Members geolocation and forum restriction

[LaCollision]

Hi there,

As the member geolocation is a built-in feature, I was wondering if it is possible in IPS 4 to hide a forum for a specific location.

For instance, if I create a forum, I would like to display it for specific countries only.

If it's not a feature, is it something IPS would like to implement?

Thank you

[LaCollision]

Hi there,

up?

Thanks,

[Kevin Carwile]

That sounds like a job for a plugin or extension. I would imagine the best place to find that type of customization is from a 3rd party developer.

[The Jimmo]

Find that quite odd that you would want to hide/show forums based on a user's location. Especially if said user were to travel and find a new forum and topics on your forum. That's just kind of odd.

Also if you did where from the user registered from, what if I registered on vacation somewhere and am now using your site from home. 

Geolocation is good for somethings but to me showing/hiding forums just doesn't really work.

[LaCollision]

Find that quite odd that you would want to hide/show forums based on a user's location. Especially if said user were to travel and find a new forum and topics on your forum. That's just kind of odd.

Also if you did where from the user registered from, what if I registered on vacation somewhere and am now using your site from home. 

Geolocation is good for somethings but to me showing/hiding forums just doesn't really work.

​

That's not odd at all when you consider there are more and more laws throughout the different countries in the world, restricting access to certain content.

For instance: software, videos, games… or simply discussions concerning a specific country.

[LaCollision]

Also if you did where from the user registered from, what if I registered on vacation somewhere and am now using your site from home. 

​The purpose is not a "security" mesure, as of course a traveller or even a user with a VPN can access the hidden forum.

The purpose is more a cosmetic thing. For instance, for people in the US, I don't want them to see discussions about something specific in the UK. But of course, someone using a VPN from the UK can access that content.

[LaCollision]

Another example: let's imagine Invision opens some forums in different languages dedicated to German market, French market, Spanish, and so on.

English users don't have any interest in seeing forums in foreign languages, so these forums could be hidden from them, in order to keep a clean user experience.

[Mark]

It is not a feature, but would of course be possible for a developer to implement as a plugin.

[The Jimmo]

​

That's not odd at all when you consider there are more and more laws throughout the different countries in the world, restricting access to certain content.

For instance: software, videos, games… or simply discussions concerning a specific country.​

​The purpose is not a "security" mesure, as of course a traveller or even a user with a VPN can access the hidden forum.

The purpose is more a cosmetic thing. For instance, for people in the US, I don't want them to see discussions about something specific in the UK. But of course, someone using a VPN from the UK can access that content.

Never stated security, you're simply excluding individuals from a discussion that they could be interested in because of their location​. The example you gave above is valid, I can understand if discussing "blank" is illegal in China so you block conversation on it but to presume a user won't be interested in it or can't provide valid insight based on their location is wrong.

Another example: let's imagine Invision opens some forums in different languages dedicated to German market, French market, Spanish, and so on.

English users don't have any interest in seeing forums in foreign languages, so these forums could be hidden from them, in order to keep a clean user experience.

​I live in the US and English is my primary language but I also speak Spanish and Polish. You are being very presumptuous saying I couldn't provide value to these sections if they existed or I wouldn't be interested. My point being is that location is great for avoiding conflict of interests, country based items (such as removing illegal content, proving local phone numbers, etc...) but actually removing content is usually bad.

Of course, it is your website so do as you wish, I just feel this will provide a confusing and bad user experience.

[opentype]

Another example: let's imagine Invision opens some forums in different languages dedicated to German market, French market, Spanish, and so on.

English users don't have any interest in seeing forums in foreign languages, so these forums could be hidden from them, in order to keep a clean user experience.

​That’s what member groups are for. Much more easy to control* and more reliable for all the examples you mentioned. 

 

* An easy way to subscribe/unsubscribe to member groups is still missing as default feature though. :-(

[LaCollision]

​That’s what member groups are for. Much more easy to control* and more reliable for all the examples you mentioned. 

​

Yes, for sure, you're right. Unfortunately, members can only have a secondary group, which is not enough  
My secondary groups are already used for other things.

[opentype]

​Yes, for sure, you're right. Unfortunately, members can only have a secondary group, which is not enough  

My secondary groups are already used for other things.

​I don’t follow. Giving access to restricted areas through user groups is a typical use and you can add as many groups as you like. 

[LaCollision]

I live in the US and English is my primary language but I also speak Spanish and Polish. You are being very presumptuous saying I couldn't provide value to these sections if they existed or I wouldn't be interested.

​That was only a fictitious example, and I wonder who's the most presumptuous.

You simply make a general truth without knowing the specificities of other websites than yours.

[LaCollision]

​I don’t follow. Giving access to restricted areas through user groups is a typical use and you can add as many groups as you like. 

​Yes, I can add as many groups as I want, but I only can add a secondary group to a member.

For instance : a member has already a secondary group like "is-an-expert-and-can-participate-in-super-advanced-forums".
Then I can't put him in the group "his-country-follows-the-UK-regulation".

That would be great to be able to add as many secondary groups as we want…

[The Jimmo]

Sorry, trying to just give you another outlook on this approach. If you think this will work and excluding even the smallest percentage of users is something you want to do, then that is your call like I said it is your site. My thought process when developing a site is not to exclude anyone with a potential interest in a topic. Take for instance my typical audience for my Forever Pontiac site is USA, Canada and Mexico as that is where the vehicles were sold mainly but we don't exclude other countries where people may have exported a Pontiac to. We have region based forums where individuals talk about meeting each other, going to car shows, doing part swaps, etc... I wouldn't dream of limiting this to just people in those regions as people who are traveling are interested in meeting people in that area, look for things in neighboring regions, etc... Overall my point is just because user doesn't live in country X, doesn't mean they don't speak language X or aren't interested in discussing items with them.

[opentype]

 

That would be great to be able to add as many secondary groups as we want…

​It is this way. Don’t know why you think it isn’t. 

[LaCollision]

​It is this way. Don’t now why you think it isn’t. 

​

O-M-F-G for years I thought only one group was selectable!! 

Thanks!!

 

[LaCollision]

Sorry, trying to just give you another outlook on this approach. If you think this will work and excluding even the smallest percentage of users is something you want to do, then that is your call like I said it is your site. My thought process when developing a site is not to exclude anyone with a potential interest in a topic. Take for instance my typical audience for my Forever Pontiac site is USA, Canada and Mexico as that is where the vehicles were sold mainly but we don't exclude other countries where people may have exported a Pontiac to. We have region based forums where individuals talk about meeting each other, going to car shows, doing part swaps, etc... I wouldn't dream of limiting this to just people in those regions as people who are traveling are interested in meeting people in that area, look for things in neighboring regions, etc... Overall my point is just because user doesn't live in country X, doesn't mean they don't speak language X or aren't interested in discussing items with them.

​

Yeah, but now, imagine that you have a Pontiac Firebird 1967 specific forum, and that suddenly, Russia decides it is forbidden to have a website about this car, because it was used by James Bond during the Cold War.

To comply the Russian law, you would have no choice than hiding your specific Firebird 1967 forum, so your website won't be blacklisted in Russia.

This example would be better with an english speaking country in your case, but it's much funnier with Russia.

[The Jimmo]

​

Yeah, but now, imagine that you have a Pontiac Firebird 1967 specific forum, and that suddenly, Russia decides it is forbidden to have a website about this car, because it was used by James Bond during the Cold War.

To comply the Russian law, you would have no choice than hiding your specific Firebird 1967 forum, so your website won't be blacklisted in Russia.

This example would be better with an english speaking country in your case, but it's much funnier with Russia.

​Yes, please re-read what I said. I said avoiding legalities is a good reason. Segregating your members though just based on region without any legal precedence is bad

[LaCollision]

​Yes, please re-read what I said. I said avoiding legalities is a good reason. Segregating your members though just based on region without any legally precedence is bad

​

​That's not odd at all when you consider there are more and more laws throughout the different countries in the world, restricting access to certain content.

​

Yes, please re-read the first sentence of my intervention.

[rich@fordstoc.com]

​

O-M-F-G for years I thought only one group was selectable!! 

Thanks!!

 

​The amount of times I have had to explain the CTRL key to my Staff and Admin is unreal

[LaCollision]

​The amount of times I have had to explain the CTRL key to my Staff and Admin is unreal

​I must admit I am ashamed.