68 Classifieds Blog & News http://www.68classifieds.com/blog Classifieds Blog Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:15:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 http://www.68classifieds.comhttp://www.68classifieds.com/images/68-144x144.gif68 Classifieds68classifiedshttp://feedburner.google.com Site Showcase - Suzuki Kawasaki of Gastonia http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/68fHh07sBgY/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-suzuki-kawasaki-of-gastonia/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:15:31 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=370 Suzuki Kawasaki of Gastonia

Motorcycle dealership using 68 Classifieds as a dealership management system. This site includes a custom template and a few custom modules. You can read the full write up at my site Eric Barnes.

Visit Suzuki Kawasaki of Gastonia

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-suzuki-kawasaki-of-gastonia/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-suzuki-kawasaki-of-gastonia/ July 4th Holiday http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/ROs8e-fxUsU/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/july-4th-holiday/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:14:06 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=382 First off I want to wish everyone a happy fourth of July which here in the USA is Independence Day.

In observance of this holiday we will be short staffed starting June 27th through July 12th. We will be checking tickets but responses will be delayed and the time we can answer will be sporadic. So if it all possible we recommend you post any questions to our community forums so you receive a quicker response. The wonderful thing about forums like ours is we have customers from all over the world and in different time zones so chances are someone is looking at them when you are.

Thanks again for being a customer and we wish you all the best!

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/july-4th-holiday/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/july-4th-holiday/ v4.1.4 Is Now Released http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/ZUbM6KAERCk/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/v414-is-now-released/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:10:55 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=365 V4.1.4 is now released and is available from our customers section. This is a bug fix release and fixes all bugs reported to date. You can view the full list of bugs fixed here.

Changes:

This is mainly just a bug fix release with the exception of the stats module. This release has the template files renamed so it is best to replace all the files in that module with these.

Notes:

If you find any bugs please post them to our bug tracker here:
68 Classifieds Issue Tracker

The download is available in our customers area:
68 Classifieds Customers Area

Included in the download is a changelog between the last release and this one. You can also view this in our documentation.

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/v414-is-now-released/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/v414-is-now-released/ Yes, You Can White Label 68 Classifieds http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/LAnTs4Ivup8/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/yes-you-can-white-label-68-classifieds/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:29:40 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=354 A common question or concern about 68 Classifieds is whether or not you can white label the script. We have a very liberal policy on our copyrights and you are free to remove any mention of 68 Classifieds in both the administration and your sites front end.

A white label product or service is a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they made it.

The only requirement is you must keep the copyrights in the php files. Which would generally not be seen by anyone except those doing physical work with the files.

I know we have never really outlined any information on how to change this and this post will go over how it is done.

To white label 68 Classifieds you will need to edit a few files and I will go over the changes below.

Site Frontend

The only place on the frontend that 68 Classifieds is mentioned is in the layout template file. This file is in /templates/yourtemplate/layout.tpl and it will at the very bottom. Of course replace “yourtemplate” with the actual template name you are using.

Site Administration

The administration details can be changed just like the frontend. The only difference is we include our logo. The files you will want to change for the administration are:

  • /administration/templates/default/layout.tpl
  • /administration/templates/default/login.tpl
  • /administration/templates/default/style/default.css

In all of the above files just open them and do a search for “68 Classifieds” and you will find the text to change.

Notes

Please keep in mind if you elect to do this that the person or company who purchases 68 Classifieds is the only person that can get official support from us. Our ticket system is tied to the account that was created at the time of purchase.

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/yes-you-can-white-label-68-classifieds/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/yes-you-can-white-label-68-classifieds/ The Tortoise Or The Hare? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/WqjgawfnFW8/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/the-tortoise-or-the-hare/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:25:52 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=341 Tortoise and the hare

I am sure we have all heard the story about the tortoise and the hare. If not let me give you a quick recap. The tortoise and the hare are in a race and the hare takes off like lightning but quickly tires out and the tortoise passes him and wins the race. The moral of the story is slow and steady will always win against something fast that quickly tires out.

The reason this story came to mind was because as web site owners we tend to want to be like the hare when we should really strive to be a tortoise. To me this seems to be very common in folks just starting out, a lot think they have the next million dollar idea and after a few months of being unsuccessful they give up. When in fact their idea maybe the next big thing but they didn’t plan or wait long enough in order to reach that goal.

As a prime example I have seen people work on a site for months and months and never launch. Or after they do finally launch don’t see the initial response they had hoped. Which would cause any of us to loose that drive. A better option may be to get started with something or really anything and then gradually build it up. By doing it slowly you can build your customer base and also receive feedback on what your customers like and dislikes. I can honestly say this is vital in my opinion and if I would have only considered my own ideas for 68 Classifieds then it would have never reached what it has. Customer feedback is one the easiest and best ways to find out what is needed and what isn’t.

What do you think? Is it better to be a tortoise or a hare?

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/the-tortoise-or-the-hare/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/the-tortoise-or-the-hare/ Benefits of the Smarty Template Engine http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/ZRjLlMDD4CM/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/benefits-of-the-smarty-template-engine/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:15:21 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=337 68 Classifieds uses Smarty, the PHP Template/Presentation framework. We have used it for several years now and personally I really like the system. It has so many advantages to suit both beginners and advanced programmers.

I just read an excellent Smarty tutorial over at the In the Woods blog and thought it would be great to share with you.

This also got me to thinking. Can you think of any tutorials that would help you? Or any tips and tricks for working with 68 Classifieds that you want to share? If so please post in the comments.

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/benefits-of-the-smarty-template-engine/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/benefits-of-the-smarty-template-engine/ Classifieds and Spammers http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/vJ8gkEuzhf0/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/classifieds-and-spammers/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 17:43:08 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=333 It seems lately a lot of classifieds sites have been getting hit with spam. For a classified site owner spam can be either someone placing false listings or someone emailing people that have added listings on your site. In the post I am going to talk about email spam instead of fake listings.

First off 68 Classifieds includes several spam prevention measures to help you combat spam. These are captcha, user registration, and private messages. Each of these options have their own positives and negatives and there is probably not one best way for every site.

Captcha systems are more of a deterrent than anything. A real human can get the captcha correct and still send spam. Although most of the time they use bots so they can send hundreds or thousands of messages very quickly. We include by default a captcha system named FreeCap. This system is very basic and because of this I also created a reCaptcha module. The reCaptcha system is supposed to be one of the most secure captcha systems out.

The user registration system in 68 Classifieds is another possible solution. You can force visitors to register on your site and only allow people that have registered to actually contact the listing owners. By going this route you can force email validation and have more details about the person trying to contact someone. For example when someone joins their ip address is logged in their account.

Finally is the private message system. This requires people to be registered users and the emails that are sent just tell the ad owner that they have a new private message. Then they read on your site and can flag it as spam. This has the same drawbacks as allowing only registered users to contact folks. But the benefits are it allows you to have a record everything sent and keeps people coming back to your site to read and reply to the message.

As you can see we offer several ways for you to combat spam and I normally recommend using a captcha system first. If you are still getting spam then go to one of the other methods. Like I mentioned no method is 100% foil proof but you can put measures in place to help.

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/classifieds-and-spammers/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/classifieds-and-spammers/ Site Showcase - Trencherman’s Guide http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/z48Wcyld-DE/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-trenchermans-guide/#comments Sat, 09 May 2009 12:25:31 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=327 trenchermans

The Trencherman’s Guide is a collection of the best restaurants and hotels in the South West. All businesses invited to be included in the guide must meet strict quality criteria.

Each year the Trencherman’s Guide committee meet to establish who is to be invited to join the guide and how to provide the consumer with the best information for choosing where to eat out and stay.

This dedication to quality ensures that customers can be confident they will receive the best hospitality experience possible.

Visit The Trencherman’s Guide

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-trenchermans-guide/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-trenchermans-guide/ v4.1.3 Is Now Released http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/u7u1rvw3pcY/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/v413-is-now-released/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 15:44:31 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=323 V4.1.3 is now released and is available from our customers section. This is a bug fix release and fixes all bugs reported to date. You can view the full list of bugs fixed here.

Changes:

Here is a list of changes in this version.

  • Added a new date function that will allow you to override the default server date. To adjust the date add this to your language file:
    define(’DATE_ADJUST’, ‘+4 hours’);
  • All other changes are just bug fixes.

Notes:

If you find any bugs please post them to our bug tracker here:
68 Classifieds Issue Tracker

The download is available in our customers area:
68 Classifieds Customers Area

Included in the download is a changelog between the last release and this one. You can also view this in our documentation.

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]]> http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/v413-is-now-released/feed/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/v413-is-now-released/ Site Showcase - AutoOutlet http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/68classifieds/~3/lQg3H_-fH-c/ http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/site-showcase-autooutlet/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:24:57 +0000 Eric Barnes http://www.68classifieds.com/blog/?p=312 AutoOutlet

UK based multi-domained site offering free advertising for people wanting to sell their car, van, truck, motorcycle, motorhome, boats and/or aeroplane. » Visit Auto Outlet

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