Moderators for Album pictures

[n3n]

Tnx for the repply again.
Checked my code, and that piece exists in init.inc

Any other suggestions ? It cant be because im also using the mod by stramm ? (the watermark, sharp thumbs, etc)

[Abbas Ali]

I don't know the mod by stramm so can't comment on that one.

We will need to debug the script. In index.php add

Code Select Expand


print_r($USER_DATA['allowed_albums']);


just after

Code Select Expand


global $lang_list_albums, $lang_errors;


Above code will print an array. Report the output here along with the aid of the album to which you have assigned the moderators.

Remove the line added after testing.

Abbas

[n3n]

added the snippet, where should i see the output ? dont  see anything

[Abbas Ali]

Open the gallery's index page in browser. You will see the output there. Also post a link to your gallery so that i can see the output.

[n3n]

www.grafflix.org/flix/index.php

Really dont see anything.

[Abbas Ali]

The $USER_DATE['allowed_albums'] array is not getting generated in your script. Can't say why without debugging it. If you are happy to give me your server's ftp info then i will look into it (Just PM me).

[n3n]

I have readded the mod. Didnt do any good though.
Gave you a pm with some login stuff.

Tnx

[Abbas Ali]

You gallery always shows last added thumbnails. You are not showing the album list. Then how can the buttons be shown? The edit/moderate buttons are only shown beside the album thumbnail. But you are not showing the album list at all....

[n3n]

Oooh no, i thought the button wouold show beneath the intermediate aswell, like with a normal admin account.
Sorry for the inconvenience 

Tnx alot for the trouble.

[n3n]

Also I seem to be getting a permission denied error. Isnt there a way to use this mod without having to use the catlist and alblist, e.g underneath the intermediate image? Really hate the output it gives.

Sorry to take so much of your time, but i really really need this mod

[Abbas Ali]

Giving link under intermediate pic will require editOnePic.php to be modified so that moderator can edit a single pic. Currently moderator can edit file only from editpics.php  This will require some time. I will do it as i get some free time but don't expect it to be done soon....

[n3n]

Ok thanks alot, meanwhile ill try to come up with another solution.

[cgc0202]

Hi Abbas,

GauGau kindly directed me to the original thread on Moderator and then this.  From your orignal post, you stated:

Here is the album moderators mod for cpg 1.4.x. Admin can assign moderator group for each album from album properties page.

Moderators can do following things

• Approve uploads in that album
• Edit/Delete pics from that album
• Reset views counter/comments for that album

Moderators cannot edit the album itself i.e. they cannot delete the albums or edit their name/description and such other things.

Abbas.

I was wondering, is it too late (or at least consider for the further development of this feature) to have the  "approval" and "delete" as two independent potential permissions delegated to a moderator?  And, maybe just like in the  Config panel -- to let the Admin decide to assign one or both permissions to a moderator.  [In fact, at some point as a later development of this feature -- and the other permissions you  indicated -- to have them in a Config table format so that the Admin will have the option to decide what permissions to the delgate to a Moderator.

You stated: "Moderators cannot edit the album itself i.e. they cannot delete the albums or edit their name/description and such other things." But, before this, you stated: "li]Edit/Delete pics from that album[/li][/list]"

If you analyze both statements more carefully -- without any other safeguards in place -- a Mderator can technically delete one file at a time (or just check every file in an album for deletion.  Thus, while (s)hemay not be able to delete the Album itself, a disgruntled Moderator can leave the category members with an empty photo album.[ This observation is based from the CPG1.4.4 that  I am using right now.]

While they did not explain the underlying reason for their preference, I will surmise that the above potenntial scenario or some other undesirable possibilities were the reasons why  n3n stated:

...Also i dont want normal users (not in the moderator group) to be able to delete any pictures, even if they uploaded them. ...

Two other people -- sgt_goomba and kfc -- and if you include me; there are at least four (4) who prefer quite strongly that the "delete" permissions be one function that must be retained by the Admin.

Once deleted it cannot be restored -- unless there is a backup mechanism in place.  A proposition that will yet require another mod.

As a diclosure, three (3) forum participants -- cerberus, DefenceTalk.com and tanfwc --  supported the "edit/delete" permissions for the Moderator, without explaining why they chose that.  I may be incorrect in my deduction but maybe it was because both permissions were lumped as if they were indivisible permissions when you stated:

"li]Edit/Delete pics from that album[/li][/list]"

I wonder if they will join our camp -- to decouple these two powers -- if they realize the potential disaster that can ensue from an abuse of the "delete" power.

I do not know how complicated and how much work it will require to script, but one alternatice possibility is to develop a mechanism for the Moderator to recommend to Admin that certain photos be deleted and the Admin will have the final say. 

The concept  is much like the :approval queue, excep that the reverse, i,e,, "deletion " is the goal of the mechanism to be instituted.  Such a mechanism will be a great help ffrom the Moderator and relieve a lot of the preliminary editorial functions that would have fto be done by the Admin.

There could also be a fail-safe automated mechanism so that the number of already approved photos will not go below a certain minimum threshold. [This could be included in the "Config" also.]

Moreover, if this option for a Moderator  --to recommend to Admin to delete photos  is adopted-- there must be some defined general guidelines.  [These guidelines will not require any scripting but included in the "Guidelines of the photo gallery website.  Here are some example rules (that I will define in my website): 

(1) Recommend deletions only if the set limit in the number of photos in a category is near the maximum or already exceeded.
(2) Public albums must be managed so  that it must not become a quasi-persomal album. To elaborate using an extreme case: Contributor A has 98 photos and Contributor B has the other two (2) -- in a max of 100 allowed.  Even if the quality of the photos of "B" are not good as that of A, the deletion must come from   A.
(3) In some applications -- like taxonomy of plans, animals, microorganisms -- again using a extreme example, if there are 98 photos of ducks, swans and geese vs 2 pedestrian photos of a mountain lion and a cheetah, the deletion must come from the fowls.
(4) etc.

I have observed situations, in forums for example, when the power of a Moderator has gone to an individual's head, and they abuse the exercise "to delete" postings.  This can create tension that can destroy a "community spirit". Similar scenarios can happen in moderated photo albums.  That can spell doom in sites where contributions pf photos are voluntary rather tha compensated.

In the end, the extreme situation conjured here can usually be avoided, if the Administrator makes prudent judgement in selecting  people  who will serve as Moderators.

Finally, when granting these permissions, we must remember that it is far easier for the Admin to reverse an "approval" action but how can you reverse the finality of a "delete" action -- if the software does not have a fail-safe mechanism in place?


cgc0202

[Abbas Ali]

@cgc0202: Your suggestion is correct but below are the reasons why i kept it like that.

I wanted to give moderator powers with least possible changes being done in core code. The main intention was that it should be easy to apply for any user. As the number of changes in files increases it becomes difficult for a normal user to apply the mod. Also it becomes difficult for the developer to maintain such a mod. Hence generally all the mod developers want to keep the changes as minimal as possible.

Edit/Delete both were conjoined for admin and both can be done from editpics.php. In editpics.php i just gave the moderator the admin powers. So whatever admin can do on editpics.php, the moderator can do the same. I did so, so that minimal changes are required in editpics.php file.

There are many users who don't know a single line of php or how to follow the guidelines given to apply the mod. They just keep harassing the mod developer with their questions and problems. Most of the times the mod does not work for them. Let me tell you, this is a huge problem for the mod developer since he/she had to support such users. Generally mods are made for persons who know what they are doing and how to do it. This is another reason why we chose to keep the changes require for the mod as minimal as possible.

It is possible to provide "editing" and "deletion" as two separate permissions. I cannot guarantee anything but i will give it a thought and try to come up with the solution. But again as i said earlier it will become a huge mod with changes in lots of places. Lets see when i get time to do this...


Abbas

[cgc0202]

... It is possible to provide "editing" and "deletion" as two separate permissions. I cannot guarantee anything but i will give it a thought and try to come up with the solution. But again as i said earlier it will become a huge mod with changes in lots of places. Lets see when i get time to do this...
Abbas

Thanks very much. 

I understand the complexity involved -- coming from a non-tech perspective.  I have wrecked havoc to some scripts I have tried to change sometimes because there was possibly just a closing tag, or something that I missed.

I found quite a few hidden gems in the program that are not even discussed in the Manual -- like the "install lock" feature for example was quite elegant.  Other softwares that I have used just advised you to remove the install an some other files or categories.

That the members of the whole team are doing it for an open-source software is even more laudable.  We as users of the program cannot thank you enough.  If we cannot return the favor in kind, I wish you all to know that I hope to use the program for what would in turn help perhaps make a difference in the world -- eventually. 

There is no guarantee of course, but just like what you are doing, trying your own good deed -- like a stone thrown in the pond to cast  ripples.

I use the TikiWiki for its "wiki" collaborative feature, and it has a good image gallery with a good overall permissions systems  for the entire system (173 different permissions) -- most sophisticated I have ever seen as I am beginning to understand the ramifications of what it can do.

Nonetheless, I have chosen to look for a separate image gallery system because the integrated image gallery in TikiWiki is not as well developed as the others I have found. I must be honest that when I started looking and comparing, for some reason, I opted for Gallery2 initially rather than Coppermine -- because of certain features it had or the direction they were going.

To cut a long story short, at some point, I decided to do a head-to-head comparison between the two in our Family Album -- as a dry run for what I plan eventually for a well-developed photogallery program.  In a more real setting the Coppermine edged Gallery2 in terms of what it can already deliver rather than just the promise of what can be that attracted me hypothetically to Gallery2. [I knew I needed those features in the long run.]

I decided to look at Coppermine more intensively.  And, based on what the members of our family wanted to do with an entire website -- the multimedia feature of Coppermine was quite popular.  The choice of pre-packaged themes was a hit to them also. 

I investigated the activity in the forums and that is what attracted me the most -- the active development of tangible features rather than just cosmetic dressing.  As a result, perhaps one day, Coppermine will have the features that I wish included, if I try to share my own perspective. 

One of them is towards decentralization of the Administrative duties without compromising the security of the website.  This is very critical in  a collaborative environment --- as discovered by the "wiki" developers.  That was why, in the case of Tikiwiki, they developed the most elaborate permissions system, to address what is now recognized as the inherent flaw in "MediaWiki", the program(?) that runs "Wikipedia".

I hope you will not misconstrued my post as badgering your team, I can see from the forums that there are just so much in your plate right now.

In regard the feature of decoupling the two -- approve and delete -- I have ways of coping with that right now, if as you said, it will take time because of the ramifications it could  trigger.  In fact, while I wish it not to be the case, even if the proposal  (and underlying reasons I outlined) is not adopted, the good points I found in Coppermine right now outweighs such potential lack of the feature.

I support  the use open-source software, not so much because it is free, but more because of the vision and the principles behind.  In a sense, the greatest reward that developers of open source softwares can aspire for is that the public uses what they have worked hard to create.  At present, I decided to cast my vote in using Coppermine.

cgc0202

[adnan]

what's different between moderator1.1 with moderator 1.0 ?

[Abbas Ali]

No new features..just some bug fixes. You should use version 1.1

[AnneN]

I installed the v 1.1 moderator mod onto a working version of 1.4.8 and then found that the Edit One Pic function no longer works. Is there something I need to tweak to make it work with this veriosn please? It worked fine with my earlier version of Coppermine.

[Abbas Ali]

What error message does it gives? Or what exactly happens? Please give more details.

[AnneN]

I deleted the mod so cannot report the error. I've now redone it and all works properly so I guess it was just a glitch. Thanks for the mod, it is just what I need.