Drupal Modules
One of the most common questions I get asked is “what Drupal modules do you use to make GrownUpGeek.com do [insert neato function here]?”
So to try and answer some of those questions my next few posts will be about the various Drupal modules that we use, how we use them, why we use them, etc.
If you have any questions about how we do anything specific at the website post it here so I can be sure to cover it in a future post.
Drupal Instant Messenger
A few months ago we installed the Instant Message module. It allowed our Premium Members to send PMs (private instant messages) to each other via the website. The IM module is very basic and allows members to send short (254 characters) plain-text messages to each other. The instant-messages appear at the top of the next page the recipient views. The Instant Message module is very lightweight, but also very simple and limited - For example, you can only send a message to a member that is currently online.
Last week I stumbled across the Drupal Private Message module (I don’t know how I missed it all this time). The Private Message module allows members to send WYSIWYG messages, with no size limit, to any member (although we limit it to Premium Members) online or offline. It also has an “inbox”, a sent-items folder, it allows for creation of new storage folders, and even lets you know if your recipient has read your message or not. You can read about all the features and planned upcoming features on the Privatemsg page.
The users absolutely love this new instant messenger - we have received more comments and feeback on this feature than any upgrade we’ve ever done.
If you’re looking to add some socialization to your Drupal social website, give it a try.
Drupal PrivateMSG Module for V4-5
Just What IS a “Premium Subscriber” ?
Just a quick post explaining exactly what I mean when I refer to “Premium Subscriptions”, “Premium Content”, ect (because I’ve gotten the question more than once).
Simply put, Premium means “paid“. So when I refer to premium subscriptions or premium content, it means that people are paying for it.
At the forums section of GrownUpGeek.com we have a section known as the “private” or “restricted” forums - aka, the Premium Membership forums. To get into the “Restricted Forums” members must do one of the following:
- Be a helpful member, making many helpful posts/comments. We can track this with the Drupal User Points Module. The incentive to get into the premium/restricted forum for free helps to drive more user-generated content in the open areas of the forum
- Submit new content for the Restricted/Premium area. Any member that submits new items such as Myspace URLs that allow you to view private profiles, Facebook tricks, etc, get free, lifetime access into the restricted/premium forums. This helps feed more premium content into the premium forums, creating added value for premium members
- “Premium” Subscriptions - Members can ’subscribe’, via PayPal to maintain access into the premium/restricted forum area. First month is $5.99, and each additional month is $1.99. As long as their subscription payment stays current they will have access to the premium/restricted forums. The awesome thing about these reoccurring subscription fees is that that if you can keep members subscribing (by giving them a good reason to stay), those fees start to increase almost exponentially every month. I got the idea from reading Jeremy Schoemaker’s blog, and it has paid-off exceptionally well. I guess I owe him. We use the Drupal LM_PayPal module to automatically maintain our premium subscriptions.
- One-Time Fee: Members that make a one-time donation of $25 gain lifetime access to the premium/restricted forums.
So, Premium Subscribers are simply paying members.
Drupal: Block Comment Spammers By eMail Country
Recently over at the site we’ve been being hit by comment spammers creating fake accounts and trying to make posts. They aren’t very smart because the fake accounts they create have names of randomly generated letters and numbers that stand-out like sore-thumbs. They also always use fake email addresses so they can never validate their accounts (and thus are never able to post anything). But the really stupid thing is that they always use a .CN (China) domain in their fake email addresses.
I had been manually deleting these accounts but after doing this 300 or 400 times I decided I had better things to do (like watching The Office) so I found a way to permanently block these particular spammers altogether by creating a Drupal Access Role to block all email address that end in .CN .. Now I know what you’re saying - you’re saying “But Randy, what about all your Chinese members?!” - Well, they’re just going to have to buck-up and get GMail accounts. It’s sad how just a few dirty spammers can ruin it for an entire country. 
How To Create an Access Control Rule In Drupal:
It’s really pretty simple. In the Administration menu find Access Control, then Access Rules and hit Add Rule.
For the type select “Deny”, and rule type select “e-Mail”. Then in the Mask field, enter:
%.cn
% is a wildcard, and the .cn is the TLD for China.. You could replace the % with “_” to mask out particular characters or use just about any combination to block out just about anything you want.
That’s how I was able to block all the dirty Chinese spammers in less than 40 seconds and go back to watching the adventures of Michael Scott, Jim and Pam …
