Web Design Forums

Mike Henson · 08-08-2005, 18:51

I want to share a Forum amongst the visitors of several websites.

Can anyone tell me how I can cloak/mask the URL so people don't realise they're being taken to another site

and

is this "trick" browser independent or does it only work with Internet Explorer.

Thank you

emil · 09-08-2005, 02:55

you want the address in the address bar to stay the same?
I can only think of frames. But then why would you want to lie to your visitors?

Transmogrify · 09-08-2005, 04:25

If you've got any control over the forum site, you could set up a couple of sub domains, say forum.blah.co.uk, forum.blahblah.co.uk and use that if you're trying to "brand" the forum across different sites. But hiding the URL in the first instance, like you see the phishers doing, will only work on the first click. Once they're on the site and click on any link, you'll be exposing the forum domain name.

Or like emil says, frames.. all sounds a bit suspicious though. Does it really matter? A URL is a URL... they'll find out one way or another. Best to be up front from the start.

Mike Henson · 09-08-2005, 17:28

Why do people always want to see the worst side?
I'm not trying to "lie", I'm not on a "phishing" expedition.

As I said I have a Forum which I want to "share" amongst several small community sites. Each community will click on what appears to be their forum, the url will say www.community/forum but in fact they will be going to central forum.

These communities couldn't sustain a Forum independently but they're very proud of their local identity. All I'm trying to do is to give them the best of both worlds.

pgo · 10-08-2005, 02:54

Hmmm...maybe you could include whatever forum script you having using PHP (or ASP, or whatever you want).

For example, the main forum (the only forum) could be at forum.something.com.

Then, blah1.com/forum, blah2.com/forum, blah3.com/forum, and so on, could use includes to pull forum.something.com in.

I'm not the person to talk to about programming, though. If that's what you're looking for (to have the same forum show on multiple sites) then includes might be the solution.

emil · 10-08-2005, 03:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Henson

Why do people always want to see the worst side?
I'm not trying to "lie", I'm not on a "phishing" expedition.

Relax, nobody is acusing you. However, not telling the truth is just about the same thing as lying, don't you think?

Just take your visitors to the forum, and don't bother about changing the adress, at least that's what I'd do.

Transmogrify · 10-08-2005, 05:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Henson

Why do people always want to see the worst side?
I'm not trying to "lie", I'm not on a "phishing" expedition.

As I said I have a Forum which I want to "share" amongst several small community sites. Each community will click on what appears to be their forum, the url will say www.community/forum but in fact they will be going to central forum.

These communities couldn't sustain a Forum independently but they're very proud of their local identity. All I'm trying to do is to give them the best of both worlds.

Could you use a completely neutral/independent URL for all the communities? I think either that, a frame or using a subdomain forum.community.x are your only options. Not 100% sure how successful a subdomain would be with a forum though. Depends on the forum though.. some might be reliant on a URL but all the same.. could be worth a go. Other than that, you're pretty much stuffed.

08-08-2005, 18:51	#1 (permalink)
Mike Henson Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Wycombe. UK Posts: 8	URL Cloaking/Masking I want to share a Forum amongst the visitors of several websites. Can anyone tell me how I can cloak/mask the URL so people don't realise they're being taken to another site and is this "trick" browser independent or does it only work with Internet Explorer. Thank you

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09-08-2005, 02:55	#2 (permalink)
emil dt immigrant Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bucharest - Romania Posts: 7,482	you want the address in the address bar to stay the same? I can only think of frames. But then why would you want to lie to your visitors?

09-08-2005, 04:25	#3 (permalink)
Transmogrify Rough Creep Arse™ Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,888	If you've got any control over the forum site, you could set up a couple of sub domains, say forum.blah.co.uk, forum.blahblah.co.uk and use that if you're trying to "brand" the forum across different sites. But hiding the URL in the first instance, like you see the phishers doing, will only work on the first click. Once they're on the site and click on any link, you'll be exposing the forum domain name. Or like emil says, frames.. all sounds a bit suspicious though. Does it really matter? A URL is a URL... they'll find out one way or another. Best to be up front from the start.

09-08-2005, 17:28	#4 (permalink)
Mike Henson Registered User Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: West Wycombe. UK Posts: 8	Why do people always want to see the worst side? I'm not trying to "lie", I'm not on a "phishing" expedition. As I said I have a Forum which I want to "share" amongst several small community sites. Each community will click on what appears to be their forum, the url will say www.community/forum but in fact they will be going to central forum. These communities couldn't sustain a Forum independently but they're very proud of their local identity. All I'm trying to do is to give them the best of both worlds.

10-08-2005, 02:54	#5 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,340	Hmmm...maybe you could include whatever forum script you having using PHP (or ASP, or whatever you want). For example, the main forum (the only forum) could be at forum.something.com. Then, blah1.com/forum, blah2.com/forum, blah3.com/forum, and so on, could use includes to pull forum.something.com in. I'm not the person to talk to about programming, though. If that's what you're looking for (to have the same forum show on multiple sites) then includes might be the solution.

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