Inovative use of the who's online script on Craterlake/Saratoga templates

Let's Chat
1

For those who may find this useful, I am using the who’s online script written by Mike and found in this thread:

I am reading the cookie that is set when you login to the whos online page and displaying alternative headers depending if you are logged in or not.

As an example, I have headers that display google ads and a link to download my toolbar for non logged in users, while you get no google ads or “install toolbar” pictures if you are logged in. If people donate to my site or download my toolbar, I give them a username/password so they don’t see the ads etc any longer.

To make it work, here is a short tutorial to modify all pages where this is to be enabled:

At the top of all templates this is required, add the following:

<?php
// Include at top of page to check for login to whos online for use later for alternate header. Must be at top to stop "Header already processed error"

require_once("Settings.php");
require_once("common.php");

// begin whose-online cookie login check
$passed_login = false;
if ($C['enable_password_protect']) {
  $passed_login = process_login();
}
?>

Next, look further down the code for the two "require_once lines and comment out since we have already done this in the code above:

//require_once("Settings.php");
//require_once("common.php");

The standard “include header” section of the template is then replaced with the following:

// show nomal header if logged in else display alternate header

if (!$passed_login) {
include(“header.php”);
} else {

include(“alternate_header.php”);
}
// end alternate header select

Hope you find it useful?
Cheers
Ian

2

That is a creative way to use the who’s online code. Nice idea.

So has anybody donated and got the login from you? How many?

I am not much of a fan of toolbars though, most are adware.

3

Hi Mike,
No donations yet … I get about $.50 a day with the google ads ,

Only 3 people have downloaded the toolbar, I’ll give it a month and see. This toolbar has no adware, they get their money as the google search engine on the toolbar also displays google ads in the results page… they get the money if you click the links … I can add extra search engines, including ones that I get teh revenue, however teh default is theirs and it cant be turned off …

Cheers

4

you might find that a lot of visitors might say “what ad’s?”

Ad-block

A lot of people don’t like moving distracting advertising on websites.

5

You’re right, I hadn’t thought of that #-o #-o

I wonder if there was a way to tell how many visitors had that add-in enabled …

6

The OP and I have exchanged notes and emails.

I have a please donate button on a (at this stage non blockable) pop up. It has got me a few bucks in the time it has been there but is slowing down, there are only so many local generous users, despite the fact that of my visitor numbers many are repeats.

The donate thing is a loser in my opinion, you run out of donators quick and it just annoys them who did. Diff for those who generously provide scripts etc for us and I have donated to everyone I have taken a script from and either used or redevolped to my use if they have haqd a donate button.

My site is about being locally centric, and I figure sponsorship is my way ahead considering what it is going to cost me to upgrade and improve. yes it does put a load on me to keep things 100% for the sponsor, but its a smal price for me.

For me my site is not run out of a love of met, it is run to present information to a local community and keep me focused on a pet topic of User Interfacing, yep have a more than passing weather interest after all I am a farmers son.

I am leaving tomorrow on a months leave, my site and station will be virtually headless during that time, but on my return I will be looking at portal developement to seperate up the large quantity of data I have for my local users and even looking at getting paymnent for some of the data i intend providing.

Ok my 2c worth over to you guys