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QuoteHi!
We're currently looking at forum solutions to go with our wordpress site. I'll have to do a large amount of theming to match our existing look-and-feel, so had some basic questions about theming ..
It appears Simple:Press wants you to edit themes thru the web ? and the actual theme 'zip' files appear to inline the templates in an XML document. Do these get unpacked to 'real' files I can edit locally and checkin to git ?
Do you have a lot of freedom in theming to actually 'build' a page, say by getting a listing of forums/topics/posts and rolling your own loop (I ask because I'm always getting asked to do wierd stuff, like custom sorts so 'featured' topics stay on 'top' of the list). Ideally there'd be helpers that just let me get get a raw array of say forums or topics?
I also will have to integrate our ad engine - Do the 'member' plugins include any ad server integrations ?
Oh - and one stupid one - Does Simple Press support threaded/nested comments? I don't see how to enable them...
P.S.
I finally got access to the site, and just got the plugin installed - took 3 days to finally get thru!
OfflineHey Mech422,
Yes you can edit theme files locally. The theme folder is in wp-content > sp-resources > forum-themes. You can copy a forum theme folder, rename, and completely redesign just like a WP theme. SP also has the option of using child themes, so you don't loose any changes when updating.
I'm not 100% sure what you're referring to when you say 'build a page', but if you mean a static page then no, SP is dynamic and always displayed on one page. You do however have a lot of freedom with what you can do with the templates using functions, arguments and hooks.
You do have the ability to look at what data is being used in a section using the data inspector in the toolbox. You can enable any object and it will populate the relevant section with the data, and although this will show on the forum itself, it will only be visible to the user who enabled it - so it won't interfere with a live forum. Very useful for customisation..
I'm not too sure about the ad engine question. We don't have an 'ad server integration' plugin, but take a look at the FAQ, specifically How to display ads in the forum for a bit more info.
Unfortunately at this time SP does not have threaded / nested comments functionality, and there have only been the odd request for this in the past. However, it is noted as a request so it could potentially be something we look at adding in the future, but there are no current plans.
Hope this helps!
Thank You for the great reply!
By 'build' a page, I meant the ability to totally build a template from the ground up - a custom page loop, custom DB queries ( query lists of forums, topics, replies, etc and filter by arbitrary criteria ). The first use case we have is a custom landing page, with links to each forum across the top, 'hot topics' in the middlish, and 'all time favorites' (topics with the most comments, total - not just recently) underneath that. (I had a hard time getting bbpress to give me a plain array of forum/topics)
In general - just the ability to pull out any random bits of data that SP might have access to and display in a custom page template with a custom page loop, etc.
Thanks again for the help!
BTW - I got locked out the site again. Seems like I can only get in every other day :-/
OfflineSounds like you probably mean a custom WordPress page template into which you can drop data from the forum tables. Sounds pretty good to me and if you know your way around php, sql and css eminently doable.
When you say 'locked out' can you expand on that?
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Awesome - thats exactly what I mean 
Hopefully this weekend I'll get a chance to play with the SP templates!
By 'locked out' - I mean I get blackholed just after your providers DDOS protection machines. I actually did a whois and contacted your upstream provider last weekend, and they informed me it was due to firewall rules Simple Press has in place and not the DDOS protection system. As it was due to 'customer configuration' they couldn't discuss it with me - all they could tell me is they are not blocking me, but yes I am definately blocked. So it appears SP has some firewall rules that put temporary bans on IPs ?
Thanks again for the help!
Steve
OfflineNot too sure on the locked out comments so will have to wait for someone else to take a look here..
But glad to help, have fun!
Offline
the plugin does not do anything to a firewall... it cannot block your site's access to ours for checking for updates... and if there was such a general problem, I think our large community of users would report such an issue... and hard for us to look into anything if more info cannot be provided...
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I realize that - I didn't say anything about the plugin ?
When I couldn't reach the website last weekend, I did a trace route, found the last hop I could reach, and did a whois lookup for the technical contact for that hop. I called them and let them know I was having issues connecting. The looked into it, and told me in fact I was blocked by the customer (eg simple-press.com) and since it wasnt a network issue, they couldn't help me.
I'm guessing you hosting package comes with some sort of configurable DDOS protection, that places temporary bans on 'suspect' IPs - perhaps one of the rules is a lil too sensitive?
Anyway, I'm just passing along what I was told via the operations group at your upstream network provider....If I'm the only one affected, guess it just sucks to be me.
Offline
well, when you said simple press has a firewall protection, we take that to mean the simple press plugin... if you meant the site, sorry for misunderstanding your meaning...
as to temp bans on IPs, certainly, but it has not been an issue with others... of course, its possible your IP comes from a list of suspected IPs, but if so, its your host who would have to work to 'clear the name' of their IPs... but in reality, we dont use hardly any external IP lists for bans, just suspicious behavior or attempts... but think that would be a specific IP ban and not a range... if you wanted to pass along your IP, could check it against any lists...
and it never sucks to be you... its great to be you... dont let anyone tell you differently... 
That's what I tell myself!
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