BuddyPress.org

Hi, I am totally a newbie with wp, bp, etc and don’t know any php, css or anything else : )

I am trying to create a private social network that will be restricted to members of a local in-person social group. The purpose of the online community is to allow people who meet at social events to develop relationships between events, and in the case of single people who might be shy, allow them to initiate conversation in a less intimidating environment.

I will be adding S2member once I get all the other stuff figured out.

Social group members will get an email inviting them to register for the site.
All requests to register for the site will be manually approved. To be approved to join the online community, your email address will need to match the email address in our social group’s email service. If you are not a member of the inperson social group, or if you register with a different email, your request to join will be denied.

If you are approved, you will be directed to the subcriber page, where you will pick from 3 different subscription options:
Basic
Premium
Gold

Basic members would be able to create a profile, send and accept friend requests, send and receive emails, have a “wall,” post photos, see the members directory, search for members, set privacy settings for who can see their profile details, who can email them, who can see their photos, who can see their status/posts to their wall or to their friends walls, and see a “marketplace/store” and be able to purchase items from other members.

Premium members would additionally have the ability to upload videos, watch videos others have posted, participate in chat rooms, view and comment on blogs posted by Gold members.

Gold members would additionally have the ability to have their own blog page, create chat room, post up to 5 items at any given time in the store/marketplace.

So, as I said I am new to it all…

I just installed
wp, bp and the buddyboss theme a few days ago, so they are all the most current versions. I am using the buddyboss child theme.

I have the following plugins installed:
BP Profile Search
Buddypress Activity Plus
Buddypress Activity Privacy

It seems like the rtMedia plug in would be a better fit for me than the Activity Plus, but apparently Buddyboss is not 100% compatible with it.

Is it feasible to have the site set up this way, breaking up access to features as I have laid it out? I liked what I have seen about s2member and hope to use it.

Also, not sure how to keep the sites pages really private from google/bing, etc… I set to discourage them, but wondering if there is a way to just shield them or will the s2member plugin create that barrier due to having to subscribe?

Many thanks for any input on if this is feasible, what plugins I should consider, etc. Like for chat, for allowing members control of what, if anything other non-friend members can see in their profile/wall/photos, etc.

I am hosting on a managed VPS (that was a whole adventure in itself! – learning lots and praying alot!) so I think I should be good for not getting bogged down with activity (that is part of the reason for the different subscription levels – the more resources you are gong to chew up, the more you pay for service.

Lots of thanks for any input.

Clara