Native Push Notifications
Desktop notifications for new notifications have been available for many versions. These are based on the page being open in a browser tab (also in the background) and retrieving information from the server at intervals of several minutes. However, this does not take place in real time, but only with a delay and is also not available on smartphones and tablets.
In the WoltLab Cloud, we have been offering live updates since version 5.5, which send notifications to the browser in real time. This is a separate server infrastructure operated by us, as the technology used for this is not available on typical web hosting services. However, these notifications are also dependent on the page being open in at least one browser tab.
With WoltLab Suite 6.1, we can benefit from the innovations in the latest web browsers and finally offer native push notifications on all end devices (desktop, tablet and smartphone). We are particularly pleased that this function is not dependent on an active browser tab and does not require a separate app.
The native push notifications are included in the standard scope of the software and are fully available to all customers.
Note for Embedded Content That Is Not Accessible
Content from other areas of the site can be embedded in many cases and offer a visually enhanced presentation. A typical example is embedded links to topics or articles that directly display the title and a short text excerpt.
This embedded content takes into account the access rights of the current user so that, for example, only a text-only link is displayed and the user only receives an error message when it is called up. This is not very user-friendly and does not blend in well with the usual appearance. In future, WoltLab Suite 6.1 will display a concise message at such points, drawing attention to the missing access rights and using an appearance based on the typical display.
Improved Calculation of “Hot Topics”
The “Hot topics” box displays topics that are currently being hotly discussed and are potentially of particular interest to users. Various existing metrics are used to calculate the displayed topics in order to determine them with as little computing effort as possible.
With version 6.1, the number of views is no longer used for the calculation, as this can fluctuate greatly for various reasons and is only of very limited significance. As a replacement, the number of reactions assigned is now included, which often reflects the general interest in topics very well. Only topics with a minimum number of responses or reactions are taken into account so that new topics are not overly weighted.
Improved Spam Protection
The “Stop Forum Spam” database has been used successfully for many years to combat spam registrations in the registration process. The comparison is based on an optimized, local copy of the data so that the privacy of the data to be checked is maintained at all times.
We have repeatedly observed that user accounts with “unused” email and IP addresses are increasingly being created and remain unused for days or weeks. In a second wave, these user accounts are then misused for the creation of spam and thus appear very quickly in the “Stop Forum Spam” database.
With WoltLab Suite 6.1, we are extending this check for relatively “new” user accounts to the use of the contact form, the creation of posts and other types of messages.
For Developers: RPC API
With the new RPC API, we are laying the foundation for a well-defined API that can be controlled via JavaScript, for example. The implementation is based on the PSR-15 controller and is equipped with practical auxiliary functions for validating parameters based on CuyZ/Valinor. These API endpoints are controlled via their own URLs and are designed to process a single HTTP verb.
The current implementation is still based on the familiar cookie-based session system for authentication purposes. It is planned to enable the API to be called with subsequent versions on the basis of bearer tokens in the sense of a REST API. Authentication is currently already transparent, so that no adaptation of the endpoints themselves will be necessary.
With the introduction of the new RPC API, we are also replacing the existing API based on DatabaseObjectAction. This will continue to be supported by us, but will be replaced by the new API in the long term. We currently only consider DatabaseObjectAction to be “soft deprecated” and will continue to accept it unchanged in the plugin store. However, we strongly recommend that developers use the new RPC API directly for new projects.
We have presented the new API in detail in the developer documentation: https://docs.woltlab.com/6.1/php/api/rpc_api/
Further improvements briefly presented
Simplification of the contact form
The legally superfluous confirmation of the privacy policy in the contact form has been removed.
Improved notes
Notes are now displayed with a suitable icon and are technically based on a web component. This ensures a uniform display and improved accessibility.
Enforcing multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication can be made mandatory on the basis of user groups. Corresponding users must set up multi-factor authentication the next time they access the system.
Improved list of cronjobs
The associated packages are now displayed in the list of cronjobs.
Improved error handling for defective cache source
In the past, a defective cache source often went unnoticed and could lead to subtle errors. The system now checks whether the set cache source is really active and, if necessary, displays a corresponding message in the administration interface.
Improved management of favicons
Favicons are now saved in larger formats and the outdated .ico format is no longer used.
Alignment of media in the editor possible
Media can now be aligned horizontally in the editor.
Preview of media in the editor
The editor now displays embedded media directly as a preview.
Summary of notifications about new file versions
Related file versions of a Filebase file have now been combined into a single notification.
Suggestions when entering smiley codes
The editor now shows suitable suggestions when entering smiley codes.
Notifications about reported content
Moderators can now receive notifications when new content is reported.
Live update for status of moderation and conversations
The status display for moderation and conversations in the user panel now supports live updates in the same way as notifications.
ACL data transfer in JSON format
Data transfer for the Access Control Layer function (e.g. forum permissions) now takes place in JSON format. This ensures that the function works more reliably with larger amounts of data.
UI and JavaScript of the ACL function modernized
The user interface and the JavaScript source code of the ACL function have been revised and brought up to date.
Step-by-step mass processing
The mass processing of e.g. users is now processed step by step to prevent problems caused by large amounts of data.
For Developers
Shared templates
Shared templates are available both in the frontend and in the ACP. This ensures that templates with the same structure do not have to be duplicated unnecessarily and also ensures that important templates are available software-wide.
nullsafe operator in templates
The template engine now supports the nullsafe operator.
New API for creating RSS feeds
A new API for creating RSS feeds has been introduced.
