UncrownedGuard

Question about that gif animation: while Olivia is typing her answer, we're not seeing "Olivia is typing" in the top window, is that because her post is too short to trigger the Real time Who's Typing feature? 
I suppose that ideally, if I'm watching a thread, I should see that someone is typing something, wait, and when the answer is submitted, I end up seeing the answer pop up without having to refresh. 

@UncrownedGuard, 100% want to emphasize this.  I'd ideally love all the get/post/delete options in the REST API to be available in Zapier as actions.  The big things for us would be the ability to create polls/questions on topics, look up topics and events by ID, and have a trigger of 'when user group membership changes.'

That is great to hear!!
It is mostly getting the Zap to trigger.  Let's say I post a webinar on the community calendar for June 10th, 2024.  The current setup will fire the Zap as soon as the event is added (let's say today) and that isn't exactly ideal.  Now I need to add more steps to the Zap to try and schedule the further steps for 7 months from now.  The only way I found to do this with success is to have the Zap schedule the tasks in either a spreadsheet or a social media manager, but now it will not accept edits to the event.  So, if I change the start time, the Zap has already fired and is not going to process the changes to wherever it went.
If I wanted the change based on a group change in my community, yes.  But I cannot flip that and have my community make a change based on something else.  We only get an Update Member action and that is just a few options (name, email, password).  I can add/remove secondary groups, but it a fairly limiting in potential.

That is great to hear!!
It is mostly getting the Zap to trigger.  Let's say I post a webinar on the community calendar for June 10th, 2024.  The current setup will fire the Zap as soon as the event is added (let's say today) and that isn't exactly ideal.  Now I need to add more steps to the Zap to try and schedule the further steps for 7 months from now.  The only way I found to do this with success is to have the Zap schedule the tasks in either a spreadsheet or a social media manager, but now it will not accept edits to the event.  So, if I change the start time, the Zap has already fired and is not going to process the changes to wherever it went.
If I wanted the change based on a group change in my community, yes.  But I cannot flip that and have my community make a change based on something else.  We only get an Update Member action and that is just a few options (name, email, password).  I can add/remove secondary groups, but it a fairly limiting in potential.

Just a suggestion, but as someone who loves Zapier for helping with tasks and automation, I am super happy to have Invision's custom Zapier app and also wish it had a lot more.
Currently, it is very much limited to triggers and not so much to actions. You can create a lot of things via actions, but not much else.
There is also the find action which is really nice, but nothing to really follow up with what it finds.
So here are some suggestions that I had.
Trigger on Published status as a trigger: It is overly difficult to just set up a zap to trigger something being published when it comes to scheduled content.  The dates are in the new content created sections, but it is numerous times easier to use an RSS feed from the site to trigger this than the actual site's Zapier.
Trigger on Event Start: I have had no luck getting zaps to work by using the new event created and then using the dates months in advance to trigger a zap.  The solution for me was linking my community calendar to a Google Calendar and using their Zap interaction to trigger on even start.  Again, there are ways to do it, but oddly not great solutions within the actual Zap from Invision.
Spam Tools (Flag as Spammer/Report Content/Hide Content): When dealing with a wave of spam that is getting past the built-in spam filters, it would be great to have Zaps as a backup to turn on.  I can easily have a tool like ChatGPT read a new topic created from a new account and with solid accuracy answer if it is spam or not.  In fact, I can even prompt it to look for any Airline Ticket Sales in the spam to limit possible mistakes.  Then the Invision Zap can even find the member who posted it.... but then it ends.  I could send a notice message to myself that spam is happening, but that really defeats the purpose of automation.  Allowing the Zap to act on content would open up a huge tool bag of anti-spam tools.
Changing User Groups: It would be really nice to have the actions that happen on one app be able to influence the user groups of users in my community.
Edit Blocks: Blocks are one of my favorite pieces of Invision Community and being able to automatically edit the content in these blocks via Zapier would be a huge asset!  From something as simple as replacing a link when a YouTube or Twitch goes live, to linking a block to an Excel spreadsheet for daily messages, placing sales in promotional blocks, or even mirroring messages across sites, etc. etc. the possibilities are endless.  This would greatly increase a community's ability to automate holiday stuff, sales, and so on.
Again, I do enjoy the actual Invision Community Zapier app, but I have to admit in the roughly 25 zaps that I use with my community, only about 5 use the actual app designed for Invision.  

This is not something in which we have many any decisions to make changes for internally on the platform, no

The Google CMP looks decent, example from the CMP builder tool:

 

When trying to sell ad space, there does not appear to be any to specify the exact size of an image.  I see you can set a maximum size, but that would allow people to upload a 20x20 box where a leaderboard is designed to fit on the site. This seems like a strange approach and easily fixable by also allowing setting a minimum size.  Of course and exact size or ratio setting would also be great.
 
Unless I am missing something here.

There are no plans at all to remove the ability to add your own ads in commerce

I really like this feature setup!  As an end-user on platforms like Reddit and those "Q&A sites", I always find myself seeing the best answer or most upvoted answer and still wanting a bit more information!  This seems like a great solution for that issue for my end users now.
P.S. I still hope articles are redone to look a bit nicer without 3rd party tools on a homepage.  I'll beat that dead horse all day here 😅  

I really like this feature setup!  As an end-user on platforms like Reddit and those "Q&A sites", I always find myself seeing the best answer or most upvoted answer and still wanting a bit more information!  This seems like a great solution for that issue for my end users now.
P.S. I still hope articles are redone to look a bit nicer without 3rd party tools on a homepage.  I'll beat that dead horse all day here 😅  

I really like this feature setup!  As an end-user on platforms like Reddit and those "Q&A sites", I always find myself seeing the best answer or most upvoted answer and still wanting a bit more information!  This seems like a great solution for that issue for my end users now.
P.S. I still hope articles are redone to look a bit nicer without 3rd party tools on a homepage.  I'll beat that dead horse all day here 😅  

I really like this feature setup!  As an end-user on platforms like Reddit and those "Q&A sites", I always find myself seeing the best answer or most upvoted answer and still wanting a bit more information!  This seems like a great solution for that issue for my end users now.
P.S. I still hope articles are redone to look a bit nicer without 3rd party tools on a homepage.  I'll beat that dead horse all day here 😅  

I really like this feature setup!  As an end-user on platforms like Reddit and those "Q&A sites", I always find myself seeing the best answer or most upvoted answer and still wanting a bit more information!  This seems like a great solution for that issue for my end users now.
P.S. I still hope articles are redone to look a bit nicer without 3rd party tools on a homepage.  I'll beat that dead horse all day here 😅  

Forum platforms have a wide range of uses, from helping with support to sharing knowledge, ideation and social interaction.
Topics can span years, and once the initial explosion of replies has passed, the topic lives on in local search and search engines for future viewers to discover and get value from.
However, it's not always easy to get the best content from a very long topic.
You may have noticed that when you come to a topic seeking an answer, some replies are less than helpful.

How do I fix my Apple Watch? Like this!
It's common to find a lot of social content mixed in with useful replies. Jokes, GIFs and off-topic musings are all great while the topic develops organically in real-time. Having fun is critical to feeling a sense of belonging in a community. However, those coming to the topic a little later, say from a link Google has suggested, just want to get the useful content in the fastest way possible.
That's where 'helpful' voting comes in.

A very helpful reply
Invision Community can already mark a single post as the best solution for that topic. Still, not every topic gets a definitive answer, and some community strategies resist quickly marking a post as the best answer to encourage more discussion rather than effectively ending it.
Even when you have a definitive answer, there is often value in other highly rated posts offering more context, alternative solutions and more thorough explanations.
With Helpful voting, your members are encouraged to flag which posts they find helpful in the topic. When enough votes are added to a single post, they are suggested as a possible answer. You can also tune out the noise and view the most helpful replies only.
This is a powerful way to get the very best content from a topic in a short space of time.

Want to just view the most helpful replies? No problem.
If you eventually choose to mark a post as the definitive answer, the suggested post will be replaced with the answer you choose, but you can still see the posts voted as helpful to gain further context.
The helpful voting works independently from reactions, which tend to cluster around social content. Social media conditions us to add a like or funny reaction to content that gets an emotional response. Indeed, a lot of the most highly reacted content is funny content. Social reactions are valuable when building connections between community members but often don't reflect what is the most useful content.

The suggested most helpful post threshold is configuration via the Admin Control Panel.
Helping your members find the best content within topics helps them do more in your community with less time.
Forums continue to evolve, and while social content helps develop the community, content that solves problems and helps others is the rocket fuel you need to keep members and attract new audiences.
Helpful voting also feeds into picking Community Experts, a new feature for Invision Community 5, but we'll talk about that in a future blog.

A sneak peak at the new Community Expert badge
I hope you found this update ✨helpful✨, and if you have any questions or comments, let me know in the comments!

View full blog entry

Between the IPS Cloud outages, the glances that I have seen look very good!  I hope this project takes off as a central point for 3rd party tools was what made the marketplace great!

Honestly, the experience for me as been pretty great.  They had that major downtime earlier this year and now this, but overwise I run at 100% up time every month.  I use updown.io as it is one of the cheaper solutions to track my uptime and I'd recommend a service like that for your site to give a more reportable data set.

Yeah, my forum has mostly been down the last hour, so I'm not very keen on the IPS Cloud service right now.
 ..Al

Between the IPS Cloud outages, the glances that I have seen look very good!  I hope this project takes off as a central point for 3rd party tools was what made the marketplace great!

I'd like to extend a public invitation to all IPS clients and the third-party community to celebrate the opening of the free listing of files on the Marketplace Directory of Invisioneer.org.  
https://www.invisioneer.org/marketplace/
What is the Marketplace Directory on Invisioneer.org?  
The Marketplace Directory is a free list of files by authors. Its goal is simple: a free, centralized list for you to browse third-party files.  
No files are sold or supported on the site itself. You will be redirected to the author's site for payment and support. 
You will find the Marketplace Directory to be immediately familiar:
Same categories and structure as the IPS Marketplace Same IP.Downloads app as the IPS Marketplace  Over 300+ files have already been listed in the Marketplace Directory, and we hope more will be listed as developers and themers update their files.  
Why visit Marketplace Directory?  
The Marketplace Directory will never be a perfect substitute for the IPS Marketplace, which had deep integration with the ACP and directly processed payments on behalf of clients.  
However, as soon as it became known that IPS was shutting down its Marketplace, it became clear that clients would confusingly need to go to multiple websites. Purchased 5 plugins from 5 different developers? You need to visit 5 different sites for support and payment.   
The Marketplace Directory doesn't totally solve the problem, but it's a step in the right direction.  It consolidates files by authors who wish to list together, and makes file discovery and author tracking so much easier.  There is power in collaboration, and the Marketplace Directory is a great example of the most trusted third-party developers coming together in the spirit of community.  
What is Invisioneer.org?  
Invisioneer.org is a broader project of mine to offer a suite of resources to help IPS owners and admins launch better communities - and to hopefully learn alongside you.  It's my goal to build an "ecosystem of success" around IPS owners and admins as we compete and thrive together on the modern web:
IPS helps you compete with community software Third-party developers help you compete with themes and extensions Invisioneer.org helps you compete with community strategy My goal behind Invisioneer.org is to help you compete - and win - with the "soft skills" of community management that are just as important as the technology: crafting a community strategy, leading with emotional intelligence, and leveraging best practices from disciplines like behavioral economics, psychology, sociology, and leading community consultancies. 
The Marketplace Directory is an important part of Invisioneer.org, and one component of the ecosystem of success for IPS clients to leverage.  
What do I do with my files?  
Purchases and renewals have stopped on the IPS Marketplace, and the Marketplace itself will shut down on October 30 2023 according to IPS.  
To continue receiving support and updates to your active Marketplace files, you will need to transfer your purchases' license keys directly to the author. To find the license keys for all purchases, go to My Purchases.  
Active authors have posted information on their file descriptions or in the support topic about their own support sites.  If you purchased a file from a developer who doesn't have information yet, you will need to reach out to that author.    
Official IPS Blog: https://invisioncommunity.com/news/invision-community/marketplace-the-next-steps-r1286/

Internal embeds and video attachments do not have the same customization options as images.
Images can be.....
Put on a bullet Aligned to the right Resized  
Resized   
Suggestions for IPS Embed (Topics, Articles, Gallery items, etc) Customization Options
Suggestions Allow it to be put under a bullet point Allow it to be resized Allow alignment to be customizable  
Suggestions Video Attachment Embed Customization Options
Allow the same options as allowed for images..
sample-5s.mp4  
 

You have send rss with your user key with permission, in public rss this is not displayed.
https://www.uncrownedaddiction.com/forums/forum/9-serious-debates.xml/
I don't know if this is important to you, but now your key is exposed in topic.

The new pricing is pretty good.  Granted, I am curious as to how current packages will work.  A blog on this would have been super nice.

The new pricing is pretty good.  Granted, I am curious as to how current packages will work.  A blog on this would have been super nice.

Yes, this is possible within the club's app itself. You do have to enable paid clubs and then allow user groups to create paid clubs.  I also have Commerce installed on my sites, but it does not appear to require it (but I am not sure).

EDIT: Actually I now believe they do require Commerce as the settings use Commerce's payment methods.