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By Cynthia On November 8, 2008
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*** UPDATED AUGUST 5, 2009: Recovered screenshots. Found them on my computer 
***
This is part of the osDate 7 part blog series. Scroll down to the bottom of this post for links to the other parts.
Now that you’ve decided you want to create an osDate site after reading Part 1, here are instructions on how to install it on your web server. I’m assuming that you have basic knowledge of uploading files to your web host, logging onto cpanel, and accessing your mysql databases.
1. Download the latest osDate version here.
2. Unzip the files into a folder on your computer. You should see a folder titled “osDate_v214” and inside it, there is a public_html folder, and 2 text files.
3. Upload all the contents inside the public_html folder to your web server via FTP (I currently use Filezilla). You can upload it to your root directory, or a subdirectory (for example – http://www.yoursite.com/dating). It’s up to you. If you already have a site, and want to offer existing visitors an online dating experience, you could upload it into a subdirectory.
4. Open your browser and go to: http://www.yoursite.com/install.php. If you uploaded osDate into a subdirectory, then you would have to browse to: http://www.yoursite.com/some-subdirectory/install.php
5. You should now see this:
If you see some No’s, refer to Tufat’s instruction page here. Scroll down to Step 2 – Installer. You may need to change the write permissions for some of your folders.
6. After clicking continue, it’ll ask you to specify your MySQL database login settings. You will need to create a database on your web server first.
- Login to your web host’s cpanel and click on “MySQL databases“
- Enter a new database name. I recommend “osdate” (without the quotes). Click “Create Database.”
- Go down to “add a new user.” For the username, I recommend “osdate.” To protect your database, choose a password carefully. Click “Create User.“
- Scroll down to “Add User to Database.” Select the osdate user that you created, and then select the osdate database. Click “Add.”
7. Now that you’ve created your database, you can fill in the MySQL database settings. It should look like the screenshot below. Click on it to enlarge. It will open in a new window.
- Database name: this is the database name that you created in step 6.
- Database user: this is the database user that you created in step 6.
- Database host: usually it’s “localhost.”
- Table prefix: to make things really easy for you, leave the table prefix as “osdate.”
- Document root: if you installed it into a subdirectory, you would enter “/your_subdirectory/“. Otherwise, leave it as “/“
8. The next step is optional. You can always change the mail settings later. By default, if you skip this step, osDate will use the PHP mail() function, which usually uses sendmail. This will work on most web servers.
9. You’re done installing! The next screen should tell you to remove the “install.php” file and the “install_files” folder for security reasons. Click on “reload osdate” after you’re done.
10. Now login to the admin panel at http://www.yoursite.com/admin/ or if you installed it into a subdirectory – http://www.yoursite.com/some_directory/admin/. I don’t remember if it asks for your admin login or not during the installation process, but if it doesn’t, the default username is “admin” and the default password is “pass.”
After logging into admin, you may be overwhelmed by all the options in the menu. Here is a great guide to understanding what each menu item is for. I suggest you take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with it.
In Part 3, I’ll tell you what are the optimal admin settings that I use. Note that these settings are for version 2.0.8. They should be similar to the newest version. Create Your Own Online Dating Site Using osDate – Part 3 – Admin Settings
By Cynthia On November 8, 2008
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If you ever wanted to create your own online dating site, but weren’t sure which dating script to go with, I highly recommend osDate – a free open source dating system. In this 7 part series, I’ll walk you through the pros and cons of osDate so you can decide whether you want to use it, how to install it, what to do after you’re logged in as admin, which files to edit to change the layout (it can be very confusing for people starting out), where to download themes to make your site look better, and which sites are currently using osDate. I tried to go into as much detail as possible to help you shorten the time it takes for you to learn osDate.
If you’re confused or lost at any point, please post on the forum for an osdate developer to help you out.
Ok, now to be clear, osDate is a dating script not a community script. What’s the difference? Community software like Boonex’s Dolphin comes with many features that you usually expect a community to have: blogs, photos, videos, groups, classifieds, events, polls, forums, chat, etc. Communities are focused on user-generated content and group interaction, whereas a dating website’s focus is more concentrated on one-on-one member interaction through email messages, winks/smiles, and instant messaging. It’s like comparing Match.com (dating site) to Myspace.com (community site).
OsDate does allow your members to also upload photos and videos, create blogs, post events, create polls, add a forum and chatroom, and you could add functionality to turn it into a community, but in my opinion it’s best suited for creating dating websites. Now you can be as creative as you want, of course. But it’ll make your life easier if you treat it as a dating script.
Here are the main pros of using osDate:
- Free, open-source – This means you have full control over the source code. You can do whatever you like with it. There are no fees associated with using it unlike other scripts that require you to pay $100+ upfront.
- Extremely supportive forum – This is the single most important criteria when deciding which dating script to go with because when you’re starting out, you need all the help and support you can get. The people on the forum are really responsive and helpful. You should still do a search on the forum to see if your question has been asked, but if it hasn’t, you’ll usually get a response within a day or even less.
- Free upgrades – When an update is released, you’ll find it in the Announcements section of the forum. New versions are thoroughly tested for months before release. If there are still bugs after the release, “patches” are posted so you can download and upload them to your site to fix them right away.
- Free mods – Mods add functionality to your site, such as one that integrates Skype into a member’s profile or send new mail notifications to a member via SMS/text message. Some mods will cost you, but the majority of them have been generously shared by osDate forum members.
- Cheap themes/skins – You can buy a variety of themes for only $5. They’re not the most professional looking, but what I suggest is buy one with a layout that you like (do you like the sidebar on the left or right?) and then modify the hell out of it to the point that’s it’s unrecognizable. It’s a good starting point, trust me.
- Paypal payment module & membership access – You can set different membership levels (you can create new ones like Premium, Gold, Silver) that give members access to different features. You can specify how many pictures a member can upload, how many emails they can keep, how many emails they can send, how many videos they can upload, etc etc. If they want to upgrade, they can pay via Paypal themselves. All they have to do is logout and then login again to update their membership status.
Here are the main cons of using osDate:
- No instant-messenger – By default, PHP121 messenger is installed, but it’s not recommended because of the issues with security vulnerabilities. I recommend you use v3 messenger. It starts out at $35, and it works great. If you decide to go this route, I can give you instructions on how to integrate it. It’s one of the best messengers for osDate because of its relatively easy integration with the osDate code. Update (Aug 14 2009): I no longer endorse v3 messenger. Numerous people have complained about their lack of email support.
From one customer – “Would not recommend this site at all. I did finally hear back from them a couple of time to ensure I that I did get the download for the script but ONLY after I filed a complaint with paypal.” When I first wrote this post in 2008, there weren’t these issues. If you still want to go ahead with the purchase, you’re welcome to, but I don’t recommend it anymore.
- Profiles for featured members, new members, online members show both genders instead of the opposite gender – Although this is the biggest con I have with osDate, it IS fixable. I don’t have the code for the newest version (2.1.4), but I do have it for (2.0.8). With that said, it’s annoying but most sites that have a large member base (few thousand members) have both showing, so it shouldn’t be a major setback to growing your member base.
- Takes time to learn – There is a bit of a learning curve for osDate if you want to make it into a good site. It is usuable right out of the box, but there will be things you’ll want to change. Once you dive into the code, it’ll take some time to learn the Smarty template code. For example, if you want to display Google ads, you’ll need to wrap the Google Adsense code with {literal} and {/literal}. It’s something you won’t be aware of until you’ve read the forums. Fortunately, as mentioned in the pros section, forum members are happy to help. Back when I was a newbie, I received a tremendous amount of support. Now that I’m a 6 month mini-expert, I regularly give back to the forum just to answer questions.
osDate 7 Part Series:
By Cynthia On November 4, 2008
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If you want to check if the name of your business conflicts with any existing Trademarks, or if you want to search for existing works that are copyrighted and you don’t know where to look – here are the links to the Trademarks and Copyrights databases for both U.S. and Canada.
By Cynthia On October 27, 2008
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*** UPDATE (Oct 21, 2009) – This is a really outdated post (written 1 year ago). You may want to check out my other post on How To Delete All Facebook Groups And Wall Posts From Facebook Using Imacros ***
When I first wrote this article, only the 10 most recent posts were editable. But a few hours later, every post was editable! I suspect it’s just something Facebook is working out for the profiles. So, either be patient and wait until Facebook gets to your profile, OR follow the trick below.
If you’re frustrated that you can’t delete older wall posts because the “edit” button for story options doesn’t appear for you to delete your post, you’re not alone. Someone posted a similar question in Facebook’s Help Center last month, and the problem still hasn’t been fully fixed by the Facebook team.
A lot of you are worrying that without the story edit button, you’d have to be deleting your posts every few days or they become permanent. I found out today that it’s not true. You can delete your older posts, but there’s a trick to it. I’ll walk you through it.
Before you begin, I suggest you open up Firefox. The delete function doesn’t seem to work in Google Chrome.
Try this first
There can only be 10 editable posts (these can be wall posts, comments on photos, notes, events, etc.) in your mini-feed. Count down from the very first post to the 10th post. When you hover on the side of the 10th post, the edit button should appear. But when you hit the 11th post, the “edit” button should not appear. Before you think – damn it I can’t delete my older posts! – delete the 10th post. Then see if you can delete the 11th post. If not, REFRESH the page and try again. You should now see the “edit” button appear for the 11th post.
This method is not perfect. You can’t just delete random wall posts from any date. You have to go in order from the top, making sure there are only 10 posts at a time that you’re keeping. But there’s an easier way.
Easier way to delete posts
Right under the status bar, and before your posts, there is a heading: All Posts, Posts by <your name>, Posts by Others, Settings.
Click on Posts by <your name>. That way the 10 editable posts include all of yours, and not your friends’ wall posts. From my experience, you can only delete about 2-4 posts at a time, and then you’d have to refresh the page, and do it again. I recommend Firefox because you can delete more posts before having to refresh, whereas with IE, after 1-2 posts, you’d have to hit the refresh button. It’s just much faster with Firefox.
Did this work for you? I’d love to hear your feedback. Please comment and share your experience.
By Cynthia On October 25, 2008
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Both Facebook Page and Facebook Group allow you to post news and updates, attach photos and videos, include wall posts and discussion, and send messages to members. But why should you choose one over the other to create a Facebook presence? As similar as they appear to be, there are subtle differences between the two that will answer your question.
Before you start, you should identify what your personal or professional goals are for creating a Facebook presence in the first place. Are you trying to increase your brand visibility? Generate discussion? Or publicize your blog or website? Once you know your primary reason for creating a Facebook presence, you can decide which option provides you with the features that closely align with your goals.
Why Facebook Page?
If you’re looking to promote your business – go with Facebook Pages. It has an obvious commercial feel to it. But beware of using a Page if updates are important to your business. I haven’t conducted an official poll, but people tend to become a fan of a musician/website/company to let others know what they’re interested in, or to show their support. They do not necessarily become a fan for the updates. From personal experience, I have actually turned off Page updates for some of my subscriptions because some came too frequent, and they were irrelevant and became borderline annoying. (Update: Jan 12 2010 – This is not really relevant anymore due to the new changes on Facebook which allow Facebook pages to show up on people’s feeds, creating more interaction. I actually like this feature for Pages that I want updates for). Frequency of updates is also an issue you should take into account if you go the Page route. I could see it working very well for restaurant/bar/lounge though, which can send updates regarding discounts or special events that people would be excited about.
If you want to publicize your blog - I would suggest Facebook Pages because of the RSS feeds capability, and also the flexibility to embed apps. This feature is highly useful if you want to include blog updates that will show up in the timeline. It’s also a great way to attract new members to your site.
Why Facebook Group?
Facebook Groups allows you to send messages directly to members’ inbox, which increases the chance they’d read your message. Facebook Pages has that messaging feature as well, but it shows up as an “update” next to a member’s pending friend requests and event invitations. These updates tend to be ignored, or at least, delayed in reading. You don’t want that if updates are extremely important.
If you want to generate discussion around a controversial topic or leverage the power of the crowd - go with Facebook Groups. Groups has more of a grassroots, bottom-up undertone to it. You can tell by the sheer numbers of some groups – over 800,000 for the Six Degrees experiment. Another group called “I bet I can find 1,000,000 people who dislike Bush” has over a million members.
I would only suggest Facebook Groups if you want to get a discussion going – as that’s what Groups are good for – but I would highly recommend you use your blog for discussion. Any discussion on your blog are yours and permanent, but the ones on Facebook can’t be extracted or compiled together.
I hope this helps you decide whether to go with Facebook Page or Facebook Group! Here are some related links you may want to check out for further reading on Facebook:
