Opening new topics by integration with another application

jorisw

Hi,

We're looking to use Vanilla as a daughter forum for a site that is like a local StackOverflow but for general purpose science and fact based questions.

The Vanilla forum would function as a receiver site of deleted questions on the StackOverflow-like site, so moderators on the main site would essentially move questions from that site to Vanilla if they are deemed unsuitable for that site.

Is this a feasible use case for Vanilla? Are there starting points for such an integration by which Vanilla accepts new topics from another application, including the user info, so that original poster becomes the opener of the new topic?

Thanks.

jorisw

FWIW: We intend to enable Single Sign-On between the sites too.

hgtonight

You would probably be interested in the Vanilla API application.

Welcome to the community!

jorisw

Thanks, will dive into that.

One quick question if you happen to know: will the API allow somebody in a moderator role, or the application addressing the API, to open a topic in another user's name?

hgtonight

I would assume that you would have to authenticate as a specific user before posting as them. I didn't see anything in the bundled documentation allowing you to authenticate as one user and post as another.

@kasperisager might give you more insight.

jorisw

Thanks. If @kasperisager could provide some insight that would be very helpful. The step by step scenario would be as follows:

• An SSO user posts a topic on a different (non Vanilla) site that is against that site's guidelines.
• An SSO user that is a moderator on both sites, removes the topic from that site and opts to move it to the Vanilla forum.
• The other site's back-end talks to the API of Vanilla to open the same topic with the same content so discussion may continue there. This happens in the absence of the original poster.

Kasper

That would be entirely possible. Simply do what needs to be done on the first site (permission check, removal of topic etc.) and then issue a POST to http://whatever/api/discussions using the OP's username or email.

jorisw

Thanks Kasper. And the API won't demand any kind of token authenticating the OP?

Kasper

No worries! The API will require that the call is authenticated but this does not involve the OP's password. Instead, it relies on a private API key - more info about that here http://code.webhutt.com/vanillaapi/wiki/Authentication#markdown-header-signature-based

jorisw

Awesome. Thank you very much.

Kasper

You're most certainly welcome! Let me know if anything else comes up

x00

SSO does not mean the user account will automatically exists, unless you explicitly do this.

Presumably you will want to copy the comments over too. which you can do one by one.

By my understanding is what you really want to do is copy or import whole discussions in including comments.

then you will have to implement appropriate formatter (although htmLawed could handle pre parsed data up to a point)

either you use a restful API (which you can extend), or make an import system that does it it one swoop.

then you will have to implement appropriate formatter (although htmLawed could handle pre parsed data up to a point).

All of this for display purposes? Or is this goign to be more than an archive?

jorisw

Thank you for your input.

It's going to be more than an archive. It's essentially going to be a sub product to which topics will be moved that are not suitable for a knowledge site, which is the main product.

jorisw

Will opening the required account in name of the original poster, be a problem, upon copying the topic?