# Welcome to ThreadR Rewritten

This is the source code for the ThreadR Forum Engine, rewritten in Go. ThreadR is a free and open-source forum engine designed to allow users to host their own forum instances on personal web servers.

## Project Overview

Originally started as a school project in 2019 with the aim of creating a hybrid between a forum and a social media platform, ThreadR was temporarily abandoned after school ended. Revived in 2020, the project shifted focus to become a fully functional, portable, and open-source forum engine under the Apache 2.0 license.

### Current Goals
- [ ] Bring ThreadR back online (see issue #2)
- [ ] Go FOSS by making the source code publicly available (see issue #5)
- [ ] Ensure portability for easy setup of personal instances
- [ ] Implement core forum features (sign-up, board creation, threads, messages, profiles)

### Future Features
- Anonymous posting with unique per-thread identifiers for registered users
- Thread subscription and notifications for new messages (opt-out available)
- "Split thread here" functionality for focused discussions
- Automatic loading of new messages in threads (opt-out in settings)
- Question threads with an "accept answer" feature
- Nuanced like/dislike system (limited functionality, inspired by StackExchange)

**Note:** ThreadR is now technically host-independent with configurable settings, though it remains a work in progress (WIP).

## Installation

ThreadR is in early development, and setup is currently manual. Automated setup scripts will be added in the future.

### Prerequisites
This guide assumes you are on a UNIX-like system with the following installed:
- Apache with PHP (may work with other web servers)
- MySQL or MariaDB
- Python 3
- Bash

### Setup Steps
1. Clone this repository into a directory accessible by your web server but outside any web root.
2. Create a MySQL/MariaDB database with the tables listed below.
3. Add a dedicated MySQL/MariaDB user for ThreadR and grant usage privileges for the tables.
4. Symlink the `build/` directory to your desired web root location (ThreadR does not support direct web root linking).
5. Adjust configuration files in the `config/` directory to match your setup.
6. Run `./deployment-script.sh` to apply the configuration.
7. Optionally, symlink `build/redirect_home.html` to redirect specific locations to ThreadR.

### Database Schema
- **boards**
  - `id` (int, primary key, auto increment)
  - `name` (varchar)
  - `user_friendly_name` (varchar)
  - `private` (boolean or tinyint(1))
  - `public_visible` (boolean or tinyint(1))
- **posts**
  - `id` (int, primary key, auto increment)
  - `board_id` (int)
  - `user_id` (int)
  - `post_time` (timestamp, default current_timestamp())
  - `edit_time` (timestamp, nullable, default null, on update current_timestamp())
  - `content` (text, nullable, default null)
  - `attachment_hash` (bigint(20), nullable, default null)
  - `attachment_name` (varchar, nullable, default null)
  - `title` (varchar)
  - `reply_to` (int, default -1)
- **profiles** (usage TBD)
  - `id` (smallint, primary key, index)
  - `email` (varchar, index, likely unique)
  - `display_name` (varchar)
  - `status` (varchar)
  - `about` (long varchar)
  - `website` (varchar)
- **users**
  - `id` (smallint, primary key)
  - `name` (varchar, index, likely unique)
  - `authentication_string` (varchar(128))
  - `authentication_salt` (varchar)
  - `authentication_algorithm` (varchar)
  - `time_created` (timestamp, default current_timestamp())
  - `time_altered` (timestamp, default current_timestamp(), on update current_timestamp())
  - `verified` (boolean or tinyint(1), default 0)

## Running the Application
To start the ThreadR server, run the following command after configuration:
```
go run ./main.go
```
The server will start on port 8080 by default.

## Project Structure
- **src/**: Core ThreadR source files
- **build/**: Placeholder for deployment, contains a working instance after running the deployment script
- **config/**: Configuration files for specific ThreadR instances
- **macros/**: Files for use with the variable grabbler script
- **static/**: Static assets (CSS, images) for the web interface
- **templates/**: HTML templates for rendering pages
- **handlers/**: HTTP request handlers for various routes
- **models/**: Database models and interaction logic
- **deployment_script.sh**: Script for code variable replacement and deployment tasks
- **variable_grabbler.py**: Custom macro processor for configuration
- **LICENSE.md**: Apache 2.0 license details
- **NOTICE**: Copyright notice in plain text

## Contributing
We welcome contributions! Please discuss ideas or issues in the GitHub issues section or join our Discord server for real-time communication: [discord.gg/r3w3zSkEUE](https://discord.gg/r3w3zSkEUE).

## License
ThreadR is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. See [LICENSE.md](./LICENSE.md) for details.

**Authors:** BodgeMaster, Jocadbz