What if we make a plugin using (or developing) the best plugins of discourse for the concept of earning money from the site?

I am looking to collaborate with someone who can accomplish this task at a reasonable fee. Although I have provided a detailed explanation below, I believe it will be a relatively simple plugin. Nevertheless, it will be highly beneficial for my project in its initial stages. The sole feature I aim to incorporate is the storage of “Discourse Gamification” points (earned individually) in a separate, hidden area for each user (e.g., User_wallet), and the subsequent addition of these points to this hidden area upon the purchase of subscription plans. This approach will prevent any interference with the existing “Discourse Gamification” points, ensuring that any future updates to the settings will not retroactively alter the points. Meanwhile, the points earned through activities facilitated by this plugin will continue to be credited to the users.


My goal is to create alternative sources of money for the site and to motivate activity on the site.

I really wanted users to be able to add money to the site and donate this money to other users. For example, when someone asks a question, many people may need the answer to this question. People who want can add donations to solve this problem and when this question is answered, the donation made to the topic can be sent to both the person who asked the question and the person who gave the correct answer. There are details, I will write about them in a moment, but this is the logic in short.

I am opening this topic because when I wanted to have a plugin written, I got a price equal to my 5-year income and this will never be possible (if I don’t eat, drink and pay my bills, it will take 6 years). I found a more affordable solution. It is easy to implement and requires the biggest plugins of Discourse to work together. There are already plugins that offer the features we will need. We can use every feature with a simple plugin.

Plugins we will need:

  • Discourse Gamification
  • Discourse Subscriptions
  • Discourse Solved
  • Discourse Post Voting

The first plugin we will need here (and the most important one) is “Discourse Gamification”. This plugin can be developed or we can create a new plugin. The whole system will work on the points in this system. The points can be converted into money. Then, thanks to the plans purchased with the “Discourse Subscriptions” plugin, we will have the user add points automatically. Thus, we will realize the additional source of income for the site with the subscription plugin. The user’s score is updated in the background according to the subscription plan purchased. Thus, money can be entered into the site and users can convert these points into money whenever they want. The earning system will start working when the operating expenses are taken while receiving points or converting points into money. Do not forget that the money-making system will revitalize your community.

Now that we understand the subject a little, I am listing the expected features of the plugin to be made. I wrote in detail, it is suitable for the first version, but I definitely have many new ideas for development:


Plugin feature in short: When each user enters a topic, they should be able to add point donations to the donation vault of that topic with the “discourse-gamification” points they have collected.

1.1: Topic vault and point donations to the topic
1.2: Each topic will have a vault (can be custom fields)
1.3: When users enter a topic, there will be a “donate button” above the title. The total amount of donations made to that topic will be displayed next to the button.
1.4: When the user clicks the “donate” button, a modal screen will open and the user will be able to add as many points as they want from the “discourse-gamification” plugin to the topic vault.
1.4.1: On the modal screen:
1.4.1.1: The user’s total points will be shown on the left. And there will be a link below where they can buy new points. When the user clicks on this link, they will go to the link I will specify. This page should open in a new window.
1.4.1.2: On the right, there will be a field where the points they will donate will be entered. There will be a point amount such as 5,10,20,30 above the point entry field and when the user clicks on any of them, it will be automatically written to the point entry section. (the aim is for the user to fill in the amount of points by simply clicking on the amount there without writing)
1.4.1.2.1: After entering the points, when the “confirm donation” button is clicked at the bottom, the points earned by the user with the “discourse-gamification” plugin will be added to the topic vault and the amount of points added will be subtracted from the points earned with the “discourse-gamification” plugin.

1.4.1.2.2: After the donation is approved, the “donate button” in the topic and the donation amount next to it will be updated: The “donate” button will be changed to “edit donation”.

1.5: When the user clicks the “edit donation” button, the modal will open and a field will appear where they can edit the amount of donation they made to the topic. This page will be the same as the “donate” design, the only difference is that the amount of donation they made will come ready and editable. The differences created by the approval made after the corrections will be reflected in the topic vault and the points the user earned with “discourse-gamification”.

1.6: Every point donation made to the topic will be kept in a table in detail. Date, time, topic information, user information, amount of points made, previous point amount of the topic, amount of the topic after donation, previous point amount of the user, amount of the user after donation, etc. If you think of something I forgot, you can add it.

1.7: The last 10 donations made to the topic should be listed under the first message. The amount of donation, the user who donated and the date. If more donations have been made, the “all” link should be added under the list and when clicked, everyone who donated with the modal, the amount of donation and the time should be listed.

2.1: If the topic is marked as “solved” with the “discourse_solved” plugin
2.2: In this section, if the topic is marked as solved with the “discourse_solved” plugin, the points in the safe will be sent to the user of the message that opened the topic and marked as solved with the “discourse_solved” plugin.

2.3: The points in the safe of the topic should be distributed between the two users as follows: 30% should go to the person who opened the topic, 60% to the user of the message marked as solved with the “discourse_solved” plugin. 10% should go to the user I will specify. We can specify the user while coding. (In the future, the user can be entered from the admin section.)
2.4: After the points are distributed, a notification should be sent to the topic owner and the user of the message marked as solved with the “discourse_solved” plugin, and a message should be added stating the number of points earned. If no donation has been made to the topic, users should not be notified via this plugin.

3.1: User profile:
3.2: Two tabs will be created in the user profile, and these tabs will list the point donations made by the user and the point donations received. (Donation amount: can be listed as topic title and topic link, donation date and time.)


My thoughts for the next version:

  • Every donation made and every point shared in the solved questions should be listed in detail from the admin panel. We should be able to examine and provide additional protection against possible spam or fraud with cancellation/correction/approval options.

  • There may be an extra setting in the admin for those who do not want to use the points collected with the “gam” plugin in the money-making system. Thus, a separate special area is added to the user and their points are processed in this area. The points earned with the “gam” plugin can be used for different purposes.

  • When there is more than one correct answer/good answer in a topic, a share can be given from the collected donations. For example, a share can be given from the donation points in the topic as much as the positive votes it receives. (Those who get more than 3 votes can meet this criterion and are given points as much as the number of votes)

  • I also want this very much: Adding a donation for each message: When a user likes an answer (including the message of the topic creator), a donation should be made to this user instantly. Instead of donating to the topic, they can donate to a message they wrote to a user of their choice. (The topic should be processed without waiting for it to be marked as solved)

  • That’s all for now…

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