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HomeHomeOur CommunityOur CommunityGeneral Discuss...General Discuss...Adding a social network/community module to base DNN edition?Adding a social network/community module to base DNN edition?
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10/9/2009 8:05 PM
 

Okay, first off, I am a potential (likely) DNN user.  I'm currently looking around for various community based solutions, in addition to general CMS tools (primarily site-wide user authentication).  My goal is to create a niche based portal, which includes "social networking" and other community features.  Basically fully functional group homepages/clubs, alongside generic forums, etc.  I've looked around quite a bit, and DNN is the top choice.  Cost is an issue.

I have researched a few DNN based add-on module solutions such as Active Social, SmartSocial/Smart-thinker, etc.

I would like to put forth the suggestion, and get any information available as to DNN's potential future plans for incorporating such features into their base product.

Here's my thoughts on the subject:

1) A third party add-on is a solid solution, however, a built-in solution is better for all end users (primarily due to future upgrading/costs/licenses/compatibility, etc.).  Additionally, by nature it would work seemlessly with existing DNN features such as events, blogs, wiki, forums, etc.  Lastly, by incorporating it into the base DNN product as a module, an end user will not have to worry if an add-on provider discontinues support for their product.

2)  There's clearly a market for this amongst existing and future DNN users.  Drupal and Joomla (as well as DNN) have shown strong demand for this type of feature.  This feature benefits general p2p social networking setups, niche based p2p social networking setups, small sites that want to provide group homepages/clubs without the site owner having to create each by hand, as well as countless in-house/intranet type setups like school districts wanting to have a school-by-school or department-by-department group area, etc.

3)  It is one substantial gap in an impressive base DNN product, but at the same time, DNN has most of the tools already in place to provide this feature.  Basically all that's missing are some interface/table structure to allow users to have multiple "group" home pages.  Additionally, obviously some interlinking of content and permissions would be required such as allowing a group creatore to add/moderate a group forum, adding group level event calanders, group blog, group wiki, and request to join group sent/approved by group owner, send an invite, public/private settings, group members list, etc.  Notice that nearly all the big tools are already in place, and it's mostly a matter of connecting those tools in a "group" fashion.  Granted, it's not super easy, but group home pages/group owners really are one of the last missing DNN pieces.

-Right now, DNN has all the tools in place for an end user to create his own home page, blogs, profile, etc., etc.  What's missing is the ability to allow end users to form their own group home pages/tools.

4) Adding these features will take DNN (as a product) up one more substantial notch.  Drupal, Joomla, and other competitors typically don't have this built in.  However, it is often one of the most requested "advanced" features, with active module developers creating solid add-ons.  If DNN adds this feature, existing users will take advantage of it, and potential new users will likely come to DNN just because of it.  However in the case of Drupal, Joomla, and DNN, you see issues where the third party add-ons become obsoleted over time when the base product upgrades.  This is a general rule, not a set-in-stone observation, but that is the trend over time.  Housing the module within DNN, eliminates this problem.

5)  While this may hurt some third party solutions, that's not a reason to not include it into DNN base modules.  Additionally, users would always have the choice of using the DNN base social module, or going with a third party solution (just like they do now with the forums for example).

6)  Lastly, for now, I do have one solid suggestion.  I've noticed that the SmartSocial add-on is now free, and it appears the developer is going in an open-source direction with it (with the intent of allowing other developers to carry on from his base structure).  I really like what I've seen from the SmartSocial product itself, and with a few more add-ons (group level calendars, group level "group only" forum created when group owner opts to create it - not on group creation), it would be a solid base for a DNN incorporated module.  My suggestion (if no one wants to build one from scratch into DNN) is for DNN to work with SmartSocial to integrate it as a base feature module, and gather a support team to further develop that module into DNN base modules.  (I realize the SmartSocial developer reads these forums, probably doesn't have time to develop it on his own anymore, but might make a solid advisor on the project).   This also benefits the SmartSocial developer, because now other developers will be adding functionality to his product (which in-turn could benefit his poker site), while at the same time keeping the Social tools updated with the DNN updates.

Finally, on a side subject, can the existing DNN setup already do this, and I just don't realize it yet?  In other words, can subportals be auto created by a general end user, coupled with their own forum, event module, blogs, etc.  If so, any advice is appreciated.  I'd be interested in seeing how that scales on a larger basis, and what kinds of permissions would allow a subportal creator to moderate their own forums,/blogs/wikis but not the general forums, etc.  Additionally can such a "subportal" creator add members to their subportals, and what features are in place to allow this (such as join requests, etc.)?  I'm talking DNN community edition, not professional.  If it can already do these things (or most of them), it would be good if DNN had a module/documentation available for this type of setup.

 

 

 

 

 
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10/10/2009 11:17 AM
 

One item on the roadmap of DNN Cambrian (DNN 5 series) is support of social communities, though I haven't seen a feature set yet. Features are added based on users request - both, PE and CE users as well as strategical decisions of the Corp. If you attend OpenForce conference, you might be able to discuss with the decision makers.


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10/10/2009 5:08 PM
 
That is promising news. I had heard rumors that they might head in that direction - I REALLY hope they do, as it will make my final decision to use DNN vs. another solution. Do you (or anyone else) have any links regarding this? (DNN's plans to add social community support). I'm hoping it's not just tools for integration with twitter/facebook, etc., rather than full "group/club" home page and friends/joins technology.
 
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10/10/2009 6:31 PM
 
While I likely won't be attending any conferences at this stage (I'm just a potential user at this point), here's some things I would hope to accomplish with a DNN social community package. Some features wouldn't be expected out of the gate: Each level of the group area would have permissions set by the site owner/admin originally, then set by the group owner within those limitations. -group home page -multiple groups allowed per person - limit set by site admin (such as one per user, 5 per user, admins create only, etc.) -admin settings to restrict/open restrictions on who can create a group -Group creator can have group be public, public read only, or private -Possible group moderators assigned by the group owner -Group profile/home page (this would contain a picture field, group name, a web address field, contact info field, optional email field, group "charter" field, etc.) -Group Blogs with different permission settings set by group owner. -Group Wiki with different permission settings set by group owner. -Group calendar (only editable by the group owner/moderator) -Group-wide events for public groups (essentially all public groups events are placed on this calendar/event area - this helps to cross promote a group) -Request join on public group -Group owner admin features to invite existing community users and off-community folks to join -Syndication tools (probably within the blogs/wiki/forum components. -Group member list. -Optional Regional fields in the profile. (This provides functionality for end users to search for groups in their area). Each group has this as an option, meaning they are either regional or nation/web wide. This particularly comes into play when you have a nation-wide website consisting of clubs that have an online presence, an offline presence, or both. (For example, a local divorce group). -Group news/announcement (this can be done using the blog, the events tool, or a "wall" feature). -Ammendment to user profiles showing what groups they belong to, and the option for them to keep that info private or public. -Ability for end users to "unjoin" a group. -Later feature: Optional Group content archiving based on date group was last used, with notification to group owner, and the ability for the group owner to reactivate it. -Possible later a file repository (photos, etc.), with file size limits, and total group repository limits set by admin. This would again have various permissions (public, group only, etc.), but always viewable by the group owner, and site admins. -Bad word filtering/warning set by admin. This would help to the admin to limit the group abuse, and set a tone for his group community. For example, an admin may allow adult type groups on a dating site. A different site might be intended for children or general audiences, and would want strong filtering/warnings in place. I'm not an expert on this functionality, but it would start with the option to filter words on post (to blog, wiki, wall, forum, profiles), and additionally have a search filter that can be done periodically by admin. -Report abuse on group page. -Optional dating/friendship components down the road. I personally don't need these, but a few small tweaks (using user profiles and some search filters, and invite, privacy setting options, and maybe private chat) is about all you need for the basic structure. This technically isn't housed in a group format, but rather a sub-section within the user profiles. -Group only Forum area (The group forum is an optional feature that the group creater opens if they want it. This is instead of auto creating a forum for each group, to lower server resources). ---Group forum can be public (anyone can post), read only for the public, or entirely private (except to site admin). ---Group forum is part of the main site forums, but also segregated. In other words, it would have it's own search to search within a specific group, or across all groups. It would be important to segregate the content from a generic site-wide forum, because you wouldn't want all group results coming back in general forum searches. ---It would also be nice to have link backs from the group forum area to the group home page/join request area. This would most easily be accomplished by an auto generated sticky opening post (editable by the group owner) in the individual group's forum that directs potential group forum users to the group area in order to post in this forum. This is for users who come through the forum first, rather than from the group first. ***Group search by name (and/or region) ***GROUP CATEGORIES with multiple category submission and/or keywords/tags (this is an often overlooked, but very useful feature). SmartSocial got this part right in their setup, while many do not. Groups without categorization become far less useful on larger implimentations. It's like having blogs without tags. Most of these tools are already mostly setup within DNN. It's mostly a matter of actually creating the "group homepage" structure, then automatically setting permissions based on roles/rights based on that group. Probably the most complex portion beyond the permissions will be connecting forums to the groups, then segregating those forums from the general site-wide forum areas. I'm sure I'm missing some things, and I expect only some of those would be crucial on initial setup. But the group home page with profile structure/permissions and joins is the first component, coupled with categorization and/or tags.
 
New Post
10/10/2009 6:54 PM
 

Ummm.  That was a mess.  When I typed it, it was clean and pretty, but looks like a mess now.  Unfortunately, I can't find an edit post tool, so I can't easily clean it up. 

 
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