threadr-rewritten/README.md

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.

License

ThreadR is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. See LICENSE.md for details.

Authors: BodgeMaster, Jocadbz