I have a serious question for any backend programmers on here about URLs on a forum, just like this.

See, the problem is that there is a "rat" on a private forum for paramedics. Noone allowed unless they have a verified employee number.

Well, anyway the gov't has been throwing back printoffs of our own discussions into our faces, and while it may seem like a good idea to just edit what is said online, that's not the point, we need to identify the rat. Because the Exec needs to communicate with the membership and someone is selling us out.

So, is it possible to post a user number in every URL that the user peruses? Like if you were user number 666 of 2000 members?

My idea here is that the number would be printed off in the URL at the bottom of each page, and then when the gov't tries to hand us our asses, we could determine who the rat is.

Fukn gov't.

For sure. But it can always be edited out by the rat, when its an obvious constant. So you'd have to be more sneaky like use a random number generator, but log the numbers used by the user base, so you can trace back the number to the user that generated that number. Voila. LOL.

Well, let's just start with a user number. For now, this is a forum of paramedics, not hackers. They won't know what that URL is saying....hell, I only just thought of this myself. All we need is to see the number in the printout, which will mean nothing to the gov't or anyone else.

Keeping this method of identification secret to all except the site admin will allow the Union to flush out the boot-licking management wannabe. And then they can pull their union card and that's the same as being fired.

now, how would one do this? Got some code or examples for me?

If you're doing nothing wrong, then you should have no problem wit the gubmint knowing everything you do and say. Are you some kinda liberal commie?

There was plenty of comments regarding strike action, but that's all that they were. It was just between members, not the Union.

The gov't used the rat to monitor our private conversations, then alleged conspiracy to commit illegal job action.


The provincial government is so crooked in BC that it is unbelievable. I couldn't begin to tell you how they have broken the laws to do whatever they want. They use fear to keep the media and the MLAs in line. FEAR!! It's fukn insane.

They legislated us into our old contract in the middle of a vote!!! That's never been done before and is an afront to worker rights. Just so they could try to force us to work their big party, the Olympics. Don't want to jeopardize their big party that bankrupted the province, and can't just negotiate fairly by appointing an independent arbitrator. Noooo! And never mind that they enforced an Essential Service Order on us that said we HAD to work on our days off to maintain service levels or we would be fined or jailed.

It was one crooked thing after another with them. And in the end, we go back on Strike again in April. Just figured that an imposed contract would solve their problems and enslave us.

Well, that backfired! We are pissed. And the gov't is spying on us very closely because they want to collect proof of illegal job action conspiracy so they can push another ESO on us to lock us into working their party. We must shut them out and regain our privacy. This big brother over our shoulder bullshit has to end.

So if you are advocating no fear if you are clear responses to a Gov't invading the privacy of its citizens....well, I know you would NEVER do that, Bloggy.

Sounds like every other government. Never post shit where it can get traced back to you, even if it's supposed to be private. Nothing is private. And RATS suck!!!

It's necessary. This is the best communication between 3500 members possible on the down-low.

Really, this is a moot point. The private forum exists and has for a couple of years. And we need to find out who the rats are because they are going to rat out everything that goes on in the website and at Union rallies.

Identifying them is uber important.

Someone is probably getting a nice deal to rat on you guys. Good luck on finding them.

Complain to the Queen! She'll be in Ottawa soon, and doing a tour of Canada. She has power over the Gov't still. :P

Or maybe someone could point me in the direction of how to perform this little matter of URL tagging.

Send a private message with 'sneaky inside information' - like dollar amounts, but change the number for each user - whoever rats will be identified by the uniqueness...

Everything in a url after ? is considered a variable - a script to say boneyard.com/?d=34256 is transparent to the forum (so long as you dont use one of their variables.

Then its just a matter of adding + ?<userid> to EVERY link on the site. That can be done in css I think...

It has to be a code that identifies the user that browses the forum, like letters and numbers, so that noone notices it in the URL that is printed at the bottom of pages when printed off.

Otherwise it is defeated by a sharpie black marker.

Can't you just put the IP number and format it as a number for example saying generated in 0.722322222 seconds and add to the end of the page like here?

IP won't tell us anything tho, because it is most likely being viewed at a station computer and none of that info will be available to us.

See the forum is private. So the only way the gov't is getting these printoffs of what people have said is that some card-carrying union member is backstabbing the rest of us (3500 union members and their families), hoping for an upper management position payoff.

That's really low. Doesn't it seem like a good idea to identify this individual(s)?

dont forum username databases have a primary key OTHER than the username (like entry number in the database)...

cant be too hard to add a column with a random number in it...

OOH - add a script that generates a nearly-transparent gif that has one of those barcodes we were playing with the other day.

open source script can generate the files...

Actually, I think there is some merit to this....instead of an IP number, the user's member number could be the first few digits in the "Generated in 0.xxxx34567 seconds" bit.

Now, what kind of code would that require?

What board script they using?

Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group

find the script that types the document.write (or whatever) 'page generated in blablabla' and insert a query to the user table.

that's JavaScript! You're fired!!!

I like how Meph thinks this is a fairly simple thing.
Have you bothered to read any of the phpBB documentation?

First you need to make a 'module' aka MOD.
It should be an ACP module. So it can be added, or removed by the administration.

http://wiki.phpbb.com/Creating_modules

You'll need to call on the SQL database in the script to get the 'user_id' number.
Here is a list of generic tables of phpBB 3.x
http://wiki.phpbb.com/Tables .. clicking on phpbb_users gives you
http://wiki.phpbb.com/Tables/phpbb_users
At the top is 'user_id' which the users number id.

This is a basic expample of quering the DB.
http://wiki.phpbb.com/Dbal.sql_query

You will want this displayed in the 'overall_footer.html'

I ain't writing you no dang code. :P
Get yo ass over onto the phpBB forums for some help.

http://www.phpbb.com/community/

Everything I've written assumes it is phpBB v3.x

actually, that's perfect. I just wanted ideas on how to do it.

THX!

all forum software tracks user by number
even ubb
the problem is if the user is just reading post there is noway of tracking, well there is but bit more difficult to track
read & unread post are tracked by personal cookie
so unless your RAT is posting in your thread it's hard to find him

if you post are in a private forum /board you can get a list of user names that are in that group with read/write access to that board

but ds - doesn't the forum have to generate each page when its viewed? At *that* time the userid number could be written into the page.

yes it could your right