[citizenkeith]

@grassrootspa : Remember back in 2004 when Movable Type pushed everyone away with their new pricing plan? The result: BLAM! WordPress REALLY took off, fitting the bill as a viable free easy-to-install, easy-to-use alternative.

I remember it well. I was using Blosxom and decided to finally move over to MT right before they changed their pricing plan. I switched to WP and never looked back.

I hope Matt and all the developers will discuss this in the next IRC meeting.

[timskii]

Cross-Domain Intergration

I’ve not seen anything about messy cross-domain integrations, so I thought I’d share my method. I’m using WordPress 2.8.6 with BBPress 1.0.2. Your mileage may vary on other versions. I suspect this method is not valid for 2.5/0.9.

The setup:

– example.com/blog

– example.com/forum

– example.org/forum

With shared user tables and database.

The config AUTH_KEY/SECURE_AUTH_KEY/LOGGED_IN_KEY should be the same for all (remember to add BB_ to the forum config files). Within the BBPress admin intergation, have the same auth/secure/logged in values for all forums (remember it’s the value shown within the WordPress options screen, not the values in the config files).

In this case cookiepath should be ‘/’ ($bb->cookiepath = ‘/’; // in bb-config and, define(‘COOKIEPATH’, ‘/’); // in wp-config). Set other $bb->style configurations as you wish.

Basically, everything is the same. Except: The Cookie Domain must be explicitly set**. And not always set to the same value.

In example.com/blog’s wp-config add: define(‘COOKIE_DOMAIN’,’.example.com’);

In example.com/forum’s bb-config add: $bb->cookiedomain = ‘.example.com’;

So far, so simple.

Now, in theory, example.org/forum can be set with $bb->cookiedomain = ‘.example.com’; // But I’ve not tried. Paranoid browsers would surely reject this. Instinctively having the forum rely on something that might look like a security risk is bad.

Instead, try adding this to example.org/forum’s bb-config: $bb->cookiedomain = ‘.example.org’; // Users will still need to log in separately when they switch domain, but all the other integration features seem to be fooled, with no adverse problems.

I’d welcome any feedback on this method. I’m still not sure this is the best approach.

( ** Not setting the cookie domain appears to work, until the user switches between domains – example.com/blog doesn’t simply fail to find a cookie set by example.org/forum, it may fail a fresh blog login until cookies are cleared. I’m not sure exactly what’s happening, but it’s messy.)

[refueled]

A new two column theme for bbPress.

Live Preview | Download

Matching WordPress Theme

More themes on the way!

[refueled]

The Carrington Blog WordPress theme now has a matching bbPress theme.

Live Preview

Download

Please report any possible issues in my forum:

http://www.refueled.net/forums/

I have more bbPress themes on the way!

[timskii]

You need to recognize that there are distinct groups of people with different answers. For example:

Plugin Programmers: Lack of stability of core behavior and data structure over the last year-or-so has become a real grind. A lot of 0.9 code partly stopped working in 1.0 – “partly” being particularly annoying, because those issues are harder to spot. For the rest of us, that grind means that plugins cannot be relied upon: There’s a risk of being unable to upgrade because a key plugin won’t work anymore. While you can argue “that’s inevitable”, if important features rely on plugins, a lot more care needs to be taken to ensure those plugins don’t break.

Server Administrators: One look at this forum tells you all you need to know. WordPress’s installation is accessible to people that know almost nothing about teh internet. In contrast, BBPress integration sucks: Manual, generally bewildering, and prone to unexplained failures. Worth adding here that there is a valid “no bloat please” option: BBPress is currently attractive precisely because it can deal with massive amounts of traffic. Not everyone wants to re-create the internet in one piece of software.

End Users: Joanna Average forum reader doesn’t care about any of that, and is probably keener on things like WYSYWYG, email, etc.

Obviously these groups influence one another, but it seems likely that this poll will be swamped by the desires of the Administrator group. Now, if nobody ever installs BBPress, nobody will get to use it or write plugins for it – so there’s no harm keeping the administrators happy. But don’t forget the other groups – they’re also important!

[micksay]

Hi all

I have had a look at bbPress to integrate with my WordPress site/s.

I really like bbPress – well done developers. However the only theme I can find that I really like is the one on this forum.

Trouble is I can’t find it anywhere – Can someone direct me to a download of this theme or let me know if it unavailable.

Thanks a million – Mick

[gerikg]

do you want me to look at it??? email me ftp and give me admin access.

[shaunkrd]

Hi, I’m brand new to bbPress and hoping to integrate it into my client’s existing WordPress powered site. One of the key requirements for the Forum is for registered and logged in users to be able to choose to post anonymously, maybe by way of a checkbox on the ‘Add New Post’ form. I’ve searched for a plugin to do this but had no luck.

Can anyone please offer any tips or advice? It would be very much appreciated.

[chrishajer]

What is a subforum? bbPress has forums as categories, where the parent is a category and cannot accept post, and can have just child forums. Is that sufficient?

It cannot be managed from the backend of WordPress – they’re separate pieces of software.

[codebuddha]

Hi,

I’ve had a search around but kind find anything relevant, bbPress looks perfect, but can it support sub-forums? Not seen any screenshots of the backend, can it be administered through the backend of WordPress?

Cheers,

[daudev]

It works when i login first in bbpress, then I’m logged in wordpress also, but first in wordpress and then in bbpress is not working!

[daudev]

I don’t need to clear the cache, just the cookies, but yes I did, i cleared both!

[grassrootspa]

I honestly don’t get this sudden push to make bbPress a WordPress plugin rather than continue as standalone software. There is so much potential for bbPress to grow and succeed in the 2010 standalone bulletin board market. Disagree? Think about this:

Remember back in 2004 when Movable Type pushed everyone away with their new pricing plan? The result: BLAM! WordPress REALLY took off, fitting the bill as a viable free easy-to-install, easy-to-use alternative.

One can make a strong argument that vBulletin is currently doing the same exact thing Movable Type did with their pricing plan snafu! (http://www.technologyquestions.com/2009/10/28/vbulletins-visceral-price-structure-angers-clients/) Check out this comment by donnacha which says even more: (http://weblogtoolscollection.com/archives/2009/12/11/bbpress-lives/#comment-1321740)

Throw in how complicated phpBB and vBulletin are compared to bbPress (not to mention how easy bbPress is to pickup for those familiar with WordPress) and there is a major bulletin board niche opening for Automattic.

This current bbPress 1.1 development push can really provide a great vBulletin alternative if it is done right. Shine up bbPress so it has some of the default features vBulletin and other boards offer (as OPTIONS in the admin interface) and we will see an exodus a la Movable Type to WordPress in 2004.

[gerikg]

Do you want me to look at it? and did you clear your cache after you just have one line?

[buddha-trance]

@ipstenu – I see… if there is duplication with deep integration, then as a plugin it would be lighter. I was also under the impression that a decision in this direction has been taken already, looking at the IRC chat…

I’ll continue to use, and love, bbPress regardless (and already use WP), though I’d prefer that it stayed as a standalone, because I think it has more potential this way, and it continues to cater also to those who are not interested in having to run WP at the same time. It is fair that opinions against the plugin idea be expressed and that Automattic becomes aware of the reasons behind them. This will allow for a better final decision.

It could be that the plugin idea is an impulsive one, based on the long lapse suffered by bbPress, and lack of a “grand” vision for this platform… or maybe they know what they are doing and the direction to take is to create an extra feature for WP, rather than a separate platform. In the end, of course, it’s up to Automattic.

Obviously, the decision is based on the potential number of new users. And the numbers increase if the platform is easy to use (a one click deal) and it integrates seamlessly with the blog. Though a plugin would deliver all this, it would also take away from a different crowd and future potential, and maybe there is a compromise. Some solution offering the one click deal like BuddyPress, while at the same time being able to run as a standalone and cater to the non-WP users who just want a forum. I don’t know if that is technically possible to achieve.

If theme integration is the only reason for bbPress to become a plugin, maybe there are alternatives, like something similar to the embed plugin https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/embed-bbpress/, also mentioned in the IRC chat. One could build on that idea… and bbPress can be run as a standalone for those who choose to do so.

Maybe that is not the only reason, and the way things unfold will be (catered strictly to WP users + goodbye bbPress plugin developers and community):

WP(MUmerge) –> platform

BuddyPress –> plugin

bbPress –> plugin

[Maurice]

I’ve finally finished bbBlog 2.0. This plugin adds a blog page to you bbPress forum, using posts from a forum category, specified by you. (For those wanting to do some simple blogging without the WordPress installation hassle…)

You can download it here:

http://www.bbportal.org/bb-downloads/bb-blog2.0.zip

Demo:

http://www.bbportal.org/mssp/view.php?view=blog

Features:

– Total rewrite of the bbBlog plugin (1.0 compatible)

– Now a link to the blog is created under the “Views list” at the front-page (forum index)

– The blog items are now correctly filtering bold text, hyperlinks, smilies, etc (thanks _ck_)

– Comments() link now goes to the first comment made (thanks _ck_)

– You can now prevent members and guests to start blog posts (they can still reply)

– Now also showing topic tags

– Added sticky support: Topics marked as sticky now show on top on the blog page

– Admin display redesigned to match bbPress 1.0 admin area

– Blog post date uses the same Date Format as set in: Admin -> Settings -> General -> Date Format

– Now shows blog main category no subforums yet)

– Now pre-loads the selected (blog) forum in the dropdownlistbox in the admin area (thanks Ben L.)

To do:

– Set as start page, can be done by htcacces, how does WP do this?

– Generate a nicer error message when there are no topics in the blog like: “No blog started yet”

– Show some confirmation when settings are saved (this is broken in 1.0)

– Add pagination

– A “Read more” functionality. Show a Read more link after an amount of words set in the admin

– Add: You are not allowed to create new topics (like when locked topics)

– Sub category support (admin option?)

– Separate tags with commas

Enjoy!

ps: I am NO programmer, so don’t expect much support. Code suggestions and help (esp. with Read more and pagination) are welcome.

[daudev]

Still the same, logged in the wordpress, not logged in the bbpress but can do it.

only with define( ‘COOKIEPATH’, ‘/’ ); in the both files!

But i look very carefully into the cookies.

I found 2 differences!

First for wordpress cookies

login cookie is with name wordpress_logged_in_xxxxx and path /

and other cookies are with path /wp-admin, wp-content/plugins, /forum/bb-admin /forum/bb-plugins

and for the bbpress cookies are

wordpress_xxxxxxx and path /

and other cookies are with path

website.com/wp-admin

website.comwp-content/plugins

website.com/forum/bb-admin

website.com/forum/bb-plugins

I think this is the problem, but I don’t knew how to fix it, to have path without the host in bbpress cookies…

[grassrootspa]

If I had to rank them:

1) WYSYWYG / rich editing (tie!)

1) Facebook Connect (tie!)

3) Integration with WordPress (that login cookie thing really needs to be fixed)

The rest: interesting but the above 3=LOVE

4) Anonymous posting

5) Private messaging

6) Embed support, like videos

7) Email notification

Keyboard navigation

OMG, it would be awesome if ‘FB Connect’ was introduced into 1.1. This would mean it would only be a matter of time before ‘IntenseDebate Connect’! WOO HOO!

@ Olympus: I bet FB connect was a second or third choice for many folks

[Matt Mullenweg]

Just because there’s a plugin for something doesn’t mean it couldn’t be better integrated into core, in fact almost every feature in WordPress existed as a plugin first, the most recent example being the update system.

[chrishajer]

You have to log in there with a wordpress.org account, then you have some additional options. I’m not certain I see a way to create an account there, so create one at wordpress.org and then click “login” https://trac.bbpress.org/login – once that’s done, you will have the option to create a new ticket https://trac.bbpress.org/newticket

[chrishajer]

You have to log in there with a wordpress.org account, then you have some additional options. I’m not certain I see a way to create an account there, so create one at wordpress.org and then click “login” https://trac.bbpress.org/login – once that’s done, you will have the option to create a new ticket https://trac.bbpress.org/newticket

[gerikg]

casemon, I also installed this https://bbpress.org/plugins/topic/user-roles-table-for-bbpress/ maybe they work together??

[Nuul]

Indeed, the poll is a joke, they already have decided to work on WordPress integration OR Matt didn’t do his homework and check if any plugin existed first and just copied the results into a poll.

I guess people are too lazy to check if there is a plugin or don’t understand the way bbPress is set up: as small and less feature rich as possible, giving you the option to customize it anyway you like (through plugins etc)…. Would be a shame if that idea disappeared…

[gerikg]

I don’t think there should be a focus on things that can be already achieved by plugins.

Facebook Connect – There is no plugins

WYSYWYG / rich editing – There is a tinymce but I think _CK_ said it was far from being tiny (file size wise)

Anonymous posting – There is a plugin

Email notification – There is a plugin

Keyboard navigation – There is a no plugin, I believe

Embed support, like videos – There is a plugin but it doesn’t work for me.

Importers from other systems – There is a no plugin

Private messaging – There is a plugin

Integration with WordPress – There is a way to do it, not so easy.

Attachments – There is a plugin

[gerikg]

daudev if you are NOT using WPMU then you shouldn’t have so many lines.

delete what you pasted and follow these instructions

6 Login to your wordpress dashboard. Go to Plugins->Add New-> search for “bbPress Integration” it should be the first one. Install it and activate.

7 Go to Settings-> bbPress Integration. Enter the bbPress URL without the www. Your plugins URL leave blank. Click on Save Changes. On the bottom box you’ll see some text copy it. Most likely it will say “define( ‘COOKIEPATH’, ‘/’ );”

There should be only ONE line in both files. Make sure you have the correct checkbox that says wordpress not wordpressmu