Overview

Description

🎓 Community Experts for Invision Community

Recognize and showcase your community's most knowledgeable members with automatic or manual expert designation.

📋 Overview

Community Experts is a powerful application for Invision Community that identifies and highlights expert members within specific forums. The application displays visual badges next to expert posts, tracks expert assignments through comprehensive logging, and provides both manual and automatic expert assignment capabilities based on member reputation and activity.

✨ Key Features

Expert Badge System

• Visual Recognition - Display customizable expert badges on posts within designated forums

• Custom Icons - Choose from Font Awesome icons or upload custom badge graphics

• Follow Integration - Quick-follow buttons on expert badges for non-logged-in members

• Forum-Specific - Experts are designated per-forum, allowing members to be experts in their areas of knowledge

Flexible Assignment Methods

Manual Assignment

• Admin Control - Administrators can manually assign/remove expert status for any member

• Forum Selection - Assign experts to specific forums through an intuitive interface

• Reason Tracking - Optional reason field for documenting why expert status was granted/removed

• Bulk Management - Manage all experts from a centralized table view

Automatic Assignment

• Reputation-Based - Automatically promote members based on reputation points

• Post Count Criteria - Set minimum post requirements for automatic expert status

• Smart Forum Detection - Multiple strategies for determining which forums to assign:

  • Active Forums - Assign to forums where member is most active

  • All Forums - Assign expert status across all forums

  • Top Forums - Assign to member's top-performing forums by reputation

• Scheduled Task - Background task processes automatic assignments periodically

• Real-time Sync - Member listener detects reputation changes and triggers automatic updates

Hybrid Mode

• Both Manual & Automatic - Combine manual assignments with automatic promotion

• Flexible Control - Administrators can override automatic assignments

🎯 Member Features

Opt-In/Opt-Out System

• Member Choice - Members can opt-out of expert designation in account settings

• Privacy Respect - Automatic assignments respect member preferences

• Account Settings Integration - Easy toggle in member account preferences

Expert Status Visibility

• Profile Integration - Expert status visible on member profiles

• Profile Hovercard - Expert status visible in member hovercard

• Post Badges - Badges appear on posts within designated forums

• Member History - Expert assignments logged in member history with full details

🛠️ Administrative Tools

Settings & Configuration

• Enable/Disable - Global on/off switch for the entire feature

• Group Restrictions - Limit expert eligibility to specific member groups

• Badge Customization - Configure badge icon and appearance

• Assignment Mode - Choose between Manual, Automatic, or Both

• Reputation Threshold - Set minimum reputation points for automatic assignment (default: 100)

• Post Threshold - Set minimum post count for automatic assignment (default: 30)

• Forum Strategy - Configure how automatic assignments determine target forums

Expert Management

• Centralized Table - View all current experts in a sortable, searchable table

• Quick Actions - Add or remove experts with one click

• Member Search - Find and manage experts by member name or ID

• Forum Filtering - Filter experts by forum assignment

• Batch Operations - Manage multiple expert assignments efficiently

Comprehensive Logging

• Action Tracking - Every expert assignment/removal is logged

• Assignment Type - Distinguish between manual and automatic assignments

• Administrator Attribution - Track which admin made manual changes

• Reason Documentation - Store reasons for manual assignments

• Forum Details - Log which forums were affected

• IP Address Logging - Security tracking for all actions

• Date/Time Stamps - Full audit trail with timestamps

• Member History Integration - Expert changes appear in member's ACP history

ACP Integration

• Dedicated Menu - "Community Experts" section in ACP

• Three Controllers:

  • Settings - Configure all application options

  • Manage Experts - Add, remove, and view current experts

  • Logs - View comprehensive audit trail of all expert actions

• Permission System - Granular ACP permissions for each controller

📊 Use Cases

Support Communities

• Identify members who consistently provide helpful answers

• Build trust by highlighting knowledgeable support providers

• Encourage quality contributions through recognition

Technical Forums

• Showcase subject matter experts in specific technology areas

• Help members find reliable information sources

• Build credibility for your community

Educational Communities

• Recognize educators and experienced practitioners

• Guide students to trusted knowledge sources

• Foster mentorship relationships

Gaming Communities

• Highlight expert players in specific game modes or characters

• Build competitive credibility

• Encourage knowledge sharing

🎨 Customization Options

• Badge Icon - Choose any Font Awesome icon or upload custom graphics

• Badge Text - Customize the "Expert" label text

• CSS Styling - Full control over badge appearance through custom CSS

• Language Strings - All text is translatable for multi-language communities

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Member Opt-Out - Respects member privacy preferences

• Group Restrictions - Control which member groups can become experts

• Permission System - Granular ACP permissions for administrators

• Audit Trail - Complete logging of all administrative actions

• IP Tracking - Security logging for accountability

📈 Benefits

✅ Increase Engagement - Recognize and reward knowledgeable members
✅ Build Trust - Help members identify reliable information sources
✅ Reduce Moderation - Experts can help answer questions and guide discussions
✅ Encourage Quality - Incentivize members to provide valuable contributions
✅ Improve Retention - Recognition keeps valuable members engaged
✅ Enhance Credibility - Professional appearance builds community reputation