WordPress MU

Hi All - please forgive the complete numptiness of these questions - it's been a long last-24-hours.

So, I've got WPmu set up and the basic install running fine as a subdomains install version ( user.domain.com ) and none of the commonly reported issues have appeared thus far. What's next? The documentation seems pretty thin on that.

1. post-install lockdown - now here I've sort of ported things over from standalone WordPress which I'm fairly familiar with -
- Created a second (site) admin user (and remembered to add them to Site Admin -> Options ;) )
- Used the standard settings options to block search engines and sign-ups until the build is complete
... and so on.
But - I notice the wp-config-install.php (or whatever it is) is still sitting in my public_html/ root and that the root was 777 before I even started the upload let alone the install (is that normal?) - so, does anyone have an idiots guide to post-install files, folders, and permissions lock-down similar to the one that exists for regular WordPress? Would really appreciate a link (haven't found one yet) or an email with the text of it.

2. What to install next? - Out of habit, after the steps in Q1 above, I automatically used the plug-in finder to install Akismet as the first plug-in, then thought "hang on a mo", and checked a few things - it had installed in the /plugins/ folder and not /mu-plugins/ but was offering me the option to apply it site-wide.
Does that mean if I do that, that all blogs will be spam-protected under my wordpress.org API key, or will it request users to go get their own? (same question applies if I move it to /mu-plugins/ ).

2a - the real question of what to install next - the way I see it, once I've got my head around how plug-ins apply site-wide depending on which plugins folder they're in, relates to the overall site-build - I see it currently as needing one of two routes -
- Option 1 - Build the wpmu side first, complete with plugins and themes etc, validate and check all that and make sure it's running and playing nicely with itself, then, add buddyPress and do to bP what I've just done to wpmu, and then check the two of them and their plugins and themes are playing nicely together, then add bbPress and follow the whole process through again.
or
- Option 2 - Now that wpmu is installed, just add buddyPress and bbPress (all without any plugins or themes) and get them happy with each other, then add in the themes and plugins one by one, and test and check after each one to be sure everything is fine - seems a lot more work doing it this way round though.
... can any experienced wpmu-bP-bbP site builders give me tips and pointers on the best path forward from here?

Thanks in advance
Gaz

"But - I notice the wp-config-install.php (or whatever it is) is still sitting in my public_html/ root and that the root was 777 before I even started the upload let alone the install (is that normal?)"

It's normal for the install file to still sit there, yes. even for single WP. Delete it if you like. the 777 on the folder should be switched back to 755.

"does anyone have an idiots guide to post-install files, folders, and permissions lock-down similar to the one that exists for regular WordPress? Would really appreciate a link (haven't found one yet) or an email with the text of it."

hasn't been written yet. :)

"2. What to install next? - Out of habit, after the steps in Q1 above, I automatically used the plug-in finder to install Akismet as the first plug-in, then thought "hang on a mo", and checked a few things - it had installed in the /plugins/ folder and not /mu-plugins/ but was offering me the option to apply it site-wide.
Does that mean if I do that, that all blogs will be spam-protected under my wordpress.org API key, or will it request users to go get their own? (same question applies if I move it to /mu-plugins/ )."

Um, lots of answers to give here! :)
- the plugin install dumps things in the plugin folder
- do not put anything in mu-plugins unless the plugin specifically says to. Read this:
http://wpmututorials.com/plugins/the-mu-plugins-folder/

- Akismet in particular has a special case in MU installs. Go see here:
http://akismet.com/commercial/
and here -
http://wpmututorials.com/how-to/stopping-spam-comments-sitewide/
also see:
http://wpmututorials.com/how-to/spam-blogs-and-buddypress/

"Build the wpmu side first, complete with plugins and themes etc, validate and check all that and make sure it's running and playing nicely with itself, then, add buddyPress and do to bP what I've just done to wpmu, and then check the two of them and their plugins and themes are playing nicely together, then add bbPress and follow the whole process through again."

Buddypress is essentially just a plugin, uses its own special theme. Any other themes you add to WPMU will not affect the BP portion - only the blog. If BP is activated on the main blog (or sitewide) the theme on the main blog has to be a BP theme. bbpress will only share the userbase.

I would definitely go with Options 2 - no point in getting a the WPMU side all running nice them, adding in BP and finding out you have to undo a bunch of work. BP is the kicker here - it's big, it does a bunch of stuff, and it needs its own plugins for its own things (depending). So, start there.

You may also want to start with this series of pots:
http://wpmututorials.com/how-to/building-a-better-blog-host-week-1/
But, they are MU-specific. BP would be different in about half the info, because of the theme handling.

Thanks Andrea

I'm starting to rethink the whole project - WPMU is just such a nightmare to setup - I can't even get it to accept standard relative URLs for menu bar background images in the css - it simply refuses to recognise the images exist. I mean, just how difficult is it to get something like -
[code]
background: url(images/nav-button.gif);
[/code]
to work from the css file?

I've spend 12 hours today on that exact issue - never had problems like this with WP standalone.

Starting to look around other multi-user packages now. Just simply exhausted by WPMU and the sheer lack of documentation for even the simplest of tasks with it. I really appreciate all that you and Ron have done to try and support the package on your own sites and here in the forums, and you've written some great stuff, but it's the simplest little basics that are killing this project for me ... and that shows a fundamental flaw with the whole WPMU production philosophy - slow down the development and catch up with the documentation Matt!!

Remember, the job's not finished until the paperwork is done.

Gaz

hoping this is the best place for me to ask similar basics..

I've got an install up to try it out, have gone for the subdomain route so far, but are there advantages / disadvantages between the subdomain or directory choice other than just how the url looks ?

Must admit that I'm wondering whether wp mu is a step too far for me, but it sounds like the ideal thing for managing a big site that has common information but also location (subdomain or directory) specific.

"I can't even get it to accept standard relative URLs for menu bar background images in the css - it simply refuses to recognise the images exist."

I can't say I've ever had a problem in MU with this.

"slow down the development and catch up with the documentation Matt!!"

Um, Matt doesn't write the docs. :) The community does. There is a handbook being worked on, but committee style takes a while. matt doesn't do dev on mu either, if that helps.

Dunno why you were having an issues with the above - it works for me just dandy. Of course, knowing what *should* work helps troubleshoot things. :)
Check the images ownership & permissions, check your css in firebug. Could be a lot of things, it mostly depends. If you send me a link, I can at least go look becasue I know how it feels to work a few hours n something should work but just plain isn't.

@alanbliss we did have a few threads in here about that in regards to SEO etc... it depends on what you want.

@gazouteast - You're welcome.

We are really looking forward to the merge because we are hoping that people from the WP side of things will pitch in and help with the multiple blog documentation, etc. There have been a few people sprucing up the MU section of the codex in the last couple months :)