Dave Reid

I previously posted about my search for my ideal content access module. Since then I've done a lot of searching and digging through the source code of all the most popular content access modules. I've come to realize there was really no module currently out there that had the features I was looking for. A quick review of the feature wish list:

• Per-content access restricted by user roles
• If the content is restricted to user, don't just hide the node, but rather show a message in place of the content like "Sorry, this post has been restricted to users with the following roles: registered user, friend."
• If the current user is anonymous and the content is restricted, also show a message like "Please create an account to view this content." with a link to the user register page, of course.

The built-in Drupal node access system is not really ideal for this direction since there's absolutely no middle ground between, "This user can view the node" and "OMG! Hide this node completely!" So today I started Restricted content, a yet-another-but-totally-different node access module. After only a couple hours of coding, it seems to be working fairly well, minus any kind of testing framework (I swear I'll get right on it webchick!). The content restriction messages shown to the user are customizable and can be integrated with token for some cool token replacement. For anyone daring enough to try it or even just take a look at the code, your comments and feedback are wanted and welcome here or in the issue queue. Hopefully some of you can find this useful like I have!

Since the Kaltura module was announced in the forums, discussed recently on Drupal Planet, and "advertised" on the development mailing list, it has come to the attention of Morbus and myself that the Kaltura All in One Video module contains unacceptable code that creates unwanted and hidden SEO link spam. The code is present in both their Drupal module and their WordPress plugin (which has gone unnoticed for quite some time). Interestingly enough, the same is not found in their MediaWiki plugin, because I can only assume they were paid to write that one.

It is stunning (and kinda funny) to think that some people still believe they can get away with such a dirty and nasty practice, especially in open source software. At the time of this post, the company has yet to respond in either of the posts in their forums (linked above). Anyone not wanting to be punished by Google and lose rankings should probably disable the module immediately. This is just another reason why I will always recommend to do a quick read of a module's source code before you use it. The offending code is in the full post if you'd like to check it out yourself.

I needed a script to use with Drupal CVS HEAD during the testing and patch review process that deletes all the current database tables and starts a fresh re-install. There's maybe a better solution out there, but this works for me right now. Below is the code in the 'reset.php' file in the root of my Drupal install. I've also included an archive of the reset.php and developer profile that automates the whole process. Just extract the contents in the root of your Drupal directory, and go to 'http://yourdrupalpath/reset.php'.

WARNING: This deletes your current database tables and should not be used on any kind of site that you value your data. This has only been tested on a Drupal 7 (CVS HEAD) install.

The 6.x-1.0 beta2 version of the FeedBurner Drupal module is now available, bringing the last few major features I wanted to get in, mainly the email subscription and feed count blocks. My primary focuses for the module are now: Views module feed integration, back-porting the module to 5.x, documentation, and testing. Please give the new version of the module a try and report any bugs! I think I'm also going to try and get my module reviewed by the wonderful chx and Morbus of Drupal Tough Love.

I will have to be closely monitoring the status of the Feedburner to Google Feedburner transition. As of now, the module still works just fine if you have your feeds served by Google. You just need to change the MyBrand domain in the module settings to 'feedproxy.google.com.'

And of course if you like the module, please donate to my laptop fund or review it on drupalmodules.com.

UPDATE: I decided this module was too specific and had no room to grow at all, so I created a new module, Statistics Advanced Settings that includes an improved version of Accurate Read Count.

Well that was fun! In about a total of two hours, I was able to code, cvs commit and create the project page for a new module of mine, Accurate Read Count. I think that's pretty good for only my third module.

So what does it do you ask? Do you like seeing how many times your content has been read using the core statistics module? Did you know that every time you view a node, even if you're logged in, the read counter is incremented? Any Drupal user could easily inflate the read counters just by normal site administration alone. Crazy! I've been keeping track of bug #90468: Only record unique hits in node counter stats and I even tried my first core patch there a while back. Seeing as this bug is not going to be fixed in Drupal 6.x (the bug is slated to be fixed in 7.x), I decided to create a simple module that would work with the core statistics module and disregard any non-unique content views.

UPDATE: I just released Drupal 6 alpha version of the module ready for testing! Go get it!

So to everyone who's been using my FeedBurner module for Drupal, I'm sorry that development has stagnated recently. I've noticed that lots of people have been wanting a Drupal 6 port of the module and have had to (sometimes unsuccessfully) resort to using .htaccess hacks.

Things should be getting better shortly. Now that I've resigned from position at HuHot (which will warrant a more personal, longer post), I should be able to better balance normal stuff with programming. I've begun porting/developing the module for Drupal 6.x and will not be working on the 5.x version of the module. Maybe at some point I'll be able to maintain two different versions, but for me right now it's a little difficult. I'll get better at it I suppose. My goal is to get a beta release of the module out by August 4th. I also hope to have a job by then too. Thanks for your support and patience.

If you want to help even more, you can donate to my replacement laptop fund (my laptop is my primary development machine and dying). Just a little plug for that.