This article and its associated code was updated on November 16th, 2008

Version: 2.0.0
vB Version: 3.7.x
Install Time: Less than 5 minutes including customizing.
Developer: Ted Sindzinski - http://www.moderninsider.com
Support: Visit the official support thread.

The ultimate goal of just about every community is to grow membership and while many visitors are only looking for one or two pieces of information, many more return day after day without registering. The purpose of the Limited Guest Viewing System is to drive in registrations by limiting the number of threads guests are able to view before registering or seeing an advertisement. This system is designed to encourage and ultimately force visitors to register by limiting the amount of "browsing" guests can do.

To accomplish this task, the Limited Guest Viewing System has two mechanisms which may be turned on or off individually.

    1 - After a defined number of threads are viewed, the addon can trigger a customizable message explaining the benefits of the forum, registration and prompt the user to join.

    2 - After a defined number of threads are viewed, the addon can stop future viewing of threads by displaying a customizable error message.
To track views, The Limited Guest Viewing System works either with cookies or (as of version 2.0) database logging. Neither of these systems is foolproof, nor are they meant to be, however they will allow you to prevent most guests from viewing threads or bug them along the way.

  • Cookie Tracking: This is the standard option and is always enabled. Using cookies views to threads are tracked and a cookie on the user's computer is updated. This system has very little code associated with it and produces little to no additional load to your server. However, by simply clearing cookies users will be able to bypass this protection.

  • Database Tracking: This is an optional setting which is turned of by default. Using a mysql data table, views to threads are tracked by the visitor's ip and stored in the database. Using this system adds 2 additional queries to every thread view from a guest and will add to the overhead of your server. Additionally because this addon uses IP addresses it is possible to block unintended users (i.e. people on a shared network or with an ISP that uses common addresses). There may also be search engine spider implcations as explained below.
The Limited Guest Viewing System is designed to help push along registrations but is not foolproof, nor is meant to be. The system uses single-session cookies which can be cleared by users fairly easily. Additionally, to either allow viewing of key forums or block only select areas for guests, this system can be configured to skip certain forums. Finally, the system is designed to suppress messages from The Welcome Headers System for users with the 3.6 version of that addon.

Bot/ Search Engines:

Many members are concerned about how search engine bots will respond to this addon. To prevent errors, this addon uses two levels of protection. First off this addon is cookie based -- since most bots do not use cookies they will not be flagged for either messaging or blocking. Secondly, this plugin does a basic check to identify major bots including Google, Yahoo and MSN and a few others and will allow them unrestricted access. That said, it is not recommended to use this addon with guests set to be unable to view any content -- if you do notice strange behavior with spiders on your site, fully diagnose the issue and then report it using the official support thread.

For users with database tracking enabled this system will still try and ignore major search engine bots identified by their user agent type. However not all search engine bots may display this information and it is possible a bot could be blocked if it returned with the same IP address multiple times. While I feel this concern is minimal you should monitor your SE rankings after installing this addon.

Installation Instructions:

Step 1) Add the attached product plugin

    From your Admin Control Panel go to Plugin System --> Manage Products and click the Add/Import product link. Click the browse button and select the xml file that accompanies these instructions. This will add and update the phrases, templates and required code.

Step 2) Upload the attached cron file (optional)

    Upload the attached file lgvdb.php to your includes/cron folder. This file is used to clear out old records for users with database enabling turned on.

Step 3) Configuration Options

    The Limited Guest Viewing System is designed to be flexible and highly customizable to meet the specific needs of your forum. To customize which messages show up and what they say, go to your vBulletin Options, scroll near the end of the list and select "Limited Guest Viewing System".

    Through this interface you will have the ability to enable the system, enable database logging, set the number of posts a guest may view as well as specifying any forums that should not be effected by this system. You can also customize the error message phrase through the admin interface or by editing the phrase "lgv" directly. It is highly suggested that you customize the phrases to speak specifically about your community and the benefits of registering.

    By default the system is disabled -- you must enable it through this interface before it will work!

Step 4) Template Modification

    If you plan to take advantage of the Register Take-Over Message which is used to encourage users to register before completely denying them thread viewing access, you will need to make one simple modifications to your templates.

    From your Admin Control Panel go to Styles & Templates --> Style Manager and select Edit Templates from the drop down list. Double click the Navigation/ Breadcrumb Templates option and then double click the navbar template. At the very end of the template add the code: $lgvmessage Save the template and repeat the process for each top level style you have.

To upgrade within 3.7.x versions:

    To upgrade, repeat step 1 with the option Allow Overwrite set to Yes. Reupload the cron file in step 2 and review all configuration options from step 3.

To upgrade from 3.6.x versions:

    To upgrade, import the product file as explained in step 1, upload the cron file from step 2 and validate the existance of the template modification from step 4. Your existing customized messages and settings will remain intact provided that you have not uninstalled the previous version of this addon.

Updates:

    11/16/2008 - Release of 2.0 with Database Logging
    05/09/2008 - Release of 3.7.0 version

Support:

For support, comments or to discuss this addon please see the official support thread. It is recommended that this plugin be used in conjunction with the 3.6 version of the Welcome Headers System to maximizing guest registrations.


Copyright © Ted Sindzinski & Modern Insider 2008. All Rights Reserved.
This plugin may not be republished or distributed without the express written consent of the author.