How to set up and use the Timeline module effectively?

I think this is what the Timeline module basically does when activated for a members signup quota.

1. All the member profiles get an activity feed that shows (a) their own activities on their own public profile page, and (b) the activities of any other members they are following.

Does this work the same for the Admin profile page as for ordinary member pages? i.e. As Admin, I have to deliberately "follow" members for their activities to show on my public profile page?

2. The status update entry field is only visible on a profile when the Timeline is seen in "full view" mode. Ok that is something we can learn. And there is a little RSS feed button there too.

3. How can I use this RSS feed button? It gives me a URL like this:

https://yoursite/feed/timeline/chief-admin

Can I use this to make my personal profile timeline show inside a widget on a sitebuilder page somewhere? How? Should I paste in the whole URL as a link inside the RSS widget box?

And generally speaking, what is the best way to display a timeline that somehow captures most activity or all activity on the site for new visitors to see?

If the RSS thingy can be used for this, it should be a powerful way of highlighting the activities of certain active members, in places other than the particular profile page that is the source of the activities.

4. A timeline for the whole site is here:

https://yoursite/timeline

When I paste this as a link into a widget on a sitebuilder page, it just stays displayed as a link. Is there some way to make timeline contents display directly in a widget panel so that people don't have to click on a link to see the contents?

5. Documentation does not seem to give any overview of different ways to implement or display Timeline across a site. It is merely introduced as a module for Timelines that display on individual profile pages. Its real power may be as a tool that can (a) provide a window to the whole network, or (b) be used to highlight activities of certain groups or people in a network.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 02/10/18 02:21:01PM

1. when I come to YOUR profile and view YOUR timeline, I only see posts YOU have made. When I go to MY timeline I see all the posts of people I am following, ( like twitter )

you can use an RSS feed in an RSS feed reader if you wanted to get a feed of it. ex ning users like RSS feeds for various things. I don't use them so much.

timeline feeds can be pulled in the normal way, using {jrCore_list} and whatever parameters you want to set up.

Thanks... OK, I understand (1) now (though I don't use Twitter so the analogy doesn't help me).

But I need to study RSS more because I don't understand that well at all.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)

Twitter model: you blab whatever you like and whoever finds that interesting follows you so they get updated whenever you blab. Just because they follow you doesnt mean you have to follow them.

Facebook model: each must agree to receive what the other person blabs so its a back and forth relationship.

RSS: unless you know what it is already, you probably dont need it. Kind of like email.

I know what RSS is supposed to do, I think, but the mechanics of it elude me.

When we push an RSS button, are we meant to use the URL for whatever page immediately appears on screen? And then what are we supposed to do with that URL so that it is not just a link in page? If I paste it to a text editor, it is just like any other URL and becomes a page link. What is the name of the thing or place that an RSS URL is supposed to put into? .... mmm, now looking at the Wikipedia page on all this. It's called an RSS reader.

My aim is to have a sub tab in the main menu labelled "Activities", and then to choose and display activities from across the site on a page called "Activities".

Another possible place for this would be in a section of the top page (home page).

I think in Ning we learned that users like to see that a site is alive, with changing content, so that it is good to highlight an active area of the site, or to highlight areas that we want to be active.

Update.... jr documentation for RSS is here

/the-jamroom-network/documentation/modules/277/rss-feed-and-reader

So it is a multistep process, not just copy and paste....

"New RSS Feeds can be created in the Feed Reader Module".... Go to the module, and then it gets complicated because it seems we have to work through template codes and changing our skin before we can use the RSS widget system in site builder to show a RSS feed on a page of choice.


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 11/01/17 07:55:10AM

usually an RSS feed is so that sites other than your own can embed content from your site. It would be a little weird to embed an RSS feed that your site created somewhere on your site. ( because you have direct access to the info via jrCore_list so why would you bother turning it into an rss feed and limit your display options )

In the documentation there is a screenshot of the skin index.tpl page, and the following statement:

"screenshot of the template alterations needed to show the RSS feed."

What does this mean? Should every jrFeed_list item made in the Reader module be manually added to the skin index.tpl page at the particular position shown? How does that result in Feeds being displayed in different positions in our site?


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PJ Matthews, Kyoto
Migrated from Ning 2.0. Now at Jamroom 6 beta and using Jamroom Hosting for The Research Cooperative (researchcooperative.org)
updated by @researchcooperative: 11/12/17 01:29:08AM

I think it's an example. You would put that in a different position if you want it to appear somewhere else?


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¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Education, learning resources, TEL, AR/VR/MR, CC licensed content, panoramas, interactive narrative, sectional modules (like jrDocs), lunch at Uni of Bristol. Get in touch if you share my current interests or can suggest better :)