LiveConnect Platform
A introduction to the LiveConnect Community Platform
HiveLive Lesson
Types provide the structure in the LiveConnect platform's semi-structured data. You can think of them as "Post Templates." A "recipe" does not have the same data structure as a "blog post" or a "wine review", and Types offer a way to treat them differently.
Types are made up of multiple Fields, which are containers for different kinds of data. A Text field is a container for Text data. A Date field recognizes familiar date formats as date objects. HiveLive currently supports 18 different Field types. Read about them in more detail here
Note that there are occasions when a Member might reasonably place specific data in a more general field. For example, an image is usually placed in the Image Field Type, but in some cases it may be preferable to include the image inline as part of a larger HTML or Textile Field (e.g., in the middle of a long Blog post). Links are possible in HTML and Textile, too. Should an author use a separate Field Type for a link, or place it inline with HTML or Textile? The answer at times involves considering a trade-off:
- Using larger, free-flowing HTML or Textile Fields is relatively easy, often displays well, and offers up-front flexibility.
- Using specific Field Types, however, will enable deeper tagging, searching, and organization down the road.
A Type "belongs" to the Application in which it lives. So if a Member copies a Type to a new Application, they have actually created a new, separate instance of the Type. Despite a shared name and lineage, they can be edited independently from one another.
More detail is available here
Below: a sample Type editing page
Comments
Do you think less web savvy users will know how to create their own post types when they start their own groups? is it possible to have default post types and remove the ability to create/edit post types all together? this feature seems great for advanced users but unnecessary for the masses.
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In most communities the number of actual "builders" (those who create Hives and Types) is quite small, and that is to be expected. We see it a bit like the 90-9-1 Theory of Participation Inequality, but in addition to classifying contributors, we'd add builders to the mix.
In HiveLive-powered communities, the ability to build (e.g., create Hives and Types) is actually a power that not all members need to have. Some community owners choose to hand that power out carefully, others raise the ceiling and let members self-select. Most often, those who choose to just post and comment, never have to think about creating or editing Types.
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Is there already a place where we can find and contribute good or useful templates/types??
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However, there are existing options for finding the Types within a community. You can use the advanced search functionality to search for only Types (click the "advanced" link next to the search box up top, then the "Types" link to search for only Types). Alternately, you can fish a hidden Types list, sorted by popularity, from the application. Visit http://[name].hivelive.com/types. Note that the visibility of Types is tied to the Hives that they live in - so you can only view the Types within the Hives you have permission to see.
As a historical note, early versions of the HiveLive application listed community wide Types on the homepage, and in general we showed Types much more prominently than we do now. Early user feedback convinced us to hide them somewhat, and we've been working incrementally since then to bring back Type visibility where and to whom it is appropriate.
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The short answer is no.
It's possible to "kind of" do a survey by creating a Hive as a 'dropbox' - where many people can post/author but only one (or a few) can read the responses. If the Post Types contain structured elements like select boxes, radio buttons, etc. then a loose survey can be run. However, there is not an easy way to aggregate the results, so the use-case is ony practical for a very small audience.
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We' really need this!!! (There's nothing more boring than seeing a list of titles and pdf links. I'd much rather see the slide itself and be able to click and view it.. Also any of our members already USE this site to post their slides...
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