Extension:DPLforum/de-formal

The DPLforum extension is adapted from and displays forum-style layouts.

New features in version 3.0 include author listings, compact display, and full multipage support. Version 3.1 introduces prefix matching, for better interoperability with.

DPLforum also introduces a new namespace, Forum (and its talkspace); by default, the numeric index for this namespace is.

Parameters
DPLforum expects parameters in the form of a linebreak-separated list of assignments, as shown here.

Multipage support with
The  parser function creates links to the present page which offset the forum listings by a certain amount. This allows each forum to contain any number of additional "pages". The syntax is as follows:

Relative offsets and page conditions
When specifying the page, if the number is preceded by + or -, then it is assumed to be a relative offset from the present position. Relative links which would link to pages less than 1 are not displayed.

You may also optionally specify a condition after the page number, which the page must meet in order to be displayed.

For example, to specify a link to the next page when that page is less than 10, use:

A link to the previous page (assuming ):

In conjunction with ParserFunctions, a link to the next page, that won't be displayed when you reach the last page, would be (assuming, only one category specified in   and   is not used):

Conditions may use the <, <=, >, and >= operators.

MediaWiki messages
DPLforum specifies six messages in the MediaWiki: namespace.

Customization
Templates can be used to give a traditional forum appearance with user posts.

– User:Inquisitor Ehrenstein/LQTavatar
 * Example

Create templates
To wrap your head around how this extension works, consider the different page areas that a forum usually has (header navigation/bread crumbs, forum index, page body, notices, search input, new topic buttons etc.). To create a standard forum appearance you need to create some templates to match these different parts:
 * Template:Forumheader
 * Template:Forumpage
 * Template:Forumheader/preload
 * Template:Forumnotice ( optional: text you wish to appear on all the index and subtopic pages to warn users about conduct/rules etc. )

Template:Forumheader
This template can provide breadcrumb navigation for wayfinding and to help users easily return the forum index. In the Forumheader template, place something like the following:

Template:Forumnotice
This template can provide a notice at the top of the Index and forum pages to remind users of forum rules, reminders, how-to's etc. In the Forumnotice template, place something like the following: Please note (your text here).


 * Do not post ... (your text here)
 * Individual topic threads can be put on your watchlist.
 * Enable email notifications in your preferences.
 * View [ recent changes for all topics in all forums]. Choose [ 14], [ 30], or [ 60] days for older changes.
 * You may have to [ purge] this page to see changes below.

Template:Forumsearch
This template can be used with the InputBox extension to create a search form on the Forumpage template (to display on all forum pages). In this template, place something like the following:

Template:Forumpage
This template can apply the same layout to all forum subtopic pages, including Forumheader, Forumnotice and the input forms used to easily search and create new topics. In this template, place something like the following:

Template:Forumheader/preload
This template can be used to create text that appears at the top of the edit mode page of a newly created topic to help new/novice MediaWiki users. In this template, place something like the following:

Create pages
After the templates are created, you may now put them to use in pages in the Forum namespace. Create the following pages (Index should be named the same as below but following pages may be adapted).
 * Forum:Index
 * Forum:General Discussion
 * Any other forum sections you would like.

Forum:Index page
This page serves as the forum landing page and index. Create the page and place something like the following:

Forum:General Discussion (sub-topic) page
This page serves as the landing page for the General discussion section and lists all threads under this section. Create the page and place something like the following:

Note: Include this type of code on any page created in the forum namespace to style it as a subtopic page.

Adding styles
The forum features can then be styled by adding styles in MediaWiki:Common.css (and adjusting as needed to suit your theme). The corresponding classes specified above are targeted and styled the below example:

Wikis using this extension
See Extension:DPLforum - WikiApiary. It lists wikis using this extension.

The alphabetical links go directly to the main forum index. See Special:Version for each site to see what version of MediaWiki and DPLforum is being used. Special:SpecialPages is usually linked from the sidebar of most wikis (in the toolbox). You can go to Special:SpecialPages to find the link to "Version" which is Special:Version. Some links to forum template categories are also listed below.


 * All The Tropes. Special:Version.
 * DDO wiki. Special:Version.
 * Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki. Special:Version.
 * ShoutWiki. Special:Version. Forum templates.
 * The Sims Wiki. Special:Version.
 * Tolkien Gateway. Special:Version.
 * Uncyclopedia. Special:Version.
 * Fandom Community Central. Special:Version.
 * Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki. Special:Version.
 * Yugipedia. Special:Version.