Zoints Local - Social networking, enhanced profiles, blogs, and more

[DChapman]

- To be able to download these products, you must register your forum here.

- This is the free version of the software that is designed to interconnect forums.

- Download and install both these products:

Zoints Local - vBulletin 3.5.x and vBulletin 3.6.x
vBulletin Product - vBulletin 3.5.x and vBulletin 3.6.x

- vBJournal Importer - Optional importer of vbjournal into our blog system.

What is Zoints Local?

Installed on your forum and under your control, Zoints Local is what you want it to be. If you want to provide your members with a homepage they can personalize, you can. If you want members to share more about themselves via greatly enhanced profiles, you can. Blogs? Networking? Resumes? Photos? Video sharing? No problem. Via Zoints' page and block management system, you can do what you want, how you want, with ease. Learn more about pages and blocks

Zoints Local takes your forum's basic profile and turns it into a portal where a whole new world opens up, all on your website. As you can see below, your members can have everything from a personal homepage to enhanced profile, blog, network, pages to show off their vehicle (pictured) and anything else that can be dreamed up. And don't worry, we even include a page that shows the entire default vBulletin profile if you want it.




What will Zoints local bring to my forum?

Zoints Local brings a new level of possibilities to your website. There are so many features and options that it’s impossible for us to list them all here. As a community based platform that allows forum owners to share blocks, the opportunities to expand your site with Zoints Local continue to grow every day – there’s just no telling what feature, block or idea will come out next. At the Zoints Development Forum you can download blocks posted by other community owners and developers. This way, if you own a writing forum, a software forum, a nursing forum, or a forum dedicated to any other topic, you can contour pages and blocks to specifically fit the needs of your community. Learn more about sharing blocks

A few of the blocks and pages packaged with Zoints Local:

About Me, My Discussions, My Links, Instant Chat, My Photos My Interests, My Communities, My Network, Quick Comments, Ratings, My Blog, RSS Feeds, Social Actions and many more. Virtually any existing "widget" shared on the internet can quickly be converted into a block, many in just a few minutes.

What else does Zoints Local offer?

Zoints Local is a state of the art product with all sorts of amazing features that go beyond the normal website.

Drag and Drop technology - Do you want to move a block from one part of your profile to another? Do you want to change the order of your pages? No problem, just drag and drop!



Social Networking - Forget just friends, Zoints Local allows your members to create as many "Groups" as they want. We all have friends, family, colleagues, forum friends, and various other people in our lives.

Comprehensive privacy controls - Your members can create a variety of groups and show each group different content on a page by page basis. Zoints allows you to show what you want, when you want, to whom you want. Learn more about Zoints' Privacy Controls

Style Sharing - When your members create custom styles, they can easily share them with other members of your community via the Styles Database.

Global Search - Zoints Local includes a global search that bridges communities and creates a virtual freeway between forums on the internet. Searches conducted through Zoints return results from every community that uses Zoints Local. Think of it as Google, for people. Google sends you a lot of traffic, and so can Zoints People Search.



The best part about Zoints Local is that you pick what to let your members use and what not to let them use.

What sort of administration options exist?

The Zoints Local system gives you extensive control of how your Zoints profiles should behave. You can turn features on and off, determine if you want your members to be able to edit/create/manage styles of their own, define default styles, add your own customized header and logo to the pages and much more.

Here’s a couple screenshots from the admin control panel:






How do I get started?

Getting Zoints Local running on your site is a quick and painless process. Just follow the simple steps below and you can have your site running Zoints Local in a matter of minutes. Once you have the system setup, it’s completely up to you to decide how you want things to work. Customize, add on or leave the system exactly as it comes out of the box – Zoints Local gives you the power to choose!

Step 1 – Download both of the attached zip files and unzip them.

Step 2 – Upload the /z/ folder to your forum's root directory (one of the below examples should fit most setups):

yourdomain.com/z/ or
subdomain.yourdomain.com/z/ or
yourdomain.com/forumdirectory/z/

Step 3 - Run the installation script found at /z/install/index.php and follow the directions

Step 4 - During the installation you will need to register your forum with Zoints to obtain a token and authentication key

Step 5 – Once installation is complete, log in to your vBulletin Admin Control Panel and upload the plugin product file found in the second zip file.

Step 6 – Configure Zoints as you see fit!

Promoting your forum through Zoints

Along with all of the features, tools and added functionality Zoints Local offers for your site, the Zoints is also interested in bringing you more traffic. Here’s how:

1. Add your forum to the Zoints directory at http://zoints.com/communities after you install. More information can be found in this thread.

2. The Zoints network will include your site in searches and other relevant results bringing you qualified traffic without any additional effort.

3. If you install Zoints Lite on a Big-Board, please email us at big-boards@zoints.com with your url so we can get you added to the Zoints Enabled directory on BigBoards.com

Support

Due to the scope of this software, we ask that help requests be submitted at http://network.zoints.com in this specific forum so we can provide quick, efficient support.


Upgrade Instructions

1. Download the new zip file and overwrite the existing files

2. After uploading the new files, access /z/install/manager.php in your browser

3. Click "Upgrade Zoints" and then click on "1.0.3"

That's it!


Changelog

2007/09/13: 1.0.4
*Security patch

2007/02/22: 1.0.3
*Lots o' bugfixes

2006/12/21: 1.0.2
* Removal of Zoints favicon
* Links block fix
* Various message and error changes
* Improved handling of users who haven't accessed their profile yet
* My ride bugfix
* Improved handling of vBulletin CSS and header & footer
* Returning to correct page after changing style
* Improved profile neighbor display (for first and last user)
* Bugfix for IE on 'Forum Profile' page
* Various bugfixes

2006/11/28: 1.0
* Version Tracking - Keep up with what the latest version is
* Global searches (through zoints.com) now display members of searcher's own community first
* Ability to lock certain pages, so they show up on every profile, with the same content everywhere
* Ability to include the forum header and footer dynamically
* Ability to restrict image filesizes and space available per user
* Zoints Local now uses forum's avatar
* Users have the option of PM or Email notification for everything
* Users are taken to their own profile upon login from login page
* Removed ability to upload BMPs
* Usernames are now reflected in Zoints Local when that user uses Zoints Local again
* New tab: Old forum profile
* Various bugfixes

2006/11/10: 1.0 RC 3
* Custom footer in admin area
* Ability to disable network join request PMs in settings
* Added Simple Editor mode (Non drag and drop)
* Ability to login as users for moderation/editing purposes
* Tons of bugfixes (open_basedir, various whitepages, xml bug, etc)

2006/11/07: 1.0 RC 2
* ImageMagick settings pulled from forums
* Fixed bug with cURL redundancy not returning proper data
* Fixed bug in CFPLS handler
* Can now properly add custom blocks for other tabs
* Search age bug
* Quick Comments block fix
* Media block fix
* Misc additional bugs

2006/11/06: 1.0 RC 1
* Initial release

[DChapman]

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. This is all installed on MY forum?

A. Correct


Q. Is there a live example of Zoints Local running that I can check out?

A. To see how well people are starting to integrate vbulletin and profiles, see here:

Zoints Local: http://www.strike3forums.com/forums/z/missionhockey21/


Q. I would prefer to utilize the centralized version of Zoints. Can I?

A. No, sorry. Not until we standardize the Zoints Local and Zoints.com code. We do not have an ETA for this.


Q. How do I create a default style for my members?

A. Creating a default style is easy. Using the Zoints Style Editor, create styles as you normally would. As an admin, your custom styles will be automatically listed in the zadmin.php control panel. You can specify the same or different styles for each page by going to zadmin > pages > edit name/style as shown in the image below.




The style dropdown menu will then be populated with all your custom styles.



You can also add a logo and header to the top of all /z/ pages on zadmin > settings.


Q. Why do I have to register my community with Zoints and get a forum token and authentication key?

A. Zoints Local provides (and will add many more) features that require secure authentication between Zoints and your forum.


Q. My forum uses the Zoints centralized system. Can I switch?

A. Absolutely! The system does it automatically. Please note, you cannot run both.


Q. What browsers do you code for?

A. Firefox 1.x+, IE 6.x+, and Opera 8.x+. Other browsers may or may not work, however, we do not officially support them at this time.


Q. The images in the navigation bar don't fit well with the style I created, can I change them?

A. Yes, you may overwrite those images with your own as long as they are named the same and are easily readable.


Q. Are there any vBadvanced modules that work with this?

A. Of course. Currently there are Recent blog entries and random members.


Q. I have custom profile fields I don't want to lose. What about those?

A. No problem, we created a block that automatically pulls all the custom profile fields. See it here. Blocks can be made to do pretty much anything


Q. Does this work with my existing and custom BB codes?

A. Yes! As an example, this screenshot shows comments using the popular YouTube and Spoiler BB codes.

[DChapman]

Demo Information

Forum: http://zointsdemo.com/vbulletin/
Admin Panel: http://zointsdemo.com/vbulletin/z/zadmin.php
Login info: admin/admin

You can also create your own account and play with the profile system

To see how well people are starting to integrate vbulletin and profiles, see here:

Forum: http://www.strike3forums.com/forums/
Profile: http://www.strike3forums.com/forums/z/missionhockey21/

[DChapman]

1.0 RC2 has been released. We're hopeful that the next release will be 1.0 Gold

Upgrade Instructions

1. Download the new zip file and overwrite the existing files

2. After uploading the new files, access /z/install/manager.php in your browser

3. Click "Upgrade Zoints" and then click on "1.0 RC2"

That's it!


Changelog

2006/11/07: 1.0 RC 2
* ImageMagick settings pulled from forums
* Fixed bug with cURL redundancy not returning proper data
* Fixed bug in CFPLS handler
* Can now properly add custom blocks for other tabs
* Search age bug
* Quick Comments block fix
* Media block fix
* Misc additional bugs

[DChapman]

2.0.7 of the vBulletin product has also been uploaded. This version allows forum owners to specify if they want their mods/supermods/admin to be able to access the default vBulletin profiles for the administrative tools there. See the bottom feature in the screenshot:



To upgrade, download and unzip then upload the .xml file via the vBulletin admincp product manager. Please select "yes" to overwrite.

[DChapman]

Zoints Local 1.0 RC3 is now available.

Changelog

2006/11/10: 1.0 RC 3
* Custom footer in admin area
* Ability to disable network join request PMs in settings
* Added Simple Editor mode (Non drag and drop)
* Ability to login as users for moderation/editing purposes
* Tons of bugfixes (open_basedir, various whitepages, xml bug, etc)

Upgrade Instructions

1. Download the new zip file and overwrite the existing files

2. After uploading the new files, access /z/install/manager.php in your browser

3. Click "Upgrade Zoints" and then click on "1.0 RC3"

That's it!

[DChapman]

Zoints Local 1.0 has gone gold!

Changelog

2006/11/28: 1.0
* Version Tracking - Keep up with what the latest version is
* Global searches (through zoints.com) now display members of searcher's own community first
* Ability to lock certain pages, so they show up on every profile, with the same content everywhere
* Ability to include the forum header and footer dynamically
* Ability to restrict image filesizes and space available per user
* Zoints Local now uses forum's avatar
* Users have the option of PM or Email notification for everything
* Users are taken to their own profile upon login from login page
* Removed ability to upload BMPs
* Usernames are now reflected in Zoints Local when that user uses Zoints Local again
* New tab: Old forum profile
* Various bugfixes

Upgrade Instructions

1. Download the new zip file and overwrite the existing files

2. After uploading the new files, access /z/install/manager.php in your browser

3. Click "Upgrade Zoints" and then click on "1.0"

That's it!


2.1.1 of the vBulletin product is ALSO available. You will need to import that via the vBulletin product manager and select overwrite to yes.

[DChapman]

Zoints Local 1.0.1 and 1.1.2 of the vBulletin product are now available. Please see the announcements forum for the changelogs and more information.

[DChapman]

Zoints Local 1.0.2 and 2.1.4 of the vBulletin product have been released. Release information can be found here and the downloads are in the first post of this thread.

[DChapman]

Zoints Local 1.0.3 has been released. This is a bugfix version that resolves a variety of bugs and IE7 compatibility issues.

[Doug]

Zoints Local 1.0.4 Released

We strongly encourage all current users of Zoints Local to upgrade to version 1.0.4. This release solely corrects a few potential security flaws we recently discovered. It is not the same as our upcoming feature-rich release mentioned in August. Given the nature of the 1.0.4 release being based around security, we encourage all users to upgrade now and not to wait for the feature-rich release.

To upgrade, please overwrite the modified files mentioned in the upgrade.txt file located in the zip file under the latest release (1.0.4)

If you have any difficulties with the upgrade procedure, do not hesitate to let us know as we want all forums to be as secure as possible.

The previously mentioned feature-rich release, Zoints Local 1.1 is nearing its run through the development process and will soon be released to our Quality Assurance team for final testing before releasing it to the rest of the community.

Once again, we appreciate your continued support and we hope to remain ahead of the curve while offering you the support that you deserve.

[Doug]

Zoints Local 2.0 Enters Testing Phase

We are happy to announce that after months of waiting, Zoints Local 2.0 is nearing completion and has finally moved into testing. During this phase we are looking for bugs, compatibility issues, and suggestions to help make this product as robust and trouble free as possible.

Want to Take It for a Spin?
We invite you to join our Quality Assurance Team to help evaluate and test it. As part of the QA Team, you will be asked to install Zoints Local 2.0 on your forum and begin using it. Your feedback and suggestions will help perfect this long awaited product prior to its general release to the public. The more forums and Community Owners we can get to help test this product the better. Your help will be appreciated, and as part of the QA Team you will be invited to participate in testing other products before they are released.

If you are interested in joining the Zoints QA Team, please submit a private message to danny.zoints.com with your:

Forum URL:
Member Count:
vBulletin Version:
PHP Version:

This will allow us to select a broad spectrum of forums to test on.

[Doug]

Zoints Local 2.0 - Release Candidate
http://network.zoints.com/showthread.php?t=4732