Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test?

ZorroCat · 09-30-2009, 09:49 AM

You've probably seen the raging debates about Sidewiki going on here.

Steve Diamond was kind enough to release an open source Javascript solution that seems to work pretty well:
http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post1227453

Since he made it a GPL project, I took the liberty of wrapping this thing up in a Joomla plugin, all ready to install with no manual coding required.

Pros:

1) You don't have to change a single line of code in your template. The tool is designed as a Joomla system plugin that will automatically load Steve's Javascript in the "head" section, regardless which template you are using.

2) It checks the user agent for the string "/GTB6/i" so that only users with the Google toolbar installed will experience the hashed URLs. Other users won't notice anything.

Cons:

1) I'm not much of a PHP programmer.

But since this is a pretty basic plugin, it should work as I didn't have much chance to break things.

Note: This plugin will work under Joomla 1.5.x ONLY. Not on the 1.0.x series. And I didn't test legacy mode since you shouldn't use it anyway.

Usage:

1) Install it as you would install any other extension, i.e. via 'Extensions -> Install/Uninstall'.

2) Go to 'Extensions -> Plugin Manager' and find the entry named 'Sidewiki Defeat Plugin for Joomla'. Activate it. (Don't skip this step, it won't work otherwise.)

That's it, you're done.

Some caveats and recommendations:

I threw this up in a hurry and wasn't able to do much testing myself. On my local install, it seems to work fine.

1) I have no idea if the plugin works with 3rd party extensions. Please give feedback. Don't use on business-critical sites for now.

2) I would like to hear feedback from you on sites where Joomla is installed
- in the root
- on a subdomain
- in a subdirectory.

3) I don't know if it works on PHP4 (again, something you shouldn't use). I tested on PHP5 only.

4) I tested on the latest Joomla version 1.5.14 only. If I recall correctly, there was a bug in versions around 1.5.6 - 1.5.8 that concerned system plugins. But these versions are heavily outdated and insecure anyway.

5) I tested with SEF URLs on, and with SEF URLs off. Seems to work fine in both cases. Please check this as well.

If you decide to take it for a spin, please give feedback in this thread. I'm a bit short on time but will take a look in here every now and then. If all goes well, I'll set up a small project site.

License:

The plugin is GPL and has credits to Steve for his original JS work all over the place.

Thanks in advance and kind regards,
Zorro

ZorroCat · 10-01-2009, 06:33 AM

Hmmm ... I guess Joomla is not that popular among warriors after all.

I put the thread here in this subforum since to me, it was a programming topic. Might have been a better idea to post over in the Main Internet Marketing Discussion Forum maybe where all the debate is happening?

Kind regards,
Zorro

holla22 · 10-01-2009, 10:07 AM

Here is a solution for everyone that does not use Joomla. You can download the Javacript from here sidewiki-defeat - Project Hosting on Google Code. Just follow the instruction in the javascript comments.

Hope it helps you.

ZorroCat · 10-01-2009, 12:36 PM

Yes. This is the solution I'm integrating in Joomla here.

Kind regards,
Zorro

rwil02 · 10-02-2009, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by holla22

Here is a solution for everyone that does not use Joomla. You can download the Javacript from here sidewiki-defeat - Project Hosting on Google Code. Just follow the instruction in the javascript comments.

Hope it helps you.

Anyone else see the irony in hosting a project to block a Google "tool" on the Google code hosting service?

mojojuju · 10-02-2009, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwil02

Anyone else see the irony in hosting a project to block a Google "tool" on the Google code hosting service?

Yeah, I think it's kind of funny.

Joe118 · 10-02-2009, 12:26 PM

Nice! Is there a WP version of this?

Steve Diamond · 10-02-2009, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwil02

Anyone else see the irony in hosting a project to block a Google "tool" on the Google code hosting service?

I'm glad someone got the joke.

Steve

Steve Diamond · 10-02-2009, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe118

Nice! Is there a WP version of this?

If enough people ask, I might make a WP plugin out of it. Or someone else can go for it, as ZorroCat did with Joomla. That's why I released it with an open source license.

Steve

javawarrior · 10-03-2009, 10:59 PM

Any comments on whether adding a unique hash to each URL will affect search engine rankings?

ZorroCat · 10-04-2009, 05:37 AM

Javawarrior,

it should not affect rankings since it all happens on the user's side.

The spiders don't interpret Javascript. They'll never see the effect of the script. Only a human user who, in addition, has the toolbar installed, will experience a hashed URL.

So I guess we're on the safe side here.

Kind regards,
Zorro

Caragui · 10-04-2009, 05:47 AM

Hope there would be a wordpress plugin to try.

cs1380 · 10-04-2009, 10:44 AM

You can use Steve's script in Wordpress by adding one line to your header.php file. Download the js file and put it in your WP root directory then add the following to the header.php file just below the <body> tag.
<?php if(preg_match("/GTB6/i",$_SERVER["HTTP_USER_AGENT"])) { echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='sidewiki-defeat.js'></script>";} ?>
This is how I have my site setup and it works very well. It only adds hashes to the url if the visitor has the latest GTB.

10-01-2009, 06:33 AM	#2
ZorroCat Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Hmmm ... I guess Joomla is not that popular among warriors after all. I put the thread here in this subforum since to me, it was a programming topic. Might have been a better idea to post over in the Main Internet Marketing Discussion Forum maybe where all the debate is happening? Kind regards, Zorro

10-01-2009, 10:07 AM	#3
holla22 Morné Zeelie War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: , , South Africa. Posts: 74 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Here is a solution for everyone that does not use Joomla. You can download the Javacript from here sidewiki-defeat - Project Hosting on Google Code. Just follow the instruction in the javascript comments. Hope it helps you.
	Great Tutorials on WordPress development <a href="http://teachingyou.net/">Click Here</a>

10-01-2009, 12:36 PM	#4
ZorroCat Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Yes. This is the solution I'm integrating in Joomla here. Kind regards, Zorro

10-02-2009, 12:26 PM	#7
Joe118 Gold Nuggets Producer War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 2,314 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 662 Thanked 2,171 Times in 389 Posts Contact Info	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Nice! Is there a WP version of this?

10-03-2009, 10:59 PM	#10
javawarrior Warrior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Any comments on whether adding a unique hash to each URL will affect search engine rankings?

10-04-2009, 05:37 AM	#11
ZorroCat Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 26 Thanks: 3 Thanked 9 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Javawarrior, it should not affect rankings since it all happens on the user's side. The spiders don't interpret Javascript. They'll never see the effect of the script. Only a human user who, in addition, has the toolbar installed, will experience a hashed URL. So I guess we're on the safe side here. Kind regards, Zorro

10-04-2009, 05:47 AM	#12
Caragui HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 274 Thanks: 12 Thanked 27 Times in 27 Posts	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? Hope there would be a wordpress plugin to try.

10-04-2009, 10:44 AM	#13
cs1380 Warrior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test? You can use Steve's script in Wordpress by adding one line to your header.php file. Download the js file and put it in your WP root directory then add the following to the header.php file just below the <body> tag. <?php if(preg_match("/GTB6/i",$_SERVER["HTTP_USER_AGENT"])) { echo "<script type='text/javascript' src='sidewiki-defeat.js'></script>";} ?> This is how I have my site setup and it works very well. It only adds hashes to the url if the visitor has the latest GTB.