Competition Setup

PicInch can be re-configured as a standalone website for a public photography competition.

Currently, configuration as a competition requires more effort than needed for a normal gallery. For an example, see the site-competition folder with the application source on GitHub.

Users

For a competition, PicInch gives users with the following roles access to entries:

admin or curator Can see all details of entries, including email addresses.

member Acts as competition manager. Can see entrants name but not email address.

friend Acts as judge. Can see entry titles, descriptions and media, but not entrants names and email addresses.

Configuration Parameters

Two parameter settings are required in configuration.yml:

options: main-comp Enables web pages to select a competition class, get the competition entry form, and validate an email address. Also adds a menu item for authenticated users, allowing selection of competition entries.

home-switch: classes Replaces the default gallery home page with the classes that an entrant can select to get an entry form. Alternatively, home-switch: info-competition could be set to show a static page about the competition. This page should have a link to the classes page.

home-switch could also be set to other static pages: a holding page before the competition has started, or a results page when the competition has ended.

Other parameters are required to enable validation of entrants’ email addresses (see below).

Templates

The following templates should be defined:

menu-public Set this to replace the default menu items shown to public visitors. At a mimimum, set the name of the home entry to something appropriate instead of “GALLERY” and add an item for “CLASSES”. Static pages for competition rules and other information can be added. Omit the default “LOGIN” and “SIGN-UP” items.

menu-friend Defines the menu items shown to users registered as friends, typically judges.

menu-member Defines the menu items shown to users registered as members, typically competition managers.

(For sample menu definitions, see menu.partial.tmpl.)

Other templates allow customisation and will probably need to be defined:

classesIntro Text at the head of the classes page.

emailValidatedPage Content shown to an entrant when they click on the validation link sent to them by email.

signupPage Content shown to friends (judges) and members (managers) when they sign-up.

siteStyle Link to the site stylesheet. The default gallery style is deliberately plain, and a more lively appearance will probably be needed for a competition. (See site-04.css for an example.)

(See site.partial.tmpl for an example of competition customisation.)

These templates customise the competition entry form:

compAgreeContent Revised text to agree the media submitted.

compAgreeRules Revised text to agree the competition rules.

compCaption Explanatory text for the entry caption field.

compEmail Explanatory text for the entrant’s email address field.

compEnd Text at the bottom of the entry form.

compName Explanatory text for the entrant’s name field.

compFooter The footer of the entry form, for organisation information and formal notices.

compIntro Text at the head of the entry form.

compLocation Explanatory text for the entrant’s location field.

compPhoto Explanatory text for the photo or video field.

compTitle Explanatory text for the entry title field.

(See comp.partial.tmpl for an example of form customisation.)

These templates customise the validation email:

emailHtml HTML body for the email.

emailPlain Plaintext body for the email.

emailSubject Subject for the email.

(See validation-email.partial.tmpl for an example of a validation email.)

Email Address Validation

A website that accepts public entries may be given any email address, not necessarily owned by the person submitting a possibly bogus entry. So it is desirable to validate each entry by sending an email with an entry-specific link to be clicked by the entrant.

Entries are not tagged for viewing by judges until they have been validated. Entries not validated within a time limit are deleted.

Picinch can be configured to use an email transmission service:

email-host SMTP service address. If set to mailgun, an API to the MailGun service is used instead of SMTP. If blank, validation is not required.

email-password Service password.

email-port SMTP port. (Default 587.)

email-user Service username.

max-unvalidated-age Time allowed for an entry to be validated. (Default 48h.)

reply-to Email reply address.

sender Sending email address.

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