[RELEASE] MyBB Multiforums [UPDATED 5/14/08]

[BMR777]

Ever want to host free MyBB forums for people? Now you can with Brandon's MyBB Multiforums Mod!

Features:

• Allows you to host multiple copies of MyBB using one set of files and one database. Now you can become a free MyBB forum host!
  
• A simple interface makes it easy for anyone to create a free forum on your hosting service!
  
• Admin CP to view and delete hosted forums!
  
• Can email forum admin on forum creation
  
• Now you can mass email all hosted forums!
  
• Forum Prune Feature to mass-delete "testing" and other inactive forums
  
• MyBB Plugin Support
  
• Forum admins can safely edit all of the MyBB themes you install on your site! (PHPBB3 and SMF multiforums scripts can't do this!)
  
• The Ad-Manager allows you to place ads on the headers and footers of all the forum pages, making you money! These ads CANNOT be removed by editing the templates!
  

Click Here for a Live Demo!

This new version adds an ad manager to show ads on hosted forums. We've also fixed some bugs in this release.


You can download the new version at my website here:

Download Here


For install instructions see the included readme file.

Try it out and let me know if you like it, find any bugs, etc. If you use this script, post a link to your website if you want. Also, if you have any feature requests for future releases post them here and I'll look them over.

Enjoy!
BMR777

[PwnEm]

Thanks for releasing this.

It will help spread MyBB as PHP and SMF already have such systems.

[jordanlw]

Wow,
Nice release.

Maybe you can work on a ACP for installed forums?
And maybe the ability to add themes?/Plugins

[Zalaki]

wow very cool

I think once you can have plugins work and as the person above said themes also.. this will be one of the best things released by far!

[Soshite]

So I take it that w/ each new MyBB version, this'll be upgraded?

In any case, it looks like a good plugin, and one that's been needed. Congrats.

[destroyer]

Congrats. Nice work.

[BMR777]

For the next release I hope to have a simple admin panel where you can view and delete hosted forums. I need to work on this and learn how to do this. (This multiforums script is actually my first PHP script)

As far as themes go, you CAN use themes. Just install any themes you want on your "master" mybb forum BEFORE you install the multiforum script. Then people who have forums hosted with you can go to the MODIFY themes page and select a theme to be a default. It's just that hosted forums can't import new themes, which should be disabled anyway because they don't have FTP access to your server so they couldn't upload the theme images anyway.

Installing onto a new MyBB version should be the same, just replace db query files with the new ones from the MyBB installer. The only hard part will be upgrading forums that are already hosted with an older version of MyBB. I eventually want to make something to loop through hosted forums and their DB tables and run any update SQL queries on them. I still haven't figured out how to do this yet, though.

As far as plugins go, I will need to see about that. Anything that modifies the mybb files used I have to take caution with because all of the forums share one set of files and I don't want to give forum admins the ability to crash the service or have access to server areas they shouldn't.

Anyone install this yet or using a live demo? Post a link!

Also, my web host is having some issues so my live demo is currently down. Sorry about that.

BMR777

[Soshite]

Would it be possible to have the "hosted" forums import the files needed from the "master" forum? That way, any changes made via plugins/etc. would be made to each and every forum? I don't know much about the inner workings of MyBB, however, so that might not be possible.

Hmm...you said imported themes on "hosted" forums wouldn't work. What about it X amount were preinstalled --- could they then pick from that list?

[jordanlw]

I believe they wouldn't be "copied" to the already created forums,
The master forum should be able to achieve themes tho.

[BMR777]

Hmm...you said imported themes on "hosted" forums wouldn't work. What about it X amount were preinstalled --- could they then pick from that list?

Yes, what you need to do is import any themes you want to let hosted forums use onto the master forum BEFORE you install my script. Once you install my script the hosted forums can use any themes that you imported to the master forum before you installed my script. Thus, if you preinstalled 10 themes on your master forum and then installed my script your hosted forum admins could choose between 10 themes in their Admin CP.

Hosted forums can use themes, they just can't import them within the hosted forums ACP. You also can't add new themes AFTER you install my script (because installing my script "breaks" the initial version of mybb that you install - I may fix this in a later release), but any themes installed to the "mybb" root forum before you install the multiforums script will be accessible to hosted forums.

As far as plugins, I need to take a better look at the MyBB code and see how things work and where the plugin info is stored in the DB. I am thinking that eventually it will be where you install any plugins you want people to have access to onto the "master" forum and then the hosted forums can turn the plugins on or off, but not add new ones. I will look into this for a future release, but there are no guarantees. My biggest priority for the next release is a simple admin cp where you can delete or view hosted forums. Then I might work on an upgrade script in case you need to upgrade MyBB to a newer version on hosted forums. This script isn't too bad for being my first PHP script ever, right?

Anyone using this yet? I have to admit, I want to see what you've done with it!

BMR777