phpbb_pbtb
copyright 2004 Scott Merrill (skippy@skippy.net)

*** What Is This?
PHPBB Pingback / Trackback, aside from desperately needing a catchy name, is a modification of the phpBB bulletin board software to allow the use of trackbacks.

*** What Are Trackbacks?
Trackbacks are, in essence, comments that come from someone's weblog. Bloggers use trackbacks to tell one another that they've written a blog post about something someone wrote. From the MovableType trackback specification:
MT Trackback Spec wrote:
if Weblogger A wishes to notify Weblogger B that he has written something interesting/related/shocking, A sends a TrackBack ping to B.

I see two specific beneits to trackbacks that aren't really articulated in the MT spec or examples:
Improved Authority: By blogging an item and trackbacking it to somewhere else, you can retain authority for your post. You can update it or clarify it easily, something that not every blog comment system allows.
Improved Distribution: Most current trackback implementations hide the trackbacking data (or at least don't make it a prominent part of the conversation) or they only display a snippet of the trackback. This makes it hard for the reader to determine whether it's worth their time to follow the trackback link. Using the full body of the trackback data in the forum conversation makes it immediately clear to the reader whether the trackback is worth following to read more from that author.


*** Why Do I Want This?
If you want to allow the most number of people to participate in your conversations, without requiring that all participants sign up for your forum, then trackbacks are what you want.

If someone operates a weblog, they ought to be able to post their thoughts on their weblog for the benefit of their readers. They should not have to post a comment in your form, and then copy-and-paste that comment into their own blog.

The advantage to using trackbacks is that it allows bloggers to participate in your conversations, while at the same time inviting their readers to join the conversation, either at their site or at yours. It helps lower the barrier to entry in a conversation.

Trackbacks also provide a sort of implicit moderation and link-distribution function. If blogger A trackbacks to a post here with a very insightful comment, you can follow the trackback link to their blog to read more blog entries from them.

Read this for the discussion that started this project:
http://www.skippy.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=115

*** Great! How Do I Use This?
This modification is not for the faint of heart. You should have a fair understanding of the PHP programming language, and at least a modicum of familiarity with database voodoo. I've tried hard to integrate pingbacks and trackbacks into the core phpBB code, so as to make it fairly seemless. You'll have to decide for yourself if I succeeded.

First, you'll need to download the zip file containing all the new files necessary for this. Then you'll need to edit many of your existing phpBB files. Please make sure you back them up first.

Read the INSTALL directions here.

*** What Can I Do With This?
I am releasing this software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, which means you can do pretty much whatever you want with it, provided you give to others the same liberties I've given to you. Please read the GPL for specific details.

Please note, however, that I offer no guarantee that this software will work. I expressly deny any liability for any problems that may arise due to the use of this software. If your computer blows up, or you're abducted by aliens, you're on your own.

*** What Do You Get Out of This?
Fame! Fortune! The adoration of bloggers everywhere!

Actually, as with most software, I wrote this to scratch a personal itch. I don't gain anything from keeping it all to myself, and I don't lose anything by sharing it with everyone else. If folks find it useful and send me a thank you, then I'll be pretty content. If folks find it useful and send me bugfixes, I'll be quite pleased. If someone loves it and sends me money, I'll be their friend!
