The Plugin Ideas Topic

[a_5mith]

So, this was originally going to be a topic comparing the top 10 plugins of various forum software and comparing it directly to NodeBB, but after looking through the sorts of things other forum software is pushing out, I've scrapped that idea. (You can see the notes I made here, I wouldn't bother, it's almost certainly shi...anyway)

So instead of that, I had a different idea, rather than the fantastic plugin developers making plugins and things that they/we think might be useful and only ever get a few downloads (I'm guilty of a few of them), we could bounce some features around that could maybe be pushed into a working plugin at some point. There's loads in the forums that people have mentioned "could be a plugin" @julian is definitely guilty of that one , but I doubt they'll be found again. So, why not put them here, this would then maybe give the plugin devs something to work towards, rather than just building for the sake of building them, and gives us a "goal".

Now I don't want anyone thinking that if a plugin idea is put here, that it will be built and available to you within 24 hours, that won't happen, so there's no point repeating the same plugin over and over and asking on progress etc. This is more for ideas than requests. If you've got the $$$ and need a plugin post haste, I'm sure the guys at sales [at] nodebb.org will be able to help out.

TL;DR, post ideas for plugins here and maybe someday it may materialise into a plugin. Also I do hope this was ok to post, I don't want to intrude as some false spokesperson, but I'm out of plugin ideas, so you know., I need the ideas.

###Plugin Ideas###

• Follow topics you reply to automatically - Implemented
• OP Mod status for that topic
• Email domain blacklist
• Disable RSS (could be done in Nginx I believe) - Implemented
• XMPP support for chat
• Custom User Fields. (Favourite Cheese etc)
• Form to Post (potentially external)
• Show Users that viewed topic
• Show Users that liked posts - 0.5.1
• Best Answer
• Forum Subscriptions
• Soundcloud SSO
• Mixcloud SSO

[luke]

Here's some stuff I'd like to see:

• Follow topics you reply to automatically - I've lost hope of this making it into core, but it's essential imo. It's a basic feature on every forum software I've used except NodeBB.
• Homepage as "all topics" view - looks like this is in development
• OP (topic creator) is topic moderator
• The ability to delete a user account but put the email on a blocklist, which would be handy for spammers, because you could delete their content and burn their email address so they can't register again. Not sure if something similar to this exists in the NodeBB antispam plugin.

[Tanner]

Ok here's my list:

• Disable all RSS feeds (self-explanatory)
• Form-to-post plugin (fill out a form and have it automatically make a post in a certain category)
• Subforums (if it's possible to have a category not listed in the main forums section and then only accessible via a top-level category)
• XMPP integration with chat (have the protocol be tied to an XMPP server)
• Group chats
• And more...

Will think of more and will add to this list as time goes on.

[a_5mith]

@luke said:

Here's some stuff I'd like to see:

• Follow topics you reply to automatically - I've lost hope of this making it into core, but it's essential imo. It's a basic feature on every forum software I've used except NodeBB.

Not any I've used.

• Homepage as "all topics" view - looks like this is in development

Isn't this possible with the custom homepage and one category?

• The ability to delete a user account but put the email on a blocklist, which would be handy for spammers, because you could delete their content and burn their email address so they can't register again. Not sure if something similar to this exists in the NodeBB antispam plugin.

Wouldn't work, spammers don't use the same email address, they use any host of temporary email suppliers, mailinator, gmx,minutemail + hundreds more.

A better option here would be being able to specify a list of blacklisted email domains.

@Tanner said:

Ok here's my list:

• Disable all RSS feeds (self-explanatory)
• Form-to-post plugin (fill out a form and have it automatically make a post in a certain category)
• Subforums (if it's possible to have a category not listed in the main forums section and then only accessible via a top-level category)
• XMPP integration with chat (have the protocol be tied to an XMPP server)
• Group chats
• And more...

Will think of more and will add to this list as time goes on.

Group chats and sub forums are going into core if github serves me correctly, so no need for plugins on those.

[Tanner]

The anti-RSS plugin I mentioned would be a huge help to me.

[luke]

@a_5mith said:> @luke said:

Here's some stuff I'd like to see:

• Follow topics you reply to automatically - I've lost hope of this making it into core, but it's essential imo. It's a basic feature on every forum software I've used except NodeBB.

Not any I've used.

SMF has that feature, I know you've used that.

• Homepage as "all topics" view - looks like this is in development

Isn't this possible with the custom homepage and one category?

If it is, then we need some sort of guide imo.

• The ability to delete a user account but put the email on a blocklist, which would be handy for spammers, because you could delete their content and burn their email address so they can't register again. Not sure if something similar to this exists in the NodeBB antispam plugin.

Wouldn't work, spammers don't use the same email address, they use any host of temporary email suppliers, mailinator, gmx,minutemail + hundreds more.

A better option here would be being able to specify a list of blacklisted email domains.

That would be a better option, but I have had situations where I've deleted a spammer account and they've come back under the same email address.

@Tanner Would love to see subforums for sure, but only if they're restricted to one level deep, I hate it when admins on other forum software go crazy with subforums.

[a_5mith]

@luke said:

SMF has that feature, I know you've used that.

That looks like SMF 2.1, which has been in development for the past 3 years and is not recommended for a live site, SMF 2.0.7/8 doesn't have notifications.

To make sure we don't get any repeat requests etc, I'll add them all into first post (that could actually be plugins, not ones that are either being worked into core, or are already possible through core (mods can edit as required if something I've put as possible isn't etc)

[Tanner]

@luke I don't think there should be a restriction on the levels, should simply depend on the needs of the forum.

[esiao]

Don't know if possible as a plugin. But I would absolutely love to see a ACF(wordpress) like plugin for user profiles.

• Ability to create fields of different types.
• Use them in templates.

And a second one :

• People who have seen this message.

[a_5mith]

@Tanner I agree, if people only want one child category, then one it is, if they want 20, so be it. However it won't be a plugin, I believe it's core.

@esiao said

• People who have seen this message.

Message? Do you mean topic? Post? Chat message? Like a delivery receipt?

[Tanner]

@a_5mith Why not make a master list of plugin ideas in the OP of this thread? That way anyone looking for an idea has one place to go.

[a_5mith]

@Tanner said:

@a_5mith Why not make a master list of plugin ideas in the OP of this thread? That way anyone looking for an idea has one place to go.

I have...

###Plugin Ideas###

• Follow topics you reply to automatically
• OP Mod status for that topic
• Email domain blacklist
• Disable RSS (could be done in Nginx I believe)
• XMPP support for chat
• Custom User Fields. (Favourite Cheese etc)

Any new ones are added every now and then. (If they're legitimate plugin ideas, and not "Hurry up with 0.5.0" or "sub categories".)

[Tanner]

What about the form-to-post suggestion

[a_5mith]

@Tanner Missed that one... Shh

[esiao]

@a_5mith I mean topic and post at first. Like the who's browsing but hidden under the posts and that you can toggle.
And I add a new one :

• List the person who liked a post. (I think the main one in that case to add some value to it).

[Mauricio]

Definitely will like to see Q&A features. To start just:

• Choose best answer (and mark topic as solved)

[a_5mith]

@Mauricio Mark topic as solved is already available with nodebb-plugin-topic-badges

Will add choosing best answer though.

[Tanner]

Here's another one, unless I missed it and it's already out there somewhere: RSS to posts feed plugin, where you can link an RSS feed to automatically make posts.

[a_5mith]

@Tanner https://github.com/barisusakli/nodebb-plugin-rss

[Tanner]

Perfect! Thanks a lot @a_5mith