Telligent Community Server's business rules allow you to customize your site with points and achievements without writing a line of code or requiring the skills of a programmer.
Table of Contents
Rule basics
What a rule is
A rule is an automatic action that Community Server performs in response to platform triggers and conditions specified in the Rules tab of the Control Panel. For example, you could award a number of points for publishing a blog post. Or you could send a congratulatory email for liking a piece of content. There are many scenarios that can be accomplished with rules.
A rule is composed of three parts:
- Triggers.
- Conditions.
- Actions.
When the trigger occurs, the condition(s) is/are evaluated and then, if met, the action(s) are executed. In addition, a rule can enabled or disabled as necessary.
Guidelines
Simple rules follow this format:
When {trigger}, if {condition}, then {action}.
For example: When a blog post is created, if the blog post author is an admin, then mark the post as featured content.
As rules get more complex, it's possible to specify multiple conditions to be evaluated and/or multiple actions to be executed. In the case of multiple conditions, all conditions must be met in order for each action to be executed. Complex rules follow this format:
When {trigger}, if {condition} [and if {condition} ...], then {action} [and {action}...].
For example: When a forum thread is created, if the thread type is a question and if the forum is moderated, then {email the author} and {action}.
Finally, in some cases, there is no condition to evaluate. The rule will simply execute an action every time the trigger occurs. Conditionless rules follow this format:
When {trigger}, then {action}.
For example: When a user registers, then give the new user 100 points.
Please note that there are no remove triggers for likes, ratings, bookmarks, mentions, and comments. This means that you can't decrement a user's point score for a removed like, mention, or bookmark.
Or and Not
"Not" statements are supported in the conditions (is, is not). "Or" statements should be supported by separate rules (If condition A, execute action 1; another rule If condition b, execute action 2).
Rule creation and use
Creating a rule
In the Control Panel, rules can be created in the Site Configuration > Rules tab. This Control Panel page walks you through the process of selecting the appropriate trigger, conditions, and actions and then configuring the individual parts to meet your requirements. Rules use triggers that are furnished in Community Server as plugins, for example, the Rule Trigger - Blog Post Created plugin.These plugins are enabled by default.
Using a rule
Some reputation features, including point and achievement awards, are entirely managed by rules the admin creates - specifying whom to give how many points under which condition for what action. While the details of achievements are created in a separate administration area, rules you create determine how the achievement is granted.
How can I extend the rules wizard/engine/feature?
The APIs for rules are listed in the developer documentation.