Possible forum addition or restructure.

[JasonD]

I love these forums, but once again, it seems that the forums are a funnel for "When things go bad".

I would like to see WHB change this pattern.

Here is my official step-by-step suggestion, to help achieve this.

1. Place a link/banner to the WHB forums directly on the www.WHBsupport.com page. (Ok, that might bring in some negative visitors, but... If they are on that page, there might be something here, about the situation they are having. Your ticket count could only lower by doing that, if they do find resolution here. Suggest that to the new-people. Also inform them, that they will need a separate login for the support forums, since that is not quite clear. They will attempt to log-in with the WHBsupport name and password. You should look into integration there. Even if it is simply AUTO FILLED with a script. Done when we are setup with the WHBsupport login.)

2. Place a link/banner to the WHB forums directly on all e-mails sent from WHB to WHB customers. (I know it is on the greetings, but it should also be with each support ticket reply also, as a "Don't forget to look in the forums for additional help.")

3. Place a link/mini-banner to the forums on all WHB client C-Panels, but you should make it inside an IFRAME, with a Cookie. Why??? You need the IFRAME for the cookie. The cookie just holds info about...
NEWvisit=0 (Is this a first time viewer?)
NEWS=0,rs9.whbdns,84324,1 (The "0" is for "Shared", 1 = "Semi-dedicated", 2 = "Dedicated", 3 = "Managed", 4 = "Reserved", 5 = "Reseller-Lite", 6 = "Reseller-Pro", 7 = "Reseller-Dedicated")
(The "rs9.WHBdns" is for the users assigned server.)
(The "84324" simply indicates that the user last saw NEWS announcement 84324. If the news is now 84328, the value following that number, gets set to 0 = "Unseen", and the link will hotlink back to news posting "84328")
(The last "1", simply says... posting "84328" was seen. You do not show that again, to that user. Display the normal banner. If the number is higher, then that is a new posting, and the number gets reset, like stated above.)
ALERT=0,rs9.whbdns,9948343,0 (Same as above, but the flashing ALERT title, stressing importance. Also, NEWS and ALERTS can be set to "Specific" or "General". Seen by (0,1,2,3,7,9 and rs9.* and *.WHBdns and *.* etc... also, any news or alert set as 0,0,0 should take users to the ENTRANCE for that page, which would have the "Latest ALERT/NEWS" that is intended for ALL, would be the equivalent of a NEW USER or an IMMEDIATE ALL SEE alert.)

Further, you could read the actual USER, and display a notice about HELP TICKET that may need attention.

4. Our initial SHELL accounts should have a page, "index.htm", linking to WHBsupport.com and WebHostingBuzz.com and whbstatus.com (I don't have to go into the details here, but if new pages are being hijacked, or crawled, WHB might as well gain from some of the exposure. Just be sure to put the HIJACK-PROTECTION code I posted in the other thread, as well as a FRAME-PROTECTION code, that I can script up real quick. That will stop people from frame-jacking WHB new clients, and WHB itself. Not to mention all the Crosslinking page-ranking exposure WHB and US will gain.)

5. More valuable topic separation. (I say this, because I realize there is always a bit of confusion when it comes to getting assistance. Case in point... There are three types of users here. "Shared/Semi-Dedicated", "Dedicated/Managed", and "Reseller". However, there is no "Magic answer" that will work for all, in most cases. Knowing the status of the user, by posting in an appropriate related topic, will help remove some of this confusion. EG, the "Fix" for a "Shared" account may not be the same "Fix" that will work for someone on a "Reseller" account.)

6. Major software topic specific areas. (This forums lacks all of those.)
Make these new MAIN GROUPS, at the bottom. (In order of importance.)
A: "WHM (Web Host Manager) for Resellers"
B: "WHMAP (WHM Auto Pilot) for Resellers"
C: "C-Panel v11 (Control Panel) for Clients and Resellers"
D: "Fantastico Delux (Add-on Tools) for Clients and Resellers"
E: "WebMail (Mail Tools) for Clients and Resellers"
F: "PHP v4, PHP v5, MySQL v4 (General) for Clients and Resellers"
G: "Security and Scripts (Research before use.) for Clients and Resellers"

The "for Resellers or Clients" is just an indication, for relevance.

Those are also HOT search topics, so you might want to ensure that the TOP AD is for WHB RESELLERS and WHB HOSTING, so you get the cross-linking also.

These forums are web-crawled, as I often find my own posts, come up in my keyword searches. (Trust me, I search for a lot!)

I have also started cross-linking directly in the WHMAutoPilot forums, through my postings there. (Trying to make them as low-key as possible, but posting back-tracking key-words that will eventually lead people back here.)

6. The Security subcategory, which is not created yet, should have a few stickies.
- BLOCK THIS IP: (Confirmed BAD IP's)
- BLOCK THIS E-MAIL/SENDER: (Confirmed BAD E-Mail)
- SECURE YOUR SITE: (Tested things to "Double-check".)
- - - Like (anonymous FTP), (Unpassworded MySQL admins), (Unprotected ALL ACCESS folders), (View Site Indexes being turned off.) etc...
- PASSWORDS PASSWORDS PASSWORDS: (Tips for good security, assume the worst.)
- LOG-FILES: (Knowing what is suspicious, and what is normal.)
- CODES and SCRIPTS: (Only approved info moved here, where noted.)
- SSL, SSH, HTTPS, FTPS, and CERTIFICATES: (Important info, for "Before you begin, and upkeep, and expectations.)

Groups and info topics in all areas, could be migrated to the WIKI, or cross-linked to the WIKI, in the future. (This will also help provide a more neutral visitor level in the forums.)

Ok, I'll give you a couple days to ingest some of that. For now, I am going to finish playing with WHMAutopilot, now that I got it all configured. I just need to customize the sales pages, before I turn it on for my customers.

[captainhud]

More valuable topic separation. (I say this, because I realize there is always a bit of confusion when it comes to getting assistance. Case in point... There are three types of users here. "Shared/Semi-Dedicated", "Dedicated/Managed", and "Reseller". However, there is no "Magic answer" that will work for all, in most cases. Knowing the status of the user, by posting in an appropriate related topic, will help remove some of this confusion. EG, the "Fix" for a "Shared" account may not be the same "Fix" that will work for someone on a "Reseller" account.)