pre-modded package for RavenNuke

Regular Joined: Jan 18, 2011 Posts: 86

Hi all,

I'm currently working on an idea to create a pre-edited package for RavenNuke.
This would include the bbcode extension (so that people can embed youtube video's in forum posts) for all the free themes i can find over this website and other websites who are legit Nuke-resellers (nothing like PHPnuke-downloads.com hate them pirating buggers). side note: I'm currently using bbcode extension mod by Loki for version 2.30 on my RN2.40.01 website (works flawlessly)

I also would like to include all free modules that I can find over the web.
some good ones are located here: [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ] (very trustworthy coder with good support)

The question is however, would you be willing to post this package for others to have a smoother experience installing Raven Nuke? So that they don't have to find the ins and outs like I had to do in the past.

It would make life easier for many clans out there willing to make a proffessional website, but lacking the skills or time to learn it all. The Nuke community has been good to me, it's time for me to do something back

Also I would like to know when Raven Nuke 2.5 is due, because I allready contacted some people on the clanthemes website. Ped said he'd been running around with a like-wise idea for some time now aswell. But he pointed out that 2.5 might launch soon, so I figured i'd come here to see what's what and what not.

Let me know what you think about this idea and give me some feedback

best regards
rrclansite (A.K.A. actnreactgaming)

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:16 am

I cannot speak for Raven or the RN Team but a couple of things spring to mind;
1 RN is deliberately 'skinny' because that is what most people have requested. They want a stable, core package with a decent selection of core modules that the majority of users would actually use. I understand and appreciate what you mean when you say you want to create a package that has more modules/add-ons (to save people installing them seperately) but that is the whole purpose of a CMS/Portal or provide basic functionality which people can easily expand upon with have a core package that has a ton of stuff that most users would not use.

2 How would you evaluate the security and quality of coding of these third party modules and possible interactions between them?

3 Would you have the resources to provide a fast turn around for support?

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:33 am

There are also several *nuke based systems that are being developed that have all the bells and whistles.

[ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ]
[ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ]

I'm sure either one would or could use help with their releases. Platinum is working on a new release that has a RavenNuke compatibility layer that allows for most of my addons to work with it.

Not saying not to do it, but supporting a cms is a serious undertaking.

Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 10:45 am

well thats the thing, I find that RN 2.40.01 is quite stable in itself allready (with all the modules I installed to my RN 2.40.01 website it still works like a charm)

I was just thinking about this so that it would be easier for people to install it. I must admit I've never looked into platinum or xtreme. I do not know if the installation process is similar or harder. I just found that RN has great support around here and I might tweak a thing or two so that it comes with standard things when you upload your package.

So basically support wouldn't really be neccessary when this package works out like I'm hoping.

I don't know if you got any other ideas around this matter?

best regards,
rrclansite / actnreactgaming

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:14 pm

Quote:

I also would like to include all free modules that I can find over the web.

Really, nobody needs bloated software.
I believe the trend is completely different.
Clean and flexible, fast loading website and very secure.
With all your free modules you will get big security issues. Good luck anyway ! Nuke Platinum .de was similar to your idea and it ended without happy end.

Site Admin Joined: Aug 22, 2007 Posts: 1772

Susann wrote:

Really, nobody needs bloated software.
I believe the trend is completely different.
Clean and flexible, fast loading website and very secure.
With all your free modules you will get big security issues. Good luck anyway ! Nuke Platinum .de was similar to your idea and it ended without happy end.

no more words needed...thats correct!

it would be not easier for people to install it. for example, i delete in the current RN release 3 or 4 uneeded modules. why more in the package? you will blow up only the database and the webspace. quite apart from security issues.

Involved Joined: Feb 03, 2006 Posts: 269

This is Ped, neralex gave me the link after a few email exchanges, so I want to make my point of view public.

Whilst I have thought about this long and hard since RN 2.1.0 Wink

I think it would probably be a bad idea.

I know anyone is allowed to make forks, and they do... I dont think its going to improve the package deal users get...

RN is one mean stripped down safe and secure CMS, the older modules and MOD's are just that OLD, outdated and sloppy code and probably in some cases unsecured.

You could add a few together into a package and make a "RN Gaming" deal but make it quite clear that the code is probably sloppy and if installed support from the RN team will be limited, what i dont want to see is a gaming package overtake from what the RN team have done for the community, because lets face it 70% of PHPNuke these days are used for gamin sites...

Initially I just wanted to do a forums mod pack, so that they can download, upload run a install file and there done... its not as simple as that though because no doubt forum .tpl files would need modding as well...

I didn't do it in the end because Xtreme did it to Nuke Evo, and Xtreme seems to be the most popular for gaming sites these days, so why re-invent the wheel.

Im not trying to put you off neralex, but its a potential huge undertaking and supportive role... im not sure where to take it if i was considering it... we have all the downloads and more on our site that users can install if they wish, and personally that's how I like it, start with a basic CMS and install what I need, that's just my personal opinion though

I agree there are things that need addressing in RN, like the News module needs modernising and some modules need binning like "Journal, AvantGo and Encyclopedia" but again that's just my tastes and i just delete them on install with the DB tables..

Please dont feel like im being negative to your idea's because you wont be the first to want to make a new fork, or package... i just want you to put it all into context first.. maybe start with a few tweaks and see how popular they are ???

Ped

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:35 am

Also keep in mind that Raven owns the trademark for RavenNuke(tm) so you cannot use that in your name. There was a similar thread here a few years back which also discussed this I think.

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:21 am

first let me get this straight. xGSTQ = Ped from [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ]

second, I understand the "reluctance" (if I may call it that) for the pre-modded package.

However I do feel that it could potentially be a good package to release (if the right support for creating the package in the first place is there). That means I DO NOT intend to call it something of my own. I do not want to take credit for the hard work that Raven has put into this CMS, I just want to contribute to make a stable, but modded release for Raven Nuke.

So basic outline of my idea in the first place is this:

1. it is going to be a modded package of Raven Nuke
2. it is going to be named Raven Nuke 2.xx.xx (m) where m stands for modded
3. it will remain a part of Raven Nuke CMS and HE will take credit for it.
4. it will consist of USEFULL (clan)modules.
5. it will not consist with USELESS (clan)modules (I personally don't use avantgo or Encyclopedia) so modules like these will be deleted from the package (with perhaps a script to remove the corresponding tables in the database)
6. it will include the bbcode extension for the forums, so that people can embed youtube video's and such (I do not know what security risks this brings along but I certainly think it is a hell of a mod for a clan website)

This was the general idea at the first place, again I understand the reluctance but would it not be a good package in the end, if the right people work on it?

best regards,
actnreactgaming

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:35 am

Please note my response is purely my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect that of Raven, the RN Team or 'RavenNuke (tm)'.

rrclansite wrote:

first let me get this straight. xGSTQ = Ped from [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ]

Yes, that is correct.

Quote:

second, I understand the "reluctance" (if I may call it that) for the pre-modded package.

I don't see any reluctance. It is purely down to having the manpower to produce and maintain it. RN 2.4.01 was released on or around the 28th March 2010. With a small but dedicated team of developers and QA testers, it has already taken up 20 months and will likely stretch to 2 year interval before RN 2.5 is released. With a more comprehensive package, there would either have to be paid development via sponsorship, or a much larger development team just to keep to the same time interval between main releases.

Quote:

However I do feel that it could potentially be a good package to release (if the right support for creating the package in the first place is there).

Yes it could, I would agree with you. The problem is the simply is not enough manpower to maintain it.

Quote:

That means I DO NOT intend to call it something of my own. I do not want to take credit for the hard work that Raven has put into this CMS, I just want to contribute to make a stable, but modded release for Raven Nuke.

As has already been discussed, no one could stop you from legally doing so (moral and ethical implications are a different ball game), though you would clearly not be able to use either 'Raven' or 'RavenNuke' in the name of the product nor any of the images.
I should also mention that when RN2.5 is released, Raven and/or the dev Team could actually, legally change the license terms due to internal changes of the code, so my statement above is subject to the license remaining the same.

Quote:

So basic outline of my idea in the first place is this:
1. it is going to be a modded package of Raven Nuke
2. it is going to be named Raven Nuke 2.xx.xx (m) where m stands for modded

It is highly unlikely Raven would allow anyone to use the RN name as there is the potential to confuse users and also tarnish the product reputation.

Quote:

3. it will remain a part of Raven Nuke CMS and HE will take credit for it.

As previously discussed, it would very unlikely Raven would take credit for a package someone else built and he would most certainly NOT want to get lumbered with maintaining it or providing support for it.

Quote:

4. it will consist of USEFULL (clan)modules.

Such as?
Wouldn't it be a better solution to simply write new modules or bring older modules up to scratch so users have the ability to install what they want?

Quote:

5. it will not consist with USELESS (clan)modules (I personally don't use avantgo or Encyclopedia) so modules like these will be deleted from the package (with perhaps a script to remove the corresponding tables in the database)

Well, what is useless to one person is essential for another. That is one of the reasons there has been many discussions on this site on what modules users want to see removed or added.

Quote:

6. it will include the bbcode extension for the forums, so that people can embed youtube video's and such (I do not know what security risks this brings along but I certainly think it is a hell of a mod for a clan website)

That is exactly my point about throwing in stuff for the sake of having it. There are some BBCode forum mods out there that DO have inherent security issues and again, it comes back to maintenance. YouTube etc BBCode mods might work fine today but what happens if/when YouTube change their API?

Quote:

This was the general idea at the first place, again I understand the reluctance but would it not be a good package in the end, if the right people work on it?

If enough demand was shown, then like any other business, it is in the interests of the provider to take those interests on-board. After all, if there is no demand, there is no product. If the product does fit the needs of it's users, they use a different product.

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:00 am

Not exactly sure every forum mod you speak of, but in regards to advanced bbcode box, I have an updated version that will be available after the release of RN 2.5. There are several different versions of it floating around; this one is based off of loki's and also had some cleanup by kguske along the way.

Not too much in added functionality (outside of wikipedia search and xfire video options), but it uses css sprites so it can break out of the "ms word" look.. Also allowing for it to be customized by theme... A much better look for dark colored themes!

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:51 am

That's very nice spasticdonkey

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:03 am

Awesome Spastic. 2 thumbs up.... Cheers

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:45 am

that certainly looks like the one i'm using on my 2.40.01 site. Looks clean looks nice Smile

good job.

Quote:

As has already been discussed, no one could stop you from legally doing so (moral and ethical implications are a different ball game), though you would clearly not be able to use either 'Raven' or 'RavenNuke' in the name of the product nor any of the images.
I should also mention that when RN2.5 is released, Raven and/or the dev Team could actually, legally change the license terms due to internal changes of the code, so my statement above is subject to the license remaining the same.

Quote:

It is highly unlikely Raven would allow anyone to use the RN name as there is the potential to confuse users and also tarnish the product reputation.

well, I was actually considering presenting this package to raven, so that he could put it up for download.

Quote:

As previously discussed, it would very unlikely Raven would take credit for a package someone else built and he would most certainly NOT want to get lumbered with maintaining it or providing support for it.

I was under the impression that it would not take that much different support from the "Core" RN 2.5 package, but perhaps that is the error of my train of thought.

Quote:

Well, what is useless to one person is essential for another. That is one of the reasons there has been many discussions on this site on what modules users want to see removed or added.

perhaps it would be possible to adapt the install script so that "useless" modules have a different install script on the side?

again, this was my personal idea of doing something back for the Nuke community. I'm pretty non-gifted at coding myself, else I would just create modules (which I find usefull for clan purposes) for people to use on an RN website.

more feedback / discussion is welcome to make up my mind about this project ever happening.

best regards,
actnreactgaming / rrclansite

P.s. could anybody perhaps toss a link to Raven, see what he feels or thinks about this matter?

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:15 pm

spasticdonkey wrote:

Not exactly sure every forum mod you speak of, but in regards to advanced bbcode box, I have an updated version that will be available after the release of RN 2.5. There are several different versions of it floating around; this one is based off of loki's and also had some cleanup by kguske along the way.

Not too much in added functionality (outside of wikipedia search and xfire video options), but it uses css sprites so it can break out of the "ms word" look.. Also allowing for it to be customized by theme... A much better look for dark colored themes!

That's really nice!!

Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 7:04 pm

xGSTQ wrote:

This is Ped, neralex gave me the link after a few email exchanges, so I want to make my point of view public.

xGSTQ,

sorry its off topic but we don't have write mails... Shocked

you confuse me?

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:27 am

my bad neralex it was rrclansite that emailed me....

lol confused me for a second then

Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:21 am

okay, np. i can sleep well now Cheers

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2011 3:12 pm

I tossed Raven a link, haven't heard from him since. Anybody know how he's doing? As I heard he had some recurring health problems...

Site Admin Joined: Jun 04, 2004 Posts: 6432

Like many of us, Raven is very busy. But I'm not sure you need his input as there have been many discussions around this subject, both in the public forums here and in private discussions among the RN team.

We've discussed having a solid core, then reviewing and possibly approving addons. There are 3rd party themes, for example, that take advantage of nukeNAV that is included starting in 2.4.1.

It's great that you want to contribute - we certainly don't want to discourage that. I'd suggest identifying the addons you think most gaming sites want, then work to bring those up to current RN standards for JS / CSS integration, documentation, testing, support, languages... If your site did even part of this, I believe it would be quite valuable to the gaming community. I did something like this with mSearch, which led to the nukeSEO Sitemap (which still isn't quite ready for RN), nukeFEED, nukeSEO DH and - hopefully soon - nukeSLIDER. All of those are based on the class / object oriented architecture of mSearch, which was unfortunately abandoned by the original developer.

Montego has also "adopted" some existing modules (e.g. HTML Newsletter, NSN / Nukescripts Downloads, Shortlinks), providing support, documentation, enhancements and more, in addition to also developing his own addons for RavenNuke (TegoNuke Mailer and more).

These are just 2 examples. Look to Guardian, Nuken, SpasticDonkey, fkelly, Susann, and many, many others for even more examples.

Again, you can definitely contribute in positive ways. A lot of us with more than a few gray hairs will caution you not to take on more than you can handle - we've been there before (or are there now).

A good place to start is with identification of and support for the addons you think would be helpful for gaming sites. Providing a place to download those addons (or link to them) and to learn how to install and customize them (e.g. tutorials) would also be valuable. Who knows where that could lead?

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:18 am

a wise contribution as always kguske Wink

I think I will stick to that for the time being, I will identify all the free modules around which I personally use for my gaming related websites. I can name a few out the top of my head to start with:

ventrilo block (not all gaming communities use ventrilo, but I sure as hell prefer it over TeamSpeak 3)

This link includes both a php block file aswell as the manual to do it through directly creating a block. What I could do for this block, is try to pre-edit it so that it fits with all the themes which are free for download from [ Only registered users can see links on this board! Get registered or login! ] (which are also gaming related ofc). and then put em in the folders of the themes respectively.

Perhaps there could be some adapting done to that module to make it work for mumble aswell. I'm not a coder, I know how to edit a few lines of code at the most to make it work for certain applications but thats it.

Then there is the LGSL mod / block. Also know as Live Game Server List. Developed by Richard Perry. Perhaps there could be some work involved around making it up to date for all the games currently played by many gamers all over the world. Personally I've only used it to show my Call of Duty 4 servers on my previous website. However we are currently running a minecraft server, a cod4 server (or two) and a mw3 server. Would be neat if we could show them all on our website (aswell as other gamers around the world who are using Raven's PHP-Nuke)
as far as I know this is a free module. The homepage for this module is located here

the clan roster module done for free by ofx clan located here

File repository module (because I personally have a hard time figuring out how to set priveleges for certain users in the regular downloads module) located here

Donations module for Great Brittain Pounds. Our clan is pretty much UK based (even though I'm a leader and not living in the UK, though all payments go through the UK) Also I couldn't find a regular Donations block like this one to use. This seems quite neat, because it allows you to define a monthly goal for donations aswell.
download located here

the N4G (Nuke4Gamers) Join Us form. I used to use this in the past when I wasn't yet sure if I wanted to pay for my website usage. However since I started paying for stuff I stepped over to the Join us form by Udesigns.be . This however is a good alternative for a freebie. download located here

These are just a few. I'm sure I'll come up with more of them. But please take a look at the safety of all of these modules.

best regareds,
actnreactgaming / rrclansite

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:19 am

The good news is that the core RavenNuke(tm) CMS is perfect for supporting the hosting / supporting these great gaming modules: Downloads, Forums, News, Web Links, etc. Out of the box, RN gives you a nice platform to help others.

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 10:26 am

this much is true montego. Over the course of the coming few weeks I think I will start to make video tutorials. To begin with a How-To for installing Raven's PHP-Nuke CMS being followed up by the installation of the modules / blocks mentioned above. Perhaps I will toss in a few more.

Side note: The current version of the Nuke Treasury mod hosted on this website is not compatible with the latest version of Raven's PHP-Nuke (which is version 2.40.01)

If you want the Treasury mod to work with Raven's PHP-Nuke 2.40.01 you will need this download

best regards,
actnreactgaming

P.S. I will upload the video tutorials once I've made them so they can be included in the download package for Raven's PHP-Nuke (if that is the wish of the devellopers team)

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:18 am

I thought there were already some video's on the RN Wiki?

Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2011 11:29 am

I have no clue about the existance of any video tutorials whatsoever. I could go and check that.

after a not so thorough search through the wiki I could not find any tutorials. I think I will just make a tutorial from clean install towards any mods I find usefull anyways.

I'll keep you guys posted
best regards,
actnreactgaming