bbPress.org

A “Thesis page” is just like any other html/php/css WP page except that it uses Thesis Hooks, which is the framework Chris Pearson created to sit on top of WP and is far more efficient than the underlying WP code. It looks like this…

<?php



// Using hooks is absolutely the smartest, most bulletproof way to implement things like plugins,

// custom design elements, and ads. You can add your hook calls below, and they should take the

// following form:

// add_action('thesis_hook_name', 'function_name');

// The function you name above will run at the location of the specified hook. The example

// hook below demonstrates how you can insert Thesis' default recent posts widget above

// the content in Sidebar 1:

// add_action('thesis_hook_before_sidebar_1', 'thesis_widget_recent_posts');



/**

* function custom_bookmark_links() - outputs an HTML list of bookmarking links

* NOTE: This only works when called from inside the WordPress loop!

* SECOND NOTE: This is really just a sample function to show you how to use custom functions!

*

* @since 1.0

* @global object $post

*/



function custom_bookmark_links() {

global $post;

?>

<ul class="bookmark_links">



<li><a rel="nofollow">&title=<?php urlencode(the_title()); ?>" onclick="window.open('http://delicious.com/save?v=5&noui&jump=close&url=<?php urlencode(the_permalink()); ?>&title=<?php urlencode(the_title()); ?>', 'delicious', 'toolbar=no,width=550,height=550'); return false;" title="Bookmark this post on del.icio.us">Bookmark this article on Delicious</a></li>

<?php

}

Thesis is on one level, just an additional library of high level functions, and at another, its an incredibly easy way to design and manipulate your theme/template. The structure of the framework and the finished theme it provides also happen to be presented in a very SEO conscious way, which is obviously a big selling point.

What I would really like to see is a BBPress Template written for Thesis. Hmmm. I wonder. How hard can that be?

Thanks. I am not much of a hacker and after reading that it made me realize that Thesis brings an additional level of complication. I’ll go talk to some of the nice folks over at Thesis and try and figure out if I am up to it.

@chrishajer – I thought some more about what you wrote regarding the WordPress plugin idea.

I imagine, having worked with BBPress for so long, you guys are no longer concerned or have forgotten just what a royal pain in the butt it is to set up. Most of the pain could be avoided if it had been scripted and become a simple CPanel/Softaculous install, for example, but it hasn’t.

I am new to BBPress, and I have to say that my first impression is, compared with BuddyPress installation/integration (which is already that simple WordPress plugin), BBPress has a looooong way to go.

And I suspect, one of the reasons why there is such a big difference in the size of the respective communities, is that most of you guys don’t mind/quite like to fiddle with the technical stuff.

Haven’t you got the engine room steering the ship? Where are the ‘marketing guys’ out there finding out what the people really want, and steering the development, rather than what interests the coders?

It might surprise you to know (well I know it would surprise the coders), most people (WAY more people in the world), just want THEIR WordPress to load a plugin right into THEIR existing theme, and off they go.

Badabing badaboom!

I can’t see how, if the developers of BBPress can’t make it that simple, and also a darn site more compatible with WordPress itself, how its ever going to survive. Really.

And with the release of the merged v3.0 not far away, is that opportunity going to be grabbed or lost?

@johnhiller — I just read that back in December “Matt Mullenweg dropped the bombshell yesterday in IRC: bbPress, the often forgotten forum option, could become a WordPress plugin in the near future”. I’ll have to get myself an IRC client and start participating. Any idea of timescales?

@chrishajer — I didn’t mean to come off too strong on that but on re-reading what I wrote, it does read that way. I apologize for that. And if its Matt Mullenweg that needs to have the benefit of my help and guidance I will be sure to let him have it… 8^) In the meantime, while I wait for commonsense to prevail, which I now know ‘appears’ to be happening (see comment above), I’ll content myself with creating my own template to match my current Thesis/WP theme. What joy.