Permanently lock thread at date/time

[thehardk0reik0n]

I run a roleplaying forum, I'd like to know if there is a way to lock a thread on a certain date and time permanently so no one can post again? How would I go about adding this feature if I can?

[bartlesby]

Aug 25, 2021 10:32:13 GMT -8 thehardk0reik0n said:

I run a roleplaying forum, I'd like to know if there is a way to lock a thread on a certain date and time permanently so no one can post again? How would I go about adding this feature if I can?

You couldn't do it automatically. You can't run background scripts; a person needs to load your page to trigger them.

The only thing you could do is create a script which triggers for the Admin and any moderators who have the power to lock threads and if the date is past a certain point, lock the thread (or threads) through scripting. That's the best you can do.

The downside as well is that if you wrote script to automatically lock certain threads at a given date, you would have to maintain dates and thread ids in the Administration panel via a text field. You could not write an interface and use a key because it would be too vulnerable to exploits. You would have to maintain the list manually.

I suppose it depends on how bad you want it.

[Kami]

Aug 27, 2021 11:26:35 GMT -8 bartlesby said:

Aug 25, 2021 10:32:13 GMT -8 thehardk0reik0n said:

I run a roleplaying forum, I'd like to know if there is a way to lock a thread on a certain date and time permanently so no one can post again? How would I go about adding this feature if I can?

You couldn't do it automatically. You can't run background scripts; a person needs to load your page to trigger them.

The only thing you could do is create a script which triggers for the Admin and any moderators who have the power to lock threads and if the date is past a certain point, lock the thread (or threads) through scripting. That's the best you can do.

The downside as well is that if you wrote script to automatically lock certain threads at a given date, you would have to maintain dates and thread ids in the Administration panel via a text field. You could not write an interface and use a key because it would be too vulnerable to exploits. You would have to maintain the list manually.

I suppose it depends on how bad you want it.

You can't do anything like that second part. Locking a thread must be a manual action.

Oct 18, 2015 12:23:05 GMT -8 Brian said:

A plugin cannot trigger the lock function, nor can it automatically perform an action based on the date as plugins only run HTML, CSS, and Javascript which are all handled by the browser, not by the servers.

[bartlesby]

Aug 27, 2021 11:46:28 GMT -8 Kami said:

Aug 27, 2021 11:26:35 GMT -8 bartlesby said:

You couldn't do it automatically. You can't run background scripts; a person needs to load your page to trigger them.

The only thing you could do is create a script which triggers for the Admin and any moderators who have the power to lock threads and if the date is past a certain point, lock the thread (or threads) through scripting. That's the best you can do.

The downside as well is that if you wrote script to automatically lock certain threads at a given date, you would have to maintain dates and thread ids in the Administration panel via a text field. You could not write an interface and use a key because it would be too vulnerable to exploits. You would have to maintain the list manually.

I suppose it depends on how bad you want it.

You can't do anything like that second part. Locking a thread must be a manual action.

Oct 18, 2015 12:23:05 GMT -8 Brian said:

A plugin cannot trigger the lock function, nor can it automatically perform an action based on the date as plugins only run HTML, CSS, and Javascript which are all handled by the browser, not by the servers.

That's not actually true.

You can do it. It's simply frowned upon because it requires an AJAX call. Anything a user can do through the interface, you can work around and work with.

[Kami]

Aug 27, 2021 11:53:03 GMT -8 bartlesby said:

Aug 27, 2021 11:46:28 GMT -8 Kami said:

You can't do anything like that second part. Locking a thread must be a manual action.

That's not actually true.

You can do it. It's simply frowned upon because it requires an AJAX call. Anything a user can do through the interface, you can work around and work with.

Are we really arguing semantics about what is possible versus what is allowed? :X It isn't just frowned upon, it is forbidden as part of the plugin developer guidelines. Whether or not it is possible on a technicality does not change the fact that a person cannot use such a script with the service.

[bartlesby]

Aug 27, 2021 12:01:07 GMT -8 Kami said:

Aug 27, 2021 11:53:03 GMT -8 bartlesby said:

That's not actually true.

You can do it. It's simply frowned upon because it requires an AJAX call. Anything a user can do through the interface, you can work around and work with.

Are we really arguing semantics about what is possible versus what is allowed? :X It isn't just frowned upon, it is forbidden as part of the plugin developer guidelines. Whether or not it is possible on a technicality does not change the fact that a person cannot use such a script with the service.

It's hardly semantic to note that something is technically possible even if it's disallowed. That's a fairly large distinction.

The question was whether it could be done and that's what I was aiming at in my response. Could somebody do it? Yes, they could, but there are limitations and additionally the risk that they make you pull your plugin down.

I apologize that I did not note it in my initial response but I was more focused on what you could do versus what you ought to do. That was my mistake.

[Kami]

Aug 27, 2021 12:13:32 GMT -8 bartlesby said:

Aug 27, 2021 12:01:07 GMT -8 Kami said:

Are we really arguing semantics about what is possible versus what is allowed? :X It isn't just frowned upon, it is forbidden as part of the plugin developer guidelines. Whether or not it is possible on a technicality does not change the fact that a person cannot use such a script with the service.

It's hardly semantic to note that something is technically possible even if it's disallowed. That's a fairly large distinction.

The question was whether it could be done and that's what I was aiming at in my response. Could somebody do it? Yes, they could, but there are limitations and additionally the risk that they make you pull your plugin down.

I apologize that I did not note it in my initial response but I was more focused on what you could do versus what you ought to do. That was my mistake.

That's super fair, I getcha! But yeah, for future it would be best if you included the little "but it's not allowed here" caveat for these types of replies as it will often get confusing for those who aren't familiar with scripting & the developer guideline. (:

[thehardk0reik0n]

Thanks for your responses, I won't attempt it as I'm not a coder per say. I came from Invision Boards for nearly a decade but I can't really afford them anymore.