The Joomla! Forum ™

After a month or so of mucking about, here we are: an attempt to offer a virtual community with focus on members.

On login, members go to Profile Page, where I have added a number of tabs/fields to enable members to present themselves.

Response to my Google Adwords ad takes visitor to a 'selling' page.

Been criticised for making pages too heavy. Since got rid of Google Maps API, which lightened the load.

I am not entirely happy with what I have built:
a.  Some content does not present exactly as I'd like.
b. Tried 4 editors, but default TinyMice seems best. JCE allowed members to delete system images...
c. Tried MMS Blog, now deleted (good) as Joomnblog allows input by email.
d. Tried WAP, but far too complicated for me, let alone members.

Even so, it seems more or less ok to me. I'd appreciate your thoughts and any constructive criticism.


Joomla_1.0.8
xplike.plesk.blue.rss template - 100% width, 3 columns.

AkoLegal - probably not needed as static pages would do as well.
Addict - Flash games - not as good as I'd like, but alternatives worse.
Artist Directory - neat - members can add their fav band.
Calendar - works a treat. Members add events by category.
Community Builder 1.0 - essential, to put focus on each member, who each get a Profile Page.
eZine 2.1 - v. useful to control layout. Used it for frontpage.
Gary's Cookbook - like it. Members add recipes, comments and ratings.
GroupJive - member groups are the way to go for communities.
JAwards - reward members with a medal.
JobLine - no job is safe these days
Joomap - absolutely essential to get indexed - works with Google Sitemaps
Joomblog - each member gets own weblog, with title and header
Joomlaboard Forum - not SMF, but good enough and integrates well with CB
joomlaXplorer - not really needed when one has ftp and CPanel
LxMenu - maybe, maybe not.
Mamblog - hmm, I find presentation of posts problematic. Maybe my fault. Integrates with CB.
Marketplace - we'll see.
Prince Clan Chess - nice. Members challenge and play vs each other.
RS Gallery 2 - not the most powerful, but it works well; integrates perfectly; good modules.
uddeIM - for free OS, v. good. Integrates well, also with CB.
User Home Pages - one of a number of systems, it's ok.
Web Links - oh well.

_________________
Moved from Joomla to Drupal
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic ... #msg333361

Hi there. I am reviewing your site as we speak.

The recipe section - is that just the standard Section/Category functions? When you click the "Recipe" link from the main menu, it takes you to the listing of categories, which are displayed with image, title, and description, but stacked one atop the other. This is similar to how I wanted to organize my portfolio/services categories. What combination of parameters creates this display, if you don't mind me asking?

Great site. Very content rich.

Thanks,
Rina

_________________
Rina Hatcher
Green Rain Graphics
http://www.greenraingraphics.com (under development)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.buckaroocommunications.com (where I work

Can you link me to the Artist Directory extension?  Can't find it on extensions.joomla.org

You using th CB revenue sharing mod on this site?

_________________
- http://userwrittenresources.com
>> Joomla+CommunityBuilder+CB Google AdSense Revenue Sharing module
- http://productiveresearch.com

Many thanks for your comments, Rina. The recipe com is Gary's Cookbook:
http://extensions.joomla.org/component/option,com_mtree/task,viewlink/link_id,190/Itemid,35/
There is a portfolio com about somewhere - a search should find it (here or Google: joomla portfolio), but if not, I imagine that modding the cookbook is feasble.
The cookbook com allows members to add their own recipes and both comment and rate others'. This is probably more than you need.

Thanks again!
Firefly

_________________
Moved from Joomla to Drupal
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic ... #msg333361

The Artist Directory is here:
http://www.joomlaya.com/index.php?option=com_remository&func=fileinfo&filecatid=906
Comments on it say that it doesn't work... LOL! - it just needs content. So create categories before making it public. It works perfectly.

I have the CB revenue-sharing mod, but it is one of the many which I am keeping invisible for the mo' - I will implement it at a future date.

Cheers!

_________________
Moved from Joomla to Drupal
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic ... #msg333361

finally looked into Artist Directory - was getting a divide by zero error
so the divide by zero error only occurs when there's no content eh?  lol i thought as much, but that seemed like really weak coding to error out on that.. i just ended up using ArtistAvenue because it seems to be newer..

_________________
- http://userwrittenresources.com
>> Joomla+CommunityBuilder+CB Google AdSense Revenue Sharing module
- http://productiveresearch.com

Hi Firefly,

I like your variable width clear templates, but...

• Bookmarks is a much more powerful and versatile component than Weblinks for managing links.
• I think you would promote your site better if you used J-Link Us
• and also Recommend Plus, a tell a friend component + module.

Cheers!

_________________
My Extensions: JM-Recommend, JM-Credits, JM-Link Us (for J! 1.0.x). Find them in the 3rd Party Extensions Forum.
Joomla test installation: www.poraqui.net/joomla  User: test  Password: test

Thanks for those thoughts, which I will consider fully.

Have since ditched mamblog for Joomblog, which offers members a real blog, with the ability to personalise.
Installed bot_tagbot1.0 this morning, which creates bookmarks at some major sites.

Thanks again!

Later...
tagbot was faulty and the later version worse, so I have unpublished it. Today I installed Simple Review, which allows reviews of anything I set (in catergories). It looks nice.

I ditched Artist Directory and tried/uninstalled another version because neither allow members to add content.

This inablity is native to Joomla.

It is one of the severe downsides to Joomla, which is designed for admins - site owners - to add content, but not members. Joomla would be a poor CMS if it weren't for Community Builder, which moves the focus onto a site's members.
This poor attitude (towards members) is reflected also in the blogging addons. It is worse than the fact Joomla developers don't know what blogging is - even my grandma knows that - and so treat all content as 'blog' - Joomla is not designed to allow 'users' (members) to add content. So in my discussions with Jonathan (developer of Joomblog) about functionality, it appears that members (sorry, users) cannot post to their weblogs because (a) it never occured to anyone what a blog is, and (b) that bloggers should not need to seek permission to publish every post.

Can you imagine the chaos at any blog host if an editor had to okay every post? It is too ridiculous to contemplate. And totally unworkable. Yet this is Joomla.

I am seriously contemplating switching to TikiWiki, which is massively powerful and user-orientated - and by user, here, I do not mean admin, but members of the site. In my opinion, Joomla is inherently flawed by being techno-orientated. It is the approach that has killed off many technologies and products over the decades, not matter how (or maybe because they are) advanced.

The bright light is that Joomblog now offers the prospect of real blogging. I will try and be patient.

Patience ended:
http://www.joomladeveloping.org/smf/index.php?topic=316.new;topicseen#new
[url=http://joomlafreeware.com/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=29&func=view&id=854&catid=8]http://joomlafreeware.com/index.php?option=com_joomlaboard&Itemid=29&func=view&id=854&catid=8
[/url]
Now moving to TikiWiki.

_________________
Moved from Joomla to Drupal
http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic ... #msg333361