Theia 1.0.0b7 introduced a "generator" utility. While we intend on adding additional functionality to the generator so that it can generate all sorts of content, right now the generator is used solely for automatically creating member accounts.

 

Well, not "automatically", since you need to run the tool, but doing so will add members to your site in no time! ;)

 

Obviously, this is not for everyone. Some people don't like to cheat, but whether or not we like it, the fact is many webmasters like to create fake accounts on their site to give the impression of a larger member database. In any event, this is fairly common practice, and since we already devised the tool to do for our demo site, why not include it with Theia? ;)

 

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How can I find the generator tool?

 

The generator is currently (as of 1.0.0b7) found under the "miscellaneous" tools, and can also be found directly by running admin tool 233.

 

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How do I use the generator tool?

 

First of all, you need to configure your sexes/genders to match those stated. You are probably wondering what the point of this is, since it can seem kinda pointless. The sexes stated in the left side of the table are those taken from the generator database, and the selectable fields on the right are those which you have in your Theia installation. Since Theia uses configurable sexes (meaning not everyone's installation of Theia will have the same options for "sex", since some sites may add a "transexual" option), you need to match them up to what the generator database expects (consult building on the generator). The distribution generator database contains just two sexes (male and female), but it is possible to create & release your own generator database containing additional sexes - that is why you need to configure the sexes from the generator database with those configured in your Theia installation! All you need to know is, if it says "male" on the left, select "male" on the right - it's not rocket science.

 

Next is an area of three different elements (avatars, profiles, rolls) underneath a heading of "generation priority order". It might also be a good idea to consult the "building on the generator" article to get a good grounding of what these really mean. To summarize, the generator database consists of several files and a directory of images to use as avatars. When the generator is run, all these files are read in, and they are all hooked up together - in a somewhat random fashion - by matching avatars with rolls (usernames and sexes) and profiles (introduction text that goes on the profile). By specifying the priority of avatars at the top of the list, you are telling the generator to start reading from the avatars first and work down from there - which is optimal when you are trying to create lots of people and retain a higher degree of uniqueness to avatars. It's also a way of saying "whatever special tags the avatar image has are now going to be required in rolls and profiles". If you are confused and don't want to take the time to understand how the generator works, just try playing with different orderings; maybe you'll find a method you prefer, and maybe you won't notice a thing.

 

Last, but definitely not least, you need to create one or more demographics. A demographic is simply a description of what types of members you would like to generate. Do you want only males? Are you a bigot after only people of the Aryan race? Are you running an Asian based hookup site that wants primarily Asian members? And how old do you want the members that you generate to be? Some might prefer only young members, while running a senior citizen oriented site makes more sense to create some old fogies.

 

Unless you have one or more demographics added which contains a number of people to generate, the "run generator" button will not appear.

 

Because an awful lot of processing goes on both when generating the pseudo people and actually creating them, resizing the avatars and so forth, you are encouraged to start with a low number first - try 10 people and if it doesn't take long at all, go for a hundred, or even a thousand. Please keep in mind your PHP setup must have a high max_execution_time when generating lots of people in one go!