What is SWCMS?

Social Web CMS (SWCMS) is a mature, full-featured, and open source social news application written in PHP and utilizing a MySQL backend. From the web newbie looking for a simple way to enter the playing field to advanced developers hoping to drive social news to the next level, SWCMS is your best source for full, free, and actively developed social news applications. 

Social Web CMS Features

• SOCIAL CONTENT:
  • User Submitted Articles.
  • Vote/Bury Articles.
  • Threaded Comments.
  • Comment Rating.
  • Live AJAX Activity Page.
• CUSTOMIZABLE CONTENT:
  • Sort Submitted Content For Easy Discovery.
  • Automatic RSS Feed Creation for Site Sections and Categories.
  • Automatic RSS Feeds for Each User.
• SOCIAL NETWORKING:
  • Member Profiles.
  • Private Messaging.
• SECURITY:
  • Anti Spam Features Built-In.
  • URL Blocklist.
• ADVANCED ADMINISTRATION:
  • Administrator’s Control Panel.
  • RSS Content Importer.
• CUSTOMIZATION:
  • Smarty Template Engine.
  • Search Engine Friendly.
  • Multi Language Support.
• EXTENSIBLE:
  • Addon Module Support.

System Requirements?
SWCMS can be run with minimal development knowledge. Almost any webhost will be able to handle SWCMS without issues. For those interested in the technical requirements, SWCMS requires:

• PHP 4.3.0 or Higher.
• MySQL Server.

Main plugins :
- Admin user manager
- Partnership manager
- Theme manager (with previews)
- Plugin manager (enable/disable, delete/add plugins)
- Theme and plugin packager : share your themes and plugins by providing a simple package !
- Adsense manager : add adsense program to your website easily
- Database Save&Restore
- URL rewrite manager

2 differents themes are available by default.

Now onto the fun stuff. 8.03 introduces many new features:
Portability
Even though I have tested the previous beta release on different server configurations, some people still ran into trouble setting it up. 8.03 should work on any server that is capable of running PHP 5.2+ (with GD module) and MySQL database. Mod_rewrite dependency has been removed (although it’s still highly recommended).
Improved torrent tracker backend support
The previous beta worked only with a modified XBTT tracker. This release supports almost any possible tracker backend. Running a public tracker? Use OpenTracker. Don’t have GCC access? Use PHP tracker. Server load problems? Use XBTT. Furthermore, you are able to configure Diferior to work with anonymous public (a.k.a external) trackers, e.g. denis.stalker.h3q.com or open.tracker.thepiratebay.org. Not only will this relieve your server from IP-address crunching duty, it might also add another layer of legal safety, so to speak (*cough*).
Tagging
You will now be able to assign tags to blog posts and downloads. A significant addition for sites with loads of content. No longer will you have to decide which single category your submission best represents. Simply add some keywords to the tags field and it’s all good.
Anonymous comments
Encouraging users to express themselves is essential for any growing community. Anonymous commenting is sort of “try before you buy” solution, allowing users to easily voice themselves on a particular matter, without going through a (~minute long) registration process.
IP-address hashing
With this option turned on, Diferior will hash client IP-addresses, instead of storing them in plain text. Since hashes are impossible to decrypt, your users will feel much safer about their privacy. Note that server configuration is still up to the server administrator, as it’s way out of any regular WEB CMS’s league.
Improved templating
While Diferior has a sophisticated templating system, introducing and distributing quick hacks to existing skins can be cumbersome. 8.03 has some improvements in it’s template handling system which allow inclusions of extra stylesheets for current templates, thus enabling designers to code their own layouts and color schemes without messing with HTML or Smarty tags.
Forums improvements
With forum search, “quote” and “edit post” buttons it is now much easier to follow and participate in discussions. There are also some minor UI fixes, that make forums so much more fun to use.
Private messaging
This one was probably among top-requested features. Well, it’s finally here. You can send, receive and reply to private messages, engage into personal conversations with other users or simply notify members of something. In case you’re concerned about your users flooding each other, don’t – there’s a customizable PM box limit, as well as anti-flood control system.
Bugfixes, other tweaks
There’s a lengthy changelog in the README file, that is attached to the download archive. Many small tweaks and fixes in this release. You can check it out, if you’re a sucker for details