Welcome to Phorum. This is going to be an exciting project that I am sure many people will use! This plugin is pre alpha and is still in early development stages. I wanted to add it to Bukkit so that I would be able to receive feedback on what people thought of it and how to improve it. This idea came to me when I realized how disconnect server worlds and forums are in the world of Minecraft.
What it is
Phorum is an integrated solution for servers to connect the forums with the server world. When I say integrated, I really mean integrated. The forum will be stored on a database. This database to start will be MySQL. If the plugin becomes popular enough and there is enough demand, I will add support for MSSQL, and SQLite. The forum will be written in PHP so your server will need to be able to handle php code. You will not be able to register for the forum unless you log into the server via Minecraft. Upon logging into the server for the first time, it will prompt you to set your forum password. From there the user will want to log into the forum website for the first time. This will be where the user enters information you want collected like email and birthday. You will be able to set it so when a user logs into the forum for the first time and validates their email you can give them items in game automatically.
Integration
Currently I have some major plans on how this plugin will integrate with other plugins.
Permissions: Currently it is being developed with PEX and if enough people request it, I can add other permissions. Forum permissions for categories/forums/threads will be stored within PEX.
Time Logging: It will log each plays log in/off and keep track of time. Players will be able to view how many hours (or weeks for the crazy people) they have played on your server.
Messaging: This will be like some of the mail plugins out there but to the next level. When you send a player a message in game, it syncs up with the forum and you can view and/or respond to the message in game or via the forum. That way people on the forum will always be connected with the people on the server!
Notifications: Notifications between in game and the forum will be synchronized. If someone posts on your thread via the forum you will get a notification on the website and in game. As soon as your clear that notification, it will clear on both the forum and the game server. This will work for messaging, forum posts, etc.
Profiles: Every person will have a profile that you can customize or leave basic. This can include your play time, your cities, your block statistics, etc.
Google Adsense: You will be able to put if a few things into the control panel and bam your Google Adsense ads will be on the forum site. You can also use permissions to disable ads for certain players and/or groups.
Paypal: This is just an idea but I am not sure how it will be integrated. If I follow through with this, a person can complete a donation that posts back to the forum and instantly rewards a player with in-game content. You can just set the price and it will automatically queue to give them their items after payment. It will also check to make sure their inventory is not full.
Worldguard: You will be able to view your areas you are a member of and the areas you own. If you own the area you will be able to change the regions settings(flags) without being logged in.
Permissions: You will be able to log into Phorum web control panel and manage your permissions via the web vs in game/console controls. This way you can visually see the permission groups and uses and what permissions they have and edit them in a more organized efficient way.
Other: Essentially any plugin that uses a database backend can be integrated into the site. Once I have what is listed done, I can take requests to integrate other plugins to Phorum.
Requirements:
Bukkit Server
PHP Web Server
MySQL(must have permissions to read/write to permissions table) Database available
Worldguard(optional)
Hawkeye(optional)
Please let me know what you think and if you have any questions. I am posting this so I can get proper feedback and see what people think.
Also if you would like to check out my Bukkit server, you can join at play.mine-block.com
Matt