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MT & Web Design

[ Tuesday, November 18, 2003 ]

EZ Subscribe To Comments

Update: Latest Version = 1.1b
(now displayed at bottom of script's sidebar on left)
-------------------------------

The script below is a new way to allow readers to subscribe to yor comment posts. The original idea was from the ScriptyGoddess Subscribe-To-Comments scripts for MovableType. Jennifer, from ScriptyGoddess posted a call to any "doctor or Perl programmer in the house" because the Subscribe To Comments script is 1) a perfect opportunity for people to bombard enemies with spam emails, and 2) not helped by Jay Allen's masterwork the MT-Blacklist anti-spam plugin.

Well, as a better doctor than Perl programmer, I decided I'd better take up the challenge and have at it with my lumbering, kludgey Perl in order to sharpen my skills. So, I have hacked away at it for a few weeks in between real work, and I have produced a script which will easily substitute for the ScriptyGoddess one with very little work on your part and easy "revert" if you don't like it.

Here Are Some Features Of The Script
1) No hacking of MovableType or any related software
2) Single CGI script for easy installation and removal
3) Upgrade from ScriptyGoddess by simply changing two URLs in your Comments Listing Template
4) Easy Import of Old ScriptyGoddess Subscriptions
5) Web Based Interface For Managing All Subscriptions
6) Individual Entry Opt-Outs as Well as Sitewide Opt-Outs Available To Readers
7) Subscription Management Pages Secured By MovableType Password System
8) Subscriptions Stored In Database Instead of Flat File in Web Directory
9) Completely Compatible With Mt-Blacklist Plugin
10) Uses MT IP Banning For All Subscriptions
11) Readers Can Subscribe Without Posting, But Are Still Subject To MT IP Banning for Security
12) Completely Customizable Notification Email
13) Secure Reader Pages For Individuals To Manage Their Subscriptions
14) Reader and Blog Author Pages and All Others Separately Customizable With CSS
15) Easy to Purge All Related Data If Desired
16) Flood Control on Nonposting subscriptions
17) Optional automatic email notification if large volume of subscriptions (subscription spam warning)
18) Optional automatic (or reader chosen) expiration times for subscriptions
19) No hidden frames or occult popups - works perfectly* with both popup and inline comments

*the word "perfectly" is used largely to convey a feeling and not completely literally . This is because, much as I love Macs, a couple of their browsers are extremely inconsistent. The worst is Opera (Windows Opera is fine) - the workaround in the script causes a funny little bump that looks like the page is reloaded once after posting a comment - no big deal, but might surprise those few Mac Opera users a little. Also, Safari puts up a dialog box saying "Subscription Info Processed Successfully" requiring a click on okay to get rid of it. Again, nothing too unusual, I hope. All other browsers behave themselves just fine.

If you want to try it out here first, subscribe to comments for this entry (with or without posting) and see how it works. You will receive an email that will give you a link to the reader's page (to manage your subscription(s) at this site).

See Sample Page From Script (Installation Instructions and Tech Notes)


Screenshot of Script's Subscription Page

Download Script -> EZ Subscribe To Comments

Read MORE for change history:


Posted by Oscar on 11/18 at 07:44 PM
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[ Wednesday, September 24, 2003 ]

NetFlix Suite

UPDATED FOR NEW NETFLIX FORMAT 5/19/05

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who knew there was so much interest in Netflix, and related plugins for MovableType? Just when I thought I was finished up tweaking Ben's original plugin to display the Netflix Queue, I began to get other requests for other lists and various features.

So, I have decided to just put three plugins in one zip file and name it, presumptuously, the Netflix Suite.

Here are the plugins enclosed:

NOTE: The Image Tags return a URL to the small image for each movie. This uses Netflix's bandwidth, and I don't recommend it. It has been heavily requested, though, so it is included.

NetflixQueue

Displays movies in your rental queue.

Available tags are:
<MTNetflixQueue>
<$MTNetflixQueueTitle$>
<$MTNetflixQueueURL$>
<$MTNetflixQueueImage$>
<$MTNetflixQueueGenre$>
<$MTNetflixQueueRating$>
<$MTNetflixQueueAvailability$>
<$MTNetflixQueuePosition$>

Additional arguments for <MTNetfilxQueue> are "lastn" "firstn" and "randomn"
These treat your queue as such, i.e., FIFO, but they allude to weblogs where
the "lastn" are the "n" most recent posts. In this plugin , "lastn" returns the
list of "n" movies at the top of your queue, and "firstn" returns the list of
"n" movies at the bottom. "randomn" returns "n" random movies selected from your
queue. So, <MTNetflixQueue session_id = "<your session ID>" lastn = "10"> will
return the next 10 movies you will be viewing. Caution: Use of the image tag uses THEIR bandwith.

NetflixOutstanding

Displays list of movies you currently have on rental from NetFlix.

Available tags are:
<MTNetflixOutstanding>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingTitle$>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingURL$>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingImage$>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingGenre$>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingRating$>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingShipped$>
<$MTNetflixOutstandingArrival$>


Additional arguments for <MTNetfilxOutstanding> are "lastn" "firstn" and "randomn"
These treat your "oustanding" queue as such, i.e., FIFO, but they allude to weblogs where
the "lastn" are the "n" most recent posts. In this plugin , "lastn" returns the
list of "n" movies at the top of your "outstanding" queue, and "firstn" returns the list of
"n" movies at the bottom. "randomn" returns "n" random movies selected from your
"outstanding" queue. So, <MTNetflixOutstanding session_id = "<your session ID>" lastn = "3"> will
return the next 3 movies you have out. Caution: Use of the image tag uses THEIR bandwith.

Netflix History

Displays movies you have recently rented and presumably watched.

Available tags are:
<MTNetflixHistory>
<$MTNetflixHistoryTitle$>
<$MTNetflixHistoryURL$>
<$MTNetflixHistoryImage$>
<$MTNetflixHistoryShipDate$>
<$MTNetflixHistoryReturnDate$>
<$MTNetflixHistoryRating$>
<$MTNetflixHistoryRatingGraphic$>

An additional argument for <MTNetfilxHistory> is "lastn"
This treats your "history" queue as such, i.e., FIFO, but alludes to weblogs where
the "lastn" are the "n" most recent posts. In this plugin , "lastn" returns the
list of "n" movies at the top of your "history" queue.
So, <MTNetflixHistory session_id = "<your session ID>" lastn = "3"> will
return the top 3 movies you have out.

Caution: Caution: Use of the image tag uses THEIR bandwith.

Download: NetflixSuite


Posted by Oscar on 09/24 at 02:12 PM
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