=== Plugin Name ===
Author: WP Symposium
Contributors: Simon Goodchild
Donate link: http://www.wpsymposium.com
Link: http://www.wpsymposium.com
Tags: social network, social networking, wp-symposium, symposium, forum, social, chat, friends, wall, status, message, registration, directory, groups, events, foreign language, french, german, italian, dutch, spanish
Requires at least: 3.0
Tested up to: 4.0
Stable tag: 14.11

Social Networking for WordPress: profile page, forum, activity, friends, member directory, mail, chat, groups, events, gallery, mobile and more!

== Description ==

**WP Symposium turns a WordPress website into a Social Network! It is a WordPress plugin that provides a forum, activity (similar to Facebook wall), member directory, private mail, notification panel, chat windows, profile page, social widgets, activity alerts, RSS activity feeds, Groups, Events, Gallery, Facebook Connect and Mobile support! You simply choose which you want to activate! Certain features are optional to members to protect their privacy.**

For developers, there are a growing number of WordPress hooks and filters, along with classes, WP Symposium functions and Javascript variables.

Note: The Core WP Symposium plugin from WordPress.org is free (that includes profile, activity, forum, mail, member directory and widgets) - additional "Bronze" WP Symposium features can be purchased. They are included in the download so you can try them out on your site, and also at the request of existing users so that all get updated together.

Find out more, and try it out on our own social network at www.wpsymposium.com.

*Three steps to create a Social Network website*

1. Download WordPress
2. Install WP Symposium

erm, sorry - only two steps.

*What do you get?*

A set of features, that can be used individually or all together, to produce a social networking website built on WordPress.

You can activate a member profile page with activity wall and posts/replies; member profile photos (avatars), make friendships (and followers), activate a forum, add a directory of members and send/receive internal (private) messaging.

And there are "Bronze" features for even more functionality - live chat windows, Groups, Events, Facebook Shared Status, Photo Albums and Mobile Access.

These are included in the package installation so you can try them on your site (a small banner is shown while you are trying out the Bronze plugins which is removed with an Activation Code if you subscribe to the Bronze subscription at www.wpsymposium.com/membership).

Oh, and you also get widgets, with more to come, including latest new members, friends status updates, who is online and latest forum posts.

*Can I change the layout and styles?*

Certainly can! Templates are provided for you to change the layout, and an easy-to-use style configuration (or way to enter CSS if you prefer) is provided to change the styles.

*How is it configured?*

WP Symposium will work with any WordPress theme! No complicated theme development, and no complicated styles - you can even pick the colour scheme in the WordPress admin area!

Via crowdin website at www.crowdin.net/project/symposium, a growing number of translations are being maintained by an active user base, so running WP Symposium in a different language is easily set up.

*What else is there?*

Loads! Smilies, loves AJAX, an installation "health check" page, templates for changing the page layout, options for just about everything... the list goes on!

Find out more, and try it out on our own social network at www.wpsymposium.com.
  
*Can I see what features are coming next?*

The development roadmap is directed by users! Anyone can see what's coming next, and Bronze members can vote, at http://www.wpsymposium.com/voting

*Where can I get support?*

At www.wpsymposium.com forum, and for subscribers via a helpdesk.

== Installation ==

More information is available at www.wpsymposium.com, and an admin guide is available at https://dl.dropbox.com/u/49355018/wps.pdf.

Important - after activating for the first time, and after changing any WP Symposium shortcodes, make sure you visit the WP Symposium -> Installation page that updates internal paths.

As with all upgrades to any system, it is recommended that you take a backup of the database and website first.
Tested with PHP 5.

*Automatic installation*

* go to Plugins->Add New and search for "Symposium"
* click on Install below WP-Symposium
* activate the plugins you want to use (core plugin MUST remain activated)
* important - go to the Installation page to complete the setup

*Manual installation*

* download from wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-symposium/
* unzip the contents of the ZIP file in your /wp-content/plugins folder
* important - go to the Installation page to complete the setup

*Getting latest version*

Nightly builds and release candidates are available at www.wpsymposium.com/downloadinstall which can be installed using the manual process above.

*Adding WP Symposium plugins to your site*

Full instructions are available via www.wpsymposium.com (see the blog for the admin guide, hints and tips, etc.

== Screenshots ==

1. Member Wall
2. Friends
3. Profile Photo
4. Custom extended information
5. Mail
6. Forum Categories
7. Forum Topic
8. Edit Forum Post
9. Smilies/Emoticons
10. Friends online status
11. Site-wide chatroom
12. Latest Forum Posts widget
13. New Members widget
14. Yes/No Vote widget
15. Easily change styles

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

Q. Where can I find more information?
A. Go to www.wpsymposium.com for a demo and an active community of users. Visit www.wpswiki.com for further information and an admin guide.

Q. Can I try it out?
A. Yep, go to www.wpsymposium.com

Q. Is WP Symposium covered by the GPL license?
A. Yes, for sure. Everything listed on the WordPress directory is covered by the GPL v3 licence. There may be other plugins that are compatible with WP Symposium that are sold commercially, but what is provided via the download at www.wordpress.org will always be covered by the GPL licence.

Q. What's the one thing I probably haven't done?
A. Visited the Installation page to update WP Symposium's internal paths. Check out www.wpswiki.com, in particular the "Try this first" page.

Q. The admin side works, but the forum (or another plugin) doesn't appear?
A. Check you have `[symposium-forum]` on your page, with a hyphen, not an underscore. Replace `[symposium-forum]` with the shortcode of the plugin.

Q. I've done that, but the forum (or another plugin) still doesn't appear?
A. Have you put `[symposium-forum]` on a WordPress page, not an HTML file? 

Q. It all looks okay, but I just get a spinning "please wait" symbol?
A. Read the "Try this first" page at www.wpswiki.com, if that still doesn't help visit www.wpsymposium.com. You almost certainly have a Javascript problem.

Q. Can I use other languages?
A. There are a growing number of translations available to use at www.crowdin.net (see www.wpsymposium.com for further instructions). From v0.58 support for non-Western character sets was introduced (needs a fresh v0.58+ installation).

Q. Are there images other than the usual smilies?
A. Yes, if you look in the smilies folder you can use any of the images there by putting {{xxx}} around the first part of the filename, eg: {{rofl}} would show rofl.png - to see the full list, go to the Smilies page at www.wpsymposium.com.

Q. Will WP Symposium work on WPMU/WPMS?
A. Yes, WordPress Multi-site is supported, although it is not as widely used as the single site installation.

Q. I don't see friends when they're online, can't edit forum posts or read all mail in my inbox. I see stuff, but not much works...
A. Sounds like AJAX isn't working, probably due to a Javascript error. Check out the "Try this first" page at www.wpswiki.com.

Q. There used to be a login and registration plugin, where did they go?
A. After consultation with users, the majority voted to leave authentication to WordPress or other plugins such as Theme-My-Login, however in hindsight it can be introduced in a more strategic manner. There is now a sidebar widget that allows members to login, or show links to the register/forgotten password WordPress pages. Once logged in, the user can see how any messages (including those unread) and friends (including new friend requests), etc with the same widget.

Q. How can I get rid of the Powered By message?
A. Use the Templates via WP Admin -> WP Symposium -> Templates.

Q. Because of all the nice AJAX, how can I get content submitted to search engines?
A. There is a BETA (installation page) to use permalinks, all feedback welcome! Check out the Mobile/SEO/Accessibility plugin at www.wpsymposium.com

Q. Which plugins may require a subscription fee?
A. Currently the Groups, Facebook Connect, Events, Gallery, Mobile/SEO, Profile Plus and RSS Activity Feed require a Bronze membership at www.wpsymposium.com - all can be tried out at www.wpsymposium.com

Q. If I take out a Bronze membership and I decide I don't want WP Symposium, can I get a refund?
A. If the plugins don't work on your server, with TwentyEleven theme and all non-WPS plugins de-activated, then you will get a full refund, less any PayPal fees.

Q. What happens if I cancel my Bronze membership?
A. After cancellation, you will no longer be able to download upgrades/patches or new plugins (that are provided to Bronze members) from www.wpsymposium.com. You can continue to use those plugins you have on your site, and upgrade the core WP Symposium plugins from www.wordpress.org. You may want to wait until the end of your year to benefit from membership for as long as possible. You will not be able to access your helpdesk account after cancelling.

Q. How much does Bronze membership cost?
A. $39 a year - if you don't want to continue your membership please cancel your PayPal subscription. You may want to wait until the end of your year to benefit from membership for as long as possible. You can continue to use Bronze plugins installed on your site even after you cancel (you just can't upgrade or get new ones).

Q. What is Silver membership?
A. For $59 a year, we will do a full install on your server (if it won't work for any reason you get a full refund, less any PayPal fees). Any support tickets raised by Silver members will take priority over Bronze members.

Q. What is Gold membership?
A. Lifetime membership! For $99, you get what the Bronze and Silver members get and nothing else to pay!

Q. Where can I find copyright and licence information?
A. The plugin is copyright WP Symposium Ltd, published under the GPL3 licence. For the end user licence agreement, please see licence.txt within the plugin download.

== Changelog ==

From WP Symposium's first introduction to the WordPress repository, right up to now, releases are regularly made following the release cycle. The best way to keep abreast of changes is via the release notes at http://www.wpsymposium.com/blog - they are important to read as they provide information on each release.
To see what's coming next (members can vote!) take a look at http://www.wpsymposium.com/voting.
Recent changes are included in the plugin as release.txt

== Upgrade Notice ==

Latest news and information on http://www.wpsymposium.com/blog, also posted on WP Symposium Facebook Group, Twitter account and LinkedIn.
