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BotStop with Registration Approval

dskancedskance New
edited February 2013 in Vanilla 2.0 - 2.8

While I'm aware that Vanilla addons might require some intermediate proficiency with code tinkering, I found the instructions for using BotStop with Registration Approval scattered and unfriendly to inexperience. I have to wonder why the Approval configuration was excluded from the addon package to begin with, making it necessary to cut, paste and shuffle this and that amongst various php documents. Regardless of that oversight, I think a cohesive step-by-step walkthrough of the process that some have successfully completed would be eminently helpful to people like me who can't easily connect the dots in these separate discussions.

Before anyone responds with a link to another post in an existing discussion, let me clarify that this would be no change from the difficulty I'm talking about. What I'd really appreciate is someone taking a few minutes to outline in detail the tasks required from start to finish that result in BotStop working in conjunction with Registration Approval. Impatient admonitions to search the forum will be useless to me. I have searched the forum and what I found was too disjointed or curt to provide the guidance I so pitifully need.

For the time being, I've switched to the Basic mode of registration and signed up for reCAPTCHA so that I could implement BotStop without pulling what remains of my hair from its roots. Should one charitable soul find the time to accommodate my ignorance, I will be in your debt.

Comments

  • vrijvlindervrijvlinder Papillon-Sauvage MVP
    edited February 2013

    I think a cohesive step-by-step walkthrough of the process that some have successfully completed would be eminently helpful

    please follow the directions by peregrine here and do it carefully, pay close attention, it does not get any more simple than that.

    Create One folder called registerapproval.php put it in the views folder of BotStop then Cut and paste the code peregrine wrote for the class.BotStop.plugin.php and the registerapproval.php .

    http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/20464/feedback-on-botstop-plugin#latest

    this would be no change from the difficulty I'm talking about

    Then you can counter that difficulty by visiting and learning from:

    http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp

    I have to wonder why the Approval configuration was excluded from the addon package to begin with, making it necessary to cut, paste

    Because the plugin does not know what other plugins you are using until you tell it so.

  • Shall I place the spiteful disregard and condescension in the folder called registerapproval.php?

  • vrijvlindervrijvlinder Papillon-Sauvage MVP
    edited February 2013

    No, I'm afraid php does not recognize adjectives as valid syntax.... :(

  • Neat. Anyway, still looking for help with this if someone can sympathize with my position. Certain phrases on the Vanilla & Community Goals page got my hopes up. I'll try not to jump to any contrary conclusions after just one response.

  • whu606whu606 I'm not a SuperHero; I just like wearing tights... MVP
    edited February 2013

    @FantasticHorror

    This is a community supported forum.

    Your snotty attitude, frankly, isn't going to make anyone rush to stop what they are doing to sort you out.

    People make plugins available, for free, as is. If you can get them to work, great; if not, well, that's not the maker's problem. If they choose to support their plugin that's just extra kindness.

    If you can't follow the discussion in the thread then I don't see how repeating them will help.

    I was able to follow them and get it to work fine, so I know they are clear enough to be followed without any great coding knowledge.

    As to your 'hopes' or otherwise, there are hundreds and hundreds of threads on here where people have got just the support they were looking for.

    You can place the 'get him' wherever you like.

    All you need to know to answer your question is here: http://vanillaforums.org/discussion/21349/bonk-when-trying-to-register#latest including a copy of the contents of a working file.

  • My request could not have been more courteous or specific. The response I got was tailored to invalidate my request and shoo me away to untold hours of PHP scripting study. I would have been more satisfied with no response at all. If my restrained indignation qualifies as snot while the preceding belittlement and subsequent flippancy doesn't, I must defer to the prevailing culture of the forum and leave that as it stands.

    The fact remains that neither of you had to waste your time reproducing the same information I saw elsewhere, found unhelpful and described as such in my original post. But I suppose this was an opportunity to make an example to discourage anyone else who might presume to ask for remedial assistance. Newcomers, take note.

    I understand your time is valuable and should be conserved. Please do so with my blessing. I'm prepared to wait for someone who can spare a couple of minutes to outline the procedure in layman's terms. This would be just the support I was looking for.

  • whu606whu606 I'm not a SuperHero; I just like wearing tights... MVP
    edited February 2013

    Good luck with that.

    If you want sympathy, it never hurts to come across as sympathetic.

  • dskancedskance New
    edited February 2013

    Thanks, that's the best support I've received so far. Already things are looking up.

  • vrijvlindervrijvlinder Papillon-Sauvage MVP
    edited February 2013

    My request could not have been more courteous or specific.

    really?

    I found the instructions for using BotStop with Registration Approval scattered and unfriendly to inexperience.

    Before anyone responds with a link to another post in an existing discussion, let me
    clarify that this would be no change from the difficulty I'm talking about

    So you are saying is that no matter what, you just can't understand anything specially if the answer is in one or several old discussions when people asked the same thing but for some reason you can't understand it. And you refuse to even look at the informations specifically stating not to post links to the answers because you won't understand it either?!:

    Before anyone responds with a link to another post in an existing discussion, let me clarify that this would be no change from the difficulty I'm talking about

    So right here you are imposing how we should help you because the standard way you don't enjoy? Outright saying "don't bother posting links to the answers"

    The fact remains that neither of you had to waste your time reproducing the same information I saw elsewhere

    Yes I realize it was a waste of time, you can take the horse to water, but you can't make him drink...

    I'm prepared to wait for someone who can spare a couple of minutes to outline the procedure in layman's terms.

    You will have to wait for ever because there is no way to explain this stuff any more easily than I did above without it turning into a php tutorial. Which by the way does not take endless hours of study. You search for what you need to learn at that moment, eventually it all starts to make sense. I am rather new here, but I applied myself and learned the basics on my own so I could aid myself and those who were helping me at the beginning.

    I am still not an expert, but can tell when someone just does not want to learn and wants others to do all the work including searching for answers.

    Shall I place the spiteful disregard and condescension in the folder called registerapproval.php?
    But I suppose this was an opportunity to make an example to discourage anyone else who might presume to ask for remedial assistance. Newcomers, take note.

    Sorry but people here don't make examples of others for cattiness . People generally come here to learn how to fix things themselves. There is a system called search, we all use it to find the same answers you have. If you don't like it or can't do it then it would be helpful for you to learn something on your own.

    The question is, Can you follow directions if you don't understand the stuff , at least?
    Can you copy paste stuff , can you create a folder. If you answered yes to those then I think your only problem is self limiting.

    When you start a task thinking you can't do it, there is not much anyone else can do to convince you.

    Maybe people will see your approach to getting help to resolve an issue, and think twice before arrogantly insulting the community forum that they expect to provide help for them.

    People get frustrated when they don't understand something, the solution is learning about it then no frustration. If you can't learn about it then pay someone to help you and you can be as mean as you want because you are paying.

    This is a forum made up of users like you. People here are not employees of Vanilla and help others with their questions on a voluntary basis depending on their expertise and willingness to help.

    I can tell you that I am the lowest on the totem pole here, likely the most inexperienced with php, yet I was able to fix the same issues you face by following the directions . So if I can do it, anyone can....You can too.

  • businessdadbusinessdad Stealth contributor MVP

    I'll try to express my point of view, hoping to to fuel a fire: I haven't used BotStop plugin and I'm not familiar with its features and limitations, but I spent some time reading about it and the issue with Registration Approval method.

    @FantasticHorror, to answer your question:

    why the Approval configuration was excluded from the addon package to begin with

    I would say it was not "excluded", but, simply, it was not considered. Most probably, the Author didn't need to support such registration method, therefore he didn't think of coding the plugin to handle it.
    Very often, plugins are developed to satisfy the creator's specific needs, then given to the community as a contribution. When they are given free of charge, as @whu606 wrote, they have to be considered as being distributed under an "as is" basis, because the developer doesn't have the time or interest in supporting, maintaining or extending them. Since they weren't designed following precise specifications, it's quite possible that they are incomplete, or that they contain bugs.

    About the quality of support
    As @vrijvlinder pointed out, this community is almost entirely populated by people not affiliated with Vanilla Ltd. Users, Developers and Designers coming here do it on a voluntary basis, and they provide their contribution in form of help, plugins, themes and so on. Some people have more experience, some have less and the quality of their contributions can vary accordingly (nothing personal against anybody, I'm stating something quite obvious).

    I appreciate that, sometimes, the answers are not the clearest and I fully understand that it can be frustrating to feel "lost", but, to say it bluntly, nobody here is entitled to a "better quality free support". Personally, when I don't like the quality of free stuff I get, I develop myself something that better suits my needs, or I buy it from someone else (who then has the duty of supporting it).

    @FantasticHorror, based on what you have written, here's my understanding of your position:

    • You have an issue with BotStop plugin.
    • You feel you would not be able to modify the plugin to suit your needs, following the instructions provided in the linked discussions.
    • You are not satisfied with support provided so far.
    • Your would like someone to collect all the information related to the issue and rewrite them in form of a "step by step tutorial" that you could follow easily.

    If the above is correct, your best best, as suggested by @vrijvlinder, would be hiring someone to help you. That way you would not have to spend your time learning PHP (I'm sure you could make a better use of your time), and you would be allowed to expect a top quality service, in a timely manner.

  • Surely you have more productive things to do than undermine my objective because you find me disagreeable. What concern is it of yours that I rise to the challenge and broaden my horizons? What's the harm if someone is persuaded to fulfill my request? The only threat I can imagine is the nullification of your interference. You've invested many lines of text and that investment is your only real concern now. No other purpose is being served. Feel free to confirm my hypothesis with continued opposition.

  • 422422 Developer MVP

    So essentially, you want someone to give you a walk thru guide, in implementing this bot stop with registration. Provide no links, just a tutorial ?

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  • vrijvlindervrijvlinder Papillon-Sauvage MVP

    ok, how about :

    Just follow the directions available to fix your problem and lighten up FFS !

    you find me disagreeable.

    Not at all, I find you unwilling to follow directions to fix your problem.

    What's the harm if someone is persuaded to fulfill my request?

    We tried but you rejected our approach and methods. That is harmful only to you since you are the one with the problem that needs fixing. No other purpose is being served.

  • whu606whu606 I'm not a SuperHero; I just like wearing tights... MVP

    @FantasticHorror

    You seem to confuse prolixity with erudition.

    As @vrijvlinder says, you're the one with the problem.

    We've got Botstop with registration approval working, which we managed by simply following the more than adequate information in the threads already suggested.

    How are you getting on?

  • vrijvlindervrijvlinder Papillon-Sauvage MVP
    edited February 2013
  • As stimulating as it would be to swipe feverishly at the dangling bait, my services here are no longer required. Others in my group have arrived at a solution that doesn't involve the ordeal of configuring any addon. It'll be fun for you to know that the issue was settled a day or more before I started this teeth-pulling endeavor, therefore my part in this discussion was just as pointless as anyone else's.

    If ever this forum account is used again, there will be someone more charming and forgiving than me behind the keyboard. Sayonara, high-fives all around.

  • 422422 Developer MVP

    how annoying, least your sorted. :) bon voyage

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