Want to learn what makes dolphin tick? why something does not work? How to fix something?

Do what i did when i first started with dolphin.

Spend 15 minutes or so several times per day reading the forum posts here. Most everything has been asked and covered. You can learn a lot just by paying some attention to the forums.

I chose this forum to post this as i expect people to just ignore this tip even tho it does work.

Great point!

That's how I learned.

i read these forums for 6 months BEFORE i opened my site, and 6 months AFTER i opened my site before i even made my first post,,, everything a person needs to know can be found in these forums

far as spending 15 minutes a day here like deano, heck i spend hours here daily when i can, i spend more time here then i do with my girl, but only cause these forums are less emotional AT TIMES! lolllll

I think anyone that runs dolphin that is serious about using it for their website SHOULD take the time.

Most people pop in here, post their question and leave. I find that silly.

I mean really. People are not going to be a good site owner/operator if they won't learn how to run a dolphin site to begin with.

And i am serious, cruising these forums on a regular basis is the best and fastest way to learn about dolphin.

I've been here for 2 years and my site still doesn't work like it should. It's not because the community doesn't help but more that the software by it's very concept is designed to fail and never be finished. The idea here is for the Boonex team to feed off it as long as they can.  Eventually, everyone will jump ship and it'll dry up and blow away like a rainstorm in the desert.

 20 bucks says i could take ownership of your site, then find whatever you concider to be "doesnt work like it should" then come to these very forums and iron out whatever issues there might be in a very short time

i have learned personality goes along way in public forums, and when one needs help

That's not the point. Of course you can, especially if you're a qualified coder or developer.

The point is rather simple. All the features built into the Boonex product fall very short of being considered finished or well rounded. In other words, every single feature included within the basic dolphin package falls short of being complete or useful without added work. This leaves tons of room for outside developers (and also developers within the Boonex team) to come in and create an "upgrade mod" for each one for additional monies.

Just when you get a handle on it, a base upgrade is presented (usually after 1 or 2 years worth of work) that render most of what you did moot or inoperable.

So you start all over.

I get it now. I don't know exactly what I've spent on my "free" Dolphin  script trying to get it working at a reasonable level but I'm sure it's at least a couple grand or more.

Now I like Deano. He does excellent work and his mods are always top notch but this post ticked me off a bit because of the conflict of interest it represents. He wants you to continue with Dolphin because he wants to sell you his mods. It is in his best interest to support the Dolphin project and get you to keep coming back.  I am quite sure I'm gonna catch hell for that statement so let me tell you now, I won't respond to them and I don't mean any disrespect to Deano.

Here's a question for you. I have been searching for a replacement lately. Using different trusted sources for recommendations I have found dozens of very nice platforms, all with their own idea of a good feature set. How come Boonex does not make the list anywhere? I don't see anyone adding them to the top 10 or 20 list. What I do see is very good SEO optimization by the Boonex team getting themselves on the first page of Google and elsewhere giving the appearance they are one of the top players.

They are not.

Here's another observation. Most of the other community builders that allow you to download and install their product for free on your own server also give you the option of a paid forum that they host and manage. How come there isn't a Boonex driven server where you can buy monthly access to a perfectly setup and managed Dolphin product? Hell, I'd pay for that. even at a $100 bucks a month, I'd be spending less than I do now with this pig.

Setting up their own servers would require a commitment to you that they just aren't willing to make. Instead, they develop the next best thing (Trident?) to move you over to once the Dolphin excitement wears off.

Dolphin will never be presented as a completed product. Don't believe me? Look at version 6. Mark my words, there will never be a time when 7 will be presented as a completed, bug free package. It will always be a beta.

Sorry about peeing in everyone's Cheerios....

Getting people to stick with dolphin was not exactly the point of this post. In fact at some point in time i will write my own and dump dolphin.

As for every dolphin feature being incomplete. Well i am not really sure if there is such as thing as complete. A developer could pack a ton of features into a module and someone will still find something they wiish it did.

Now i am not saying some of the modules are lacking features. Most could do with some improvements. The completness of a module however i believe is a matter of personal opinion and what they are using it for.

Anyhow. This post had a point which was to try and get people to read more.

The people that drive me nuts, are the ones that had their host install Dolphin, so they don't know the first thing about installing the script.  They don't even know how to upload files to the server, they don't know basic html, they don't know what css is, yet they make posts here asking questions how to do things that require that very basic knowledge. 

New guys would do themselves a big favor, by learning a few basic skills.  Making simple changes, will then be a lot less frustrating.   The very, very first thing every new person should know, is how to install dolphin on their server by themselves.   If you are going to administer a website, there's no way around having to learn all this stuff, and the learning curve is a lot slower when you have to wait for someone here to explain it to you, as opposed to finding your own answers.

I've talked to people who didn't know if they were on a shared plan, VPS or dedicated server. Heck I tried to help one guy who couldn't supply his FTP info because he didn't know WHO HIS HOST WAS?? I couldn't figure out how he had paid for the hosting in the first place if he didn't know who the host was?? As soon as I think I've heard it all I hear something crazier.

 I can't tell if some of these "new" people can't learn or they just don't try. The reason I put quotes around new is one of the people who has been posting several questions a day recently has been a member here for YEARS. Also while I'm on my rant, how can someone post several questions a day, some of them involving lots of code modifications... and then bump them with a hostile comment about why isn't anyone helping them? If they are thinking they can post 5 things a day they want modified on their site and expect someone to jump and write the code for them, that's asking a bit much isn't it?

lol, I give up.....

i post 5 questions a day sometimes, but i do it for 2 reasons, one being that if i want something changed and it seems like something others may want later for their site then there will be a reference here to go back to, and second cause i drink sometimes and decide "now would be a perfect time to mod....." and then wake up the next day freaking out cause im in a slight "situation".

ANOTHER 'IMPORTANT' TIP FOR NEWBIES >>>> BACKUP ALWAYS !!!

In the past  2 years I have lost about 25,000 members through not backing up my site and DB.

Last year I messed up after leaving a site not backed up for almost 12 months and after a mistake lost nearly 10K members base.

This year I entrusted my backing up to my hosting company who in-fact failed to set-up regular backups and after due to another mistake I lost 15K members ....

Did the above HURT LIKE HELL .... .YES !!  Getting the members in the first place was an achievement in itself and to loose them was not good :(  IT WAS A HARD HARD KICK IN THE TESTICLES !!.

So I think BACKING UP your site and DB is essential for newbies to take on board...  Hope this tip saves newbies some pain and time.

Don't trust other people to make backups for you >> Learn to do this yourself  !!

So let me understand.

Dolphine must study to use this forum

if you're an entrepreneur you should hire a programmer

but if you are a programmer you need to study dolphin because it is programmed with a code difficult to read

So the entrepreneur will pay a person likely to study

but the easiest solution is to always use certified developers

but you say that you have read the forum?

This does not make sense unless you have time and money to invest in an idea.

This thing cuts through the possibility that small entrepreneurs with limited programming knowledge and little time can never make a product really marked BoonEx

I'm a bit discouraged by the prospect of future growth

in short, grow means to have problems

I make it difficult to understand, in the case of exponential growth as it manages Dolphine?

where to find employees who run the site?

There is a university that produces persons certified in the management of BoonEx?

There are live and online courses for the management of BoonEx Dolphine to which an employee can enroll? seminars

I have not started yet and I have not put the site online but everything I read in most of the post are issues and problems that last time, then someone comes out with a couple of lines of code magic and solves everything.

then the parties involved - problem and solution thank you

then I'm curious to see the site who had the solution is completely off line and 8 times out of 10 (obviously I'm talking about post dated 2010, 2011)

oh my I fear more and more, I found 9 of 150000 download sites with a personality of its own the rest are based Dolphine loaded modules with a different graphic:-O

in total there are 400 active sites, 200 porn copy paste virtually identical facts 150000 download 9 sites in which I expressed a positive

of course I see that there are people who does not publish its website as EPaulo then I think perhaps the best sites are in the websites of www.boonex.com

I noticed a huge difference between programmers modules BoonEx

each module has its own page for each page is a checklist

some of the draw and write all or almost certain not compile anything

some have a working demo site is even some offline

Some modules are present in the market and you can buy but the programmer does not exist anymore and there is no assistance

(It would be better to eliminate them because they are misleading)

I saw some posts regarding the application of ssl certificates nobody has found a permanent solution to this (I do not think you need a solution but need a change by BoonEx) is an option that may be necessary for security

I read all the comments of each module of every programmer and I see only ringraziamente and all work well then the post of care are full of people complaining? I do not understand selling modules and test them with people who buy them?

I remain of the opinion that from my point of view it is easier to hire a developer and pay for hours worked when

but left with a big doubt on the management of the site in case of fast growth

Perhaps the only solution is to go in and open a Philippine software house that rents various programmers to dolphin sites believe that a programmer can deftly handle 4 sites dolphin

any programmer can be rented at $ 500 month

$ 1200 to the programmer and 800 company

cos'ì doing I could have all the support I need free and also earn

I could also rent the server space included in price

We would jump off a good business with all the trimmings plus a performance site

I might even sell modules

are even more confused now, what is the business to use dolphin?

the only good thing is that everyone who works in a very serious BoonEx give assistance and answer all questions except the questions to which there is no answer and pretend not to understand happiness ;-)

aaaaaaa I forgot, of all BoonEx sites I've seen I found only 3

who have a good graphic personalization, (maybe there are problems also customize the graphics)

I received 2 different quotes for custom graphics for the same project, a $ 850 a $ 5000

same result but no guaranteed contract performance guarantee in the works:-O

My giusizio is that most companies are approximate and improvised

Only a few have a sense of precision

I asked the development of a custom form

I explained the characteristics

I have a quote, they told me that they understood and then they sent me telling me that I have to pay the bill.

I'm confused, in my world you build something on a basis of a draft

visiona the project is, you check all characteristics that match up with the requests after all points have been checked you can sign a contract for the construction. (There is a written contract with a project written or drawn)

cos'ì not work here and hope that I should pay the programmer has understood everything. (What have you learned?) Do not make plans but if you prepare it you give it to me.

let me know because I'm a little confused, programming is something that is done by intuition?

This is another service that no one does, create projects and only projects with feasibility analysis applied to real dolphin and then commission other programmers to create custom modules.

I'd pay to have an expert who suggested the best way to achieve a function or an object, there is a difference from an architect to a surveyor in a mason everyone needs accurate information.

but the truth is I'm only here for a month and maybe I've only read the post wrong

but if the solution is to read the forum every day

I read in the first 30 days are just demoralized me.

You should spend as much time trying to learn a few simple things, as you spent typing that reply.

You can tell by all the mini paragraphs that he sat in front of his keyboard for several hours, bored to death, creating the response. I made it to about line 7 before I dozed off.

I think it's random text created by one of those auto-blogers.

He's from Milano, Italy.

His English is not perfect no doubt, yet more pokes and condescending remarks at new members (Premium at that) and their poor grammar skills.

No wonder why people have stopped posting here as much.

I would like to also add that I've picked up as many books as possible regarding html, php, css, ect., so I am really trying to LEARN, and Im also really trying to not drive you guys nuts, 

I can't read this topic. I quit....

Want to know what really drives me nuts?   People that think 'alot' is a word.

Funny, one of the FIRST things I did was set-up an RSS feed to my email client for these forums.

These forums are very informative, unfortunately for me, I am going to stay stuck on 7.0.9 as I have modded the code SO much, it would take me months to get all my mods into 7.1.

Even when I buy modules from developers, the time it would have taken ME to develop that mod, it is WELL worth the money I spend for the mod.  Since I usually spend several hours after I get it to make it work the way I want it to.

My problem is finding a graphic artist that I can work with.  I cannot find a tropical specialist.  lol!

Keep up the good work everyone that answer questions. 

I know some people can be frustrating, but you should work at a call center ans take calls from people that have a $2000.00 computer and don't know their admin password!  LOL

 Houston, I thought $5 was "alot" of money for a gallon of gas during those days, however, it didn't stop me from using/buying it.  My point is (if you have missed it), I know its not a word, however, I did use it.

On another note, should I take it that my apology in advance wasn't accepted?

 Also, since you know your way around dolphin fairly well, I will probably have "alot" of questions for you which will more than likely drive you "alot" of nuts. Safety belt on? 

It's a good thing to try a learn things for yourself and understand the software you are working with ... The Boonex forums do indeed help with this!  I found things hard at the beginning and made plenty of mistakes like many people ...

One thing that helped me more than anything though over the past number of years was having a few good people here at Boonex that I could contact and run over different things with no matter how silly my questions or how many times I was asking different variations of the same question etc trying to understand things better !!

I know I was very likely driving them nuts and Dolphin_Jay is someone in particular that I still drive nuts to this day BUT he and a few other people here at Boonex continue to help me when needed and further my learning  ... THANK YOU GUYS AND GALS!

Anyway my point is >> even though these forums are a BIG help >> having other knowledgeable people / friends that you can turn to at times of need and run over different issues without being made to feel like a idiot is a even BIGGER benefit and very ofter more helpful, effective and clearer than any book or forum etc.

 Noted!  Unfortunately, I do NOT have any friends (outside of here) that I can turn to for help with this.  My friends & friendship will have to be developed here.  I'm really praying that I would not have to go outside of here just to acquire help with this software.

Houston, after reading here: http://www.boonex.com/forums/#topic/Please-stop-using-these-words-.htm

I see now that you were not joking.  I do not mind checking my grammar so that I do not really drive you (more) nuts.

Just bear in mind that everyone is different, and that it may just (seriously) drive someone else nuts because grammar is taken too serious.  I personally feel that as long as someone understands what is being communicated, then that is all that should matter, not how it was communicated.  Apology accepted?   

I found sticking around ... trying to help others with my own knowledge and skills and generally getting involved at Boonex forums helped me gain some good connections and friends here ... Almost all dolphin software users here remember a time when they was also newbies and needed a little help ... some seasoned users including myself are only too happy to try and help others if we are able! 

Junior - not only will you find some great help and information here on the forums, you will also find a bit of sarcasm, arrogance, innuendos, and other things that just don't make any sense whatsoever.

Except for the first part of that statement, the rest of those should be taken with a 'grain of salt'.

 I agree! 

 RE:

 I never joke.  You need a sense of humor for joking,and I do not have one. 

Psssst; Adjectives should only be used to modify nouns, and precede the noun.  Always use an adverb to modify another adverb.

Ex: "too seriously"