Here's the generic e-mail I'll be sending to anyone who wants to help us with developing the script. Use this thread to discuss the development.
Okay, if you look under the Current Development thread (
http://boardmod.yabbforum.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=modtesting;action=display;num=1...), under "structure," you'll see what we're looking to do.
Additionally, I've made a rough layout of the database tables, available here:
http://www.themikecam.com/mikecam/test.html. One or two fields will have to be added per some things we've been discussing, such as displaying related mods and only approving mods after they've been reviewed three times.
Also, omario has posted his idea of the "view mod" screen at
http://www.clickopedia.com/modlayout.htm. One thing we won't be using, however, is making multiple versions available (at the top, it shows "Msn > 1.0 SP1" and then more versions at the bottom). Instead, all newer versions will simply overwrite the old version. Instead, we thought to add another field to the mods table in the DB that would connect add-ons to the mod they're adding on to, so a "related mods" section could be displayed at the bottom.
For the submission process, it will work basically like this:
1) Mod writer enters username, pass (separate from BoardMod forums), title, version, category, and description into a form. There will be an upload box, so the user can upload the mod from his/her computer(, and maybe a screenshot?).
2) Mod gets added to mod table in the DB and added to the queue table. New thread gets created in BoardMod's YaBB for comments on this mod.
3) A reviewer logs in and gets assigned a mod to review (mods assigned by the order they were submitted). If the reviewer changes his/her mind, they can click "cancel" and it will be unassigned or it will automatically be unassigned after one day of no review submission. The review form will have two or three categories in which the mod will be rated 1-5 stars (possibly 0 or N/A if the need arises). Tentatively, these categories are "Compatibility/Install (with BoardMod 2.5)," "Originality" and "Functionality/Code Design,". Each category will have its own failing score. If a mod does not meet the criteria for any one of the 3 categories, it will not be passed. Additionally, there will be checkboxes to add generic comments to a review, such as "Minor bugs," "Compatibility errors with modded board," etc. There will also be a "Comments" text box so that the reviewer can fill in anything else he/she feels is necessary.
4) After three reviews, the average score will be compared with the requirements/criteria and the mod will be moved from the queue table to either the "rejected" or "approved" table.
5)Users will be able to view all mods, regardless of status, on the Queue, Rejected, and Approved mods pages. These will show the mod title, description, author (with link to view full list of author's mods), link to thread for comments on this mod(, maybe an average user rating?), link to download, average reviewer ratings in each category, reviewer comments, version(, possibly screenshot?), and total downloads.
6) More interesting browsing functions (i.e. sort by download, by date, by rating, etc.) will be available.
Okay, I *think* that's all. Look it over and let us know if you're still interested. If you could, please let us know of any instant messengers that you use so that we can communicate with you a bit faster.
Thanks,
Michael