aterr 0.9.3 review

aterr is an open source threaded forum system; allowing registered visitors to express their opinions, discuss topics, and debate wit

License: GPL (GNU General Public License) File size: 87K Developer: Chimaera Project

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aterr is an open source threaded forum system; allowing registered visitors to express their opinions, discuss topics, and debate with other visitors.

A threaded forum system differs from regular, flat forum systems in that once posted, a thread can fork, allowing visitors to reply directly to other posts.

aterr project also provides a customisable permissions system, the ability to nest forums, and moderation tools.

Here are some key features of "aterr":
User features

Threaded forums - Posts are made in a logical manner, underneath the post they are referring to.
Bookmarked threads - Threads can be bookmarked; when new posts are made you are immediately aware.
Secure - The forums are developed with security as the top priority.
Post tracking - aterr remembers which posts you have read and will display in a different colour any posts you have not read.
Valid XHTML and CSS - aterr is designed in accordance with web standards, allowing it to be displayed correctly in any browser.
Email notification - aterr can optionally send you emails when people reply to threads you have bookmarked.
Atom/RSS feeds - Atom and RSS feeds are available for all public forums, showing the latest threads posted in a forum.
Human-friendly URLs - If supported by the web server, aterr will use user-friendly URLs which make sense

Admin features

Permissions - Creating private forums is simple and powerful with the permissions system.
Simple yet powerful administration panel - The administration panel has two modes, simple and advanced. Simple allows for fast creation of forums, advanced allows fine-tuning of user permissions.
Nested forums - Creating sub forums is easy.
Simple install script - Just enter the database information and your desired username/password and aterr will be installed.
Approval of posts - All posts made to a forum can be optionally pre-moderated (they must be approved by a moderator before they are displayed to others).
Moving posts & threads - Whole threads, or individual posts and their followups can be moved to other forums.
Stickies - Stickies can be created; a thread which is stuck appears at the top of the forum.
Locked threads - A thread can be locked, preventing any replies from being made.
Report posts - Posts can be reported to moderators, reported posts show up differently to moderators who can take action based on the report.

Requirements:
PHP

What's New in This Release:
This version is primarily a bug fix release, but adds two minor features. Firstly, the ability to delete a forum has been added to the administration panel. You can only delete a forum which does not contain any posts or subforums. Secondly, the RSS and Atom feeds have been converted to use templates, so can be easily customised. This release also fixes the bug which prevented moving forums up and down in the forum order properly. Upgrading your forum to version 0.9.3 will automatically correct the forum order to ensure that forums can be moved.