years of hard work put into my current forum along with a dedicated staff.

Please Clarify.

[Todge]

Nov 19, 2020 3:44:49 GMT -8 Shawn said:

So how does ones staff work ahead on long term projects that are date specific and also archive content that is no longer relevant, proceed if they Violate the TOS. This to me is a huge Issue if i'm processing it correctly. I've been an admin for 12 years, owner of multiple forums. Until now i have never been so confused about how i can run my forum without breaking the TOS. I have 8 years of hard work put into my current forum along with a dedicated staff.

Please Clarify.

Any action that requires a form to be submitted has to be actioned by a forum member be it a post, a message, an archive or a profile update.. It has to be done real time with a mouse click..

Even without these rules, the plugin you are asking for is not possible, as JavaScript is run from your browser, so you would need to be online and logged into your forum for any plugin to run, no plugin can effect your forum without an appropriate member being online.

[Shawn]

Ok that Makes sense.

I guess i was also thinking create the post in the staff section, create a script to move the url to the Existing thread on the specific date. The post was created by a member, it just wasn't public until the specific date. Put a kill date on it and move it back to the staff thread. All automatically. But i know now it's not possible.

Thanks Todge I really appreciate you explaining that to me.

[Todge]

Nov 19, 2020 9:12:36 GMT -8 Shawn said:

Ok that Makes sense.

I guess i was also thinking create the post in the staff section, create a script to move the url to the Existing thread on the specific date. The post was created by a member, it just wasn't public until the specific date. Put a kill date on it and move it back to the staff thread. All automatically. But i know now it's not possible.

Thanks Todge I really appreciate you explaining that to me.

Not a problem.. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

While a post cannot be moved or created automatically, what could be done is have a post hidden within a thread, the contents only being seen after a set date and hidden again after a set date, but that would be very restrictive..

The post cannot be moved to the end of the thread, so if several posts have been made since, the post-dated post could be lost within the thread before it is set to be seen, and because it can't be moved or re-moved, it will always be there, regardless as to whether it is hidden or not, so anyone viewing your forum on a mobile device, or your members that know how, would be able to see the hidden content regardless of what is done to try and stop it.

[Shawn]

Yeah it's more of a content management thing than actually hiding the post from people. Kind of to avoid clutter vs having dated info in the feed vs fresh content.

You've been a great help and i appreciate your time

Thanks again

s

[Lynx]

Shawn,

I'm not sure if this would help, as it doesn't do posts, but there's a General Notices plugin that displays on just certain dates. I'm not sure if it would suit your needs, but it's there as a possible alternative.