Sidewiki blocker for Joomla: anyone care to beta test?

12 replies
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 But these versions are heavily outdated and insecure anyway.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
#beta #blocker #care #joomla #plugin #sidewiki
  • Profile picture of the author ZorroCat
    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
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1236135].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author 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.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1236587].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ZorroCat
        Yes. This is the solution I'm integrating in Joomla here.

        Kind regards,
        Zorro
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1237074].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author rwil02
        Originally Posted by holla22 View Post

        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?
        Signature

        Roger Willcocks
        L-Space Design
        Please vote to help me win a 3kW solar array

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1239008].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
          Originally Posted by rwil02 View Post

          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.
          Signature

          :)

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1239900].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Joe118
            Nice! Is there a WP version of this?
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1240302].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Steve Diamond
              Originally Posted by Joe118 View Post

              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
              Signature
              Mindfulness training & coaching online
              Reduce stress | Stay focused | Keep positive and balanced
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1240446].message }}
              • Profile picture of the author javawarrior
                Any comments on whether adding a unique hash to each URL will affect search engine rankings?
                {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1244510].message }}
                • Profile picture of the author ZorroCat
                  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
                  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1245049].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Steve Diamond
          Originally Posted by rwil02 View Post

          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
          Signature
          Mindfulness training & coaching online
          Reduce stress | Stay focused | Keep positive and balanced
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1240440].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Caragui
    Hope there would be a wordpress plugin to try.
    Signature
    Join Me In My Internet Marketing Journey at Nomasir Marketing

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1245060].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author cs1380
    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.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1245526].message }}

Trending Topics