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Chineseand
Member
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29th December 2011 (4 months ago)
I'm looking to have several networks (based on location), with BuddyPress features within them, but with the ability to search all associated networks for content if the user chooses, or they don't find what they are looking for in the first location. Does this sound like something that can be accomplished with BuddyPress and multisite, or would individual set ups of BuddyPress be needed to accomplish this?
I'm looking to have several networks (based on location), with BuddyPress features within them, but with the ability to search all associated networks for content if the user chooses, or they don't find what they are looking for in the first location. Does this sound like something that can be accomplished with BuddyPress and multisite, or would individual set ups of BuddyPress be needed to accomplish this?
What I'm looking to do is have networks (if that is the right term) based on location that allow BuddyPress communication between members. Each location would restrict registration and entrance based on location-specific info. In each of these sites (what I pictured as being subdomains, ie. loc1.mysite.com, loc2.mysite.com etc., though they don't have to be subdomains) the users will be posting and searching content that is broken down by many many categories. The location of the user differentiates the type of content they should be looking for, but by times if there isn't any content in the category they searched in, they would be offered the ability to search other locations (loc2.mysite.com) for similar content (keywords). At start-up, I don't picture users making their own groups/blogs, but rather that the site will be used for an info sharing resource. Maybe I would add in the ability for users to create groups later (I can turn that on and off, right?). I suppose it isn't very important to have the ability to network with people outside one's primary location.
These sites are expected to house a lot of content, and I like the idea of separating them somewhat to minimize outages/delays across all networks. I'm looking for the best way to set this up allowing for the most flexibility going forward.
I'm also looking at Amazon CloudFront to host the "content" I and users add - I can still do that with this sort of set-up right?
Maybe I'm too hung up on BuddyPress ..? I want the interaction of BuddyPress - so that people can add friends or follow certain people, but also want some of the functionality of a site like TastyKitchen.com to allow people to have their own content, or add other people's content to their favorites..
In terms of hierarchy, using TasktyKitchen as an example, I'm thinking you would log in, and say you were from Louisiana, all the recipes would be defaulted to Louisiana-based. You could then go through the recipes navigation and drill down (more levels than they have), and find a recipe for spicy flatbread somewhere like: recipes>breads>flatbreads>spicy The user could then add that to their favourites (in the site), add comments, follow the author, etc. If they drilled down to that level and didn't find anything, they could search the same category (recipes>breads>flatbreads>spicy) or another location, or search the other locations by keyword - say "spicy flatbread" for matches.
I also want something like the reputation feature of this site - is that a buddypress feature?
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Support Chimp
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27th January 2012 (3 months ago)
#
You could do something with GEOIP, the issue is though that BuddyPress really only runs on your main website. You can make it function on sub sites but all the users and all the data would still be the exact same.
You said that you cannot have MultiSite with multi-BuddyPress?
So can you have non-MultiSite (i.e. single site) with multiple BP groups - yes...
But can you then use Domain Mapping with it, so it looks like each group has its own unique website?
Secondly, can you have MultiSite with the Community plugin instead of BuddyPress and then still have multiple sites instead of just multiple groups?
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Support Chimp
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12th February 2012 (3 months ago)
#
Hey Clifford.
You said that you cannot have MultiSite with multi-BuddyPress?
BuddyPress can function on sub sites, but they are not strictly multi-BuddyPress installs because they share the same data and are essentially one install but shared.
Hope that makes sense. :-)
So can you have non-MultiSite (i.e. single site) with multiple BP groups - yes...
Sure you can create as many BuddyPress groups as you wish.
But can you then use Domain Mapping with it, so it looks like each group has its own unique website?
That isn't however possible by default. The domain name mapping is designed for mapping to sub sites of a multisite install.
I suppose you could look to write some code which would pull a group owned by the subsite admin and then display it on his/her site.
Secondly, can you have MultiSite with the Community plugin instead of BuddyPress and then still have multiple sites instead of just multiple groups?
Community wouldn't work with BuddyPress, do it would be instead. It will only work with Multisite.
Have you looked at how it works and functions?
It might be best if you have a test install and have a play to be sure its the right choice for you.
I want 1 setup where I can manage the plugins, offer different levels of service (Supporter), and let the groups be private (unknown to each other) or public (and syndicate up to the main domain's site).
Just a provider of "group websites".
Each group/site can have its own domain, homepage (public-facing), private files, forums, calendar, sub-groups, etc.
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Support Chimp
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12th February 2012 (3 months ago)
#
Ah, groups wouldn't work like that for each site. At least not without something custom going on.
I'm not sure the communities plugin would fulfil your exact requirements either. The best way for you to know though would be to test it and take it for a test drive.
BuddyPress can function on sub sites, but they are not strictly multi-BuddyPress installs because they share the same data and are essentially one install but shared.
You would enable it on subsites to function with this:
define ( 'BP_ENABLE_MULTIBLOG', true );
Placed in to you bp-custom or wp-config file.
You can also change which site it sees as the root blog.
So what happens after I get 45 groups? Too bad so sad - just can't have more than 45???
I will have to check on this, its not a plugin which I'm overly familiar with yet. I suspect that might be 45 per site, but I will confirm.
Could I have a single installation of "Communities" for each multisite site?
I believe it must be network activated based on the previous instructions of using the MU folder. So that would be across the board.
If none of these are viable options, I could just setup blog templates and each site would need its own separate setup (what I'm trying to avoid).
Any help?
Yup you could as previously mentioned either code or hire a developer to code something custom which could look at the site owner, look at what groups he is an admin of and then let him show that through his site. Its not impossible but would be custom.
This whole idea of group websites is getting deeper and deeper than I expected.
Are there any major drawbacks to Communities vs BuddyPress?
I envision that using WP MultiSite with Communities will allow me to give a group its own public-facing website (like any other website) but also provide the social/interaction side of things.
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Support Chimp
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13th February 2012 (3 months ago)
#
Are there any major drawbacks to Communities vs BuddyPress?
If I'm entirely honest then I would say yeah there are. BuddyPress in my opinion is for social networking which is why its designed, its a fuller solution for the front end. Communities is cool, buts not BuddyPress. Its also a backend plugin, so the communities stuff goes on in the backend.
The plugin is a rather old one, I think it predates BuddyPress.
Wow, I had no clue it's been around so long - before BP even.
Thanks for the info.
In my quick browsing, it seems BuddyPress is a much larger community of users (which I like). And Mingle refers to http://member.wishlistproducts.com/ - $97 or $297 for 1yr of updates.
I guess I'd say that if I can do the same things, I'd prefer BuddyPress just because of the large user base and your support of it.
Responses (15)
Support Chimp — 29th December 2011 (4 months ago) #
Hi Chineseand.
I think we would need some more details here about your intentions.
Are you talking about multi-network installs?
You could have people create their own groups in BuddyPress and they could have their own forums.
For blogs/sites If everything is in the same network and on one install, then sub sites can be searched using our Post Indexer and Global Search:
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/post-indexer
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/global-site-search
Each site within your install can't have their own unique BuddyPress. BuddyPress is installed to the main blog in each network.
Hope this helps.
Member — 30th December 2011 (4 months ago) #
Thanks for getting back to me.
What I'm looking to do is have networks (if that is the right term) based on location that allow BuddyPress communication between members. Each location would restrict registration and entrance based on location-specific info. In each of these sites (what I pictured as being subdomains, ie. loc1.mysite.com, loc2.mysite.com etc., though they don't have to be subdomains) the users will be posting and searching content that is broken down by many many categories. The location of the user differentiates the type of content they should be looking for, but by times if there isn't any content in the category they searched in, they would be offered the ability to search other locations (loc2.mysite.com) for similar content (keywords). At start-up, I don't picture users making their own groups/blogs, but rather that the site will be used for an info sharing resource. Maybe I would add in the ability for users to create groups later (I can turn that on and off, right?). I suppose it isn't very important to have the ability to network with people outside one's primary location.
These sites are expected to house a lot of content, and I like the idea of separating them somewhat to minimize outages/delays across all networks. I'm looking for the best way to set this up allowing for the most flexibility going forward.
I'm also looking at Amazon CloudFront to host the "content" I and users add - I can still do that with this sort of set-up right?
Thanks for your help!
Member — 30th December 2011 (4 months ago) #
Maybe I'm too hung up on BuddyPress ..? I want the interaction of BuddyPress - so that people can add friends or follow certain people, but also want some of the functionality of a site like TastyKitchen.com to allow people to have their own content, or add other people's content to their favorites..
In terms of hierarchy, using TasktyKitchen as an example, I'm thinking you would log in, and say you were from Louisiana, all the recipes would be defaulted to Louisiana-based. You could then go through the recipes navigation and drill down (more levels than they have), and find a recipe for spicy flatbread somewhere like: recipes>breads>flatbreads>spicy The user could then add that to their favourites (in the site), add comments, follow the author, etc. If they drilled down to that level and didn't find anything, they could search the same category (recipes>breads>flatbreads>spicy) or another location, or search the other locations by keyword - say "spicy flatbread" for matches.
I also want something like the reputation feature of this site - is that a buddypress feature?
Support Chimp — 27th January 2012 (3 months ago) #
You could do something with GEOIP, the issue is though that BuddyPress really only runs on your main website. You can make it function on sub sites but all the users and all the data would still be the exact same.
You could look at something like:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/2-languages-2-sites-how-to-geoip?replies=3
Then I suppose the following might work for you:
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/multi-domains
That would create multiple networks.
There are various cloud and S3 plugins out there.
Some of what you want might need to be a custom job I'm afraid, but you should be able to get a set up going close to what you desire.
Take care.
Member — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
@Timothy
You said that you cannot have MultiSite with multi-BuddyPress?
So can you have non-MultiSite (i.e. single site) with multiple BP groups - yes...
But can you then use Domain Mapping with it, so it looks like each group has its own unique website?
Secondly, can you have MultiSite with the Community plugin instead of BuddyPress and then still have multiple sites instead of just multiple groups?
Thanks.
Support Chimp — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
Hey Clifford.
BuddyPress can function on sub sites, but they are not strictly multi-BuddyPress installs because they share the same data and are essentially one install but shared.
Hope that makes sense. :-)
Sure you can create as many BuddyPress groups as you wish.
That isn't however possible by default. The domain name mapping is designed for mapping to sub sites of a multisite install.
I suppose you could look to write some code which would pull a group owned by the subsite admin and then display it on his/her site.
Community wouldn't work with BuddyPress, do it would be instead. It will only work with Multisite.
Have you looked at how it works and functions?
It might be best if you have a test install and have a play to be sure its the right choice for you.
Take care.
Member — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
I want 1 setup where I can manage the plugins, offer different levels of service (Supporter), and let the groups be private (unknown to each other) or public (and syndicate up to the main domain's site).
Just a provider of "group websites".
Each group/site can have its own domain, homepage (public-facing), private files, forums, calendar, sub-groups, etc.
Any additional helpful info???
Support Chimp — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
Ah, groups wouldn't work like that for each site. At least not without something custom going on.
I'm not sure the communities plugin would fulfil your exact requirements either. The best way for you to know though would be to test it and take it for a test drive.
For forums you could look at the bbPress plugin:
http://bbpress.org/
How do you envisage the files being shared? Could they not just be uploaded to the media library and just shared through that?
Or upload them and then site owner could hide them through the use of something like the membership plugin we have:
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/membership
Or create a password protected page:
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/password-protect-selected-content
As for calendars, we have an events plugin coming along soon. Perhaps that would suit your needs once released..?
Hope that helps.
Member — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
Ok, so http://premium.wpmudev.org/the-buddypress-manual/what-is-buddypress/ says:
That's what I needed to know but it just now clicked...
The alternative ( http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/communities ) shows a screen shot ( http://premium.wpmudev.org/view-screenshot/1864237894_commun81.jpg ) that says:
So what happens after I get 45 groups? Too bad so sad - just can't have more than 45???
Thank you.
Member — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
Could I have a single installation of "Communities" for each multisite site?
If none of these are viable options, I could just setup blog templates and each site would need its own separate setup (what I'm trying to avoid).
Any help?
Support Chimp — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
Thats what I said:
You would enable it on subsites to function with this:
define ( 'BP_ENABLE_MULTIBLOG', true );Placed in to you bp-custom or wp-config file.
You can also change which site it sees as the root blog.
I will have to check on this, its not a plugin which I'm overly familiar with yet. I suspect that might be 45 per site, but I will confirm.
I believe it must be network activated based on the previous instructions of using the MU folder. So that would be across the board.
Yup you could as previously mentioned either code or hire a developer to code something custom which could look at the site owner, look at what groups he is an admin of and then let him show that through his site. Its not impossible but would be custom.
Take care.
Member — 12th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
I was confirming that you already said that.
This whole idea of group websites is getting deeper and deeper than I expected.
Are there any major drawbacks to Communities vs BuddyPress?
I envision that using WP MultiSite with Communities will allow me to give a group its own public-facing website (like any other website) but also provide the social/interaction side of things.
Support Chimp — 13th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
If I'm entirely honest then I would say yeah there are. BuddyPress in my opinion is for social networking which is why its designed, its a fuller solution for the front end. Communities is cool, buts not BuddyPress. Its also a backend plugin, so the communities stuff goes on in the backend.
The plugin is a rather old one, I think it predates BuddyPress.
Other systems you could consider are Mingle:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/mingle/
And the newest edition WP Symposium:
http://www.wpsymposium.com/
I much prefer BuddyPress though.
Take care.
Member — 13th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
Wow, I had no clue it's been around so long - before BP even.
Thanks for the info.
In my quick browsing, it seems BuddyPress is a much larger community of users (which I like). And Mingle refers to http://member.wishlistproducts.com/ - $97 or $297 for 1yr of updates.
I guess I'd say that if I can do the same things, I'd prefer BuddyPress just because of the large user base and your support of it.
I've got another discussion over here: http://premium.wpmudev.org/forums/topic/is-communities-plugin-a-buddypress-replacement-or-do-they-work-together-in-some-way#post-181150
Support Chimp — 13th February 2012 (3 months ago) #
I'll take a look over at your other thread shortly. :-)
But yeah out of the 4 options, my preference is BuddyPress.
To answer your earlier question, I know now:
Apparently its 45 per site and thats only a limit set within the code which is easy to change I believe.
Take care.
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