BuddyPress.org

I think a trac bug is already filed for this – when you reply to a private message for some reason the notification is updated again.

@aishing – Check out the following code:
https://buddypress.org/community/groups/how-to-and-troubleshooting/forum/topic/how-to-make-a-private-community/?topic_page=2&num=15#post-44616

Add it to your theme’s functions.php file.

Try adding the following in wp-config.php:
define( 'BP_ENABLE_USERNAME_COMPATIBILITY_MODE', true );

This should fix your problem.

it seems you only have one group setup (which is private) so is the forum enabled for that group?

You could probably hook into the get_header action, do your conditional check and if the person is a mentor, then show the page, otherwise show the registration page or whatever.

Modify the function listed in this thread:
https://buddypress.org/community/groups/how-to-and-troubleshooting/forum/topic/how-to-make-a-private-community/?topic_page=2&num=15#post-44616

Hopefully it gives you a few pointers.

Travel Junkie – The first code was great on WP 3.0. Thank you!

Ok, we have found the problem and fixed it. We were using the wp-cache plugin. First we disabled it, but nothing changed. Then we found it had left an objet-cache.php file at the root folder. We deleted it and TADA! In a second all our problems vanished…

@firetag

So, you’re looking for a “crossover” between private and public groups. Private so the activity doesn’t show in the stream (but it does show in the group) yet public so folks don’t need to be invited to join.

This might help: on lines 71 to 101 is the function/action for groups_setup_globals. On line 97 is the valid_status array (public, private, hidden) where I’m thinking you could add a new status like “category”. As that new status would not be “public”, activity shouldn’t show up in the main stream, and as it wouldn’t be “private” either, neither invitations nor membership requests would be needed.

What do you think…doable?

EDIT: I guess you would need a way to keep that option out of the preselects available to users at the group creation stage though. Hmmm…

@nipponmonkey: I tried your solution above, but now all my pages are blank and nothing is visible… I added it directly to my functions.php and changed/added absolutely nothing. Did I make an error?

@themeanwhile – you can enable or disable the various components so if you want Activities only, enable that and disable other components. After you activate BuddyPress, go to the new BuddyPress menu item on the left column of dashboard, and go to

a) General Settings – these are your choices
Base profile group name:
Full Name field name:
Disable BuddyPress to WordPress profile syncing?: Yes No
Hide admin bar for logged out users?: Yes No
Disable avatar uploads? (Gravatars will still work): Yes No
Disable user account deletion?: Yes No
Disable global forum directory?: Yes No
Disable activity stream commenting on blog and forum posts?: Yes No
Default User Avatar – For users without a custom avatar of their own, you can either display a generic logo or a generated one based on their email address

b) Component Setup
Activity Streams – Allow users to post activity updates and track all activity across the entire site.
Enabled Disabled
Blog Tracking – Tracks blogs, blog posts and blogs comments for a user across a WPMU installation.
Enabled Disabled
bbPress Forums – Activates bbPress forum support within BuddyPress groups or any other custom component.
Enabled Disabled
Friends – Allows the creation of friend connections between users.
Enabled Disabled
Groups – Let users create, join and participate in groups.
Enabled Disabled
Private Messaging – Let users send private messages to one another. Site admins can also send site-wide notices.
Enabled Disabled
Extended Profiles – Activates customizable profiles and avatars for site users.
Enabled Disabled

I would suggest you set up a test install so you can check the features for yourself.

“Of course, activity filters, profile page, friends page, settings page, etc, would also need to be migrated to display in the backend.”
Why? If you want to make the BP Activity section private, you can add conditional tags for is_user_logged_in …

Ok got this back to the right section…
Original patch worked time wise the first time, then didn’t allow me to receive messages…
Tried altering the 7 files in the the 002 .diff file here: https://trac.buddypress.org/ticket/2203
It ended stating that the messages sent were 10 years 6 months ago… Double checked to make sure I applied code correct.
Removed Code and now it’s back to saying private messeages, just sent, were sent 5 hours ago.

@piphut

Yes private messages… using the included ticket “patch”

Having the same problem on one of my websites. I made of copy of my database, installed it on another site and the problem was gone. And I don’t know what is the difference between the two.
I’m trying this again. I’ll let you know if it works.

https://trac.buddypress.org/ticket/2419

With the “Friends” component disabled, autocomplete on the “Send To” field in “Messages > Compose” should work for all members. Otherwise there’s no way to choose a recipient. You can write a message but you can’t send it. The only way to send a message is to visit the recipient’s profile and click “Send Private Message”. If you can message anyone by visiting their profile, why not be able to message anyone by visiting “Messages > Compose”? With “Friends” turned on, autocomplete could go back to using just friends. But with “Friends” turned off, autocomplete should work for all members.

Essentially, turning off “Friends” should be like saying that everyone is a friend… rather than like saying that no one is a friend. You can see all members in the member directory anyway.

My only fall back right now (I refuse to enable friending) is to simply hide the autocomplete box completely. So you’ll only be able to message one person at a time by going to their profile and clicking “send private message”

BP would benefit from some table reduction.

Andy and I talked at WordCamp San Fran about how some components would benefit greatly from using the posts table, like Private Messages and Groups. Other components like XProfile would be more tricky and may not see any performance improvements, but would still be doable similar to the WP3.0 Menus.

So, it’s a likely direction, but don’t quote me yet.

I too would like the ability to have forums separate from groups. I think those of us who need this are generally building very niche communities, and are not trying to create the next Facebook. Mine for example is based all around a specific era of the Ford Mustang. Nearly every topic that will be discussed on my site is relevant to every user. I don’t like the idea of any of my users, not being able to read a topic because another user created it within a private group.

On a side note: I would like the ability to retain group functions, with the ability to have forums within groups. But I would also like the ability for users to move topics between forums. This way, if some one creates a group called California Mustang Owners, and a topic is started with a question regarding Mustang Suspension, a user will be able to move that topic to the Tech section of the forums which will yield a much better return for the original poster when everyone is able to help answer his question.