Concept Explanation for Developer: “What’s Active Now?” Widget (Sngine) Purpose Add a lightweight content curation feature to Sngine without replacing the chronological feed. The widget will display the 5 most active/popular posts at the moment, encouraging engagement, visibility, and interaction. This is not a heavy algorithm; it’s an algorithm-light signaling feature to promote activity in a platform without any feed algorithm. Location Top of the homepage / main feed Always visible above the chronological timeline Display Horizontal slider or fixed cards (max. 5 items) User-controlled navigation (no autoplay) Click on an item → direct link to the post Each item displays: Post title or first line (max X characters) Number of comments Optional subtle icon Optional timestamp (e.g., “active today”) Defining “Popular” Not like-driven, but interaction-driven. Example scoring system: score = (number of comments × 3) + (number of likes × 1) + recency_bonus Where: Comments are weighted higher than likes Only posts with activity in the last 24–48 hours are included Optionally, unique participants count more than total reactions This prevents spam and rewards genuine engagement. Data Sources (Sngine) posts posts_likes posts_comments users (optional for filtering) timestamps (created_at / updated_at) Querying can be done via: Custom SQL JOINs Or PHP logic layered on top of the existing Sngine feed Technical Approach (Recommended) Backend Custom function/module (avoid core overrides) Periodic query (e.g., every 5–10 minutes) Cache results (Redis / file cache / DB cache) Frontend HTML/CSS component above the feed Lightweight JS slider (e.g., Swiper.js or custom) Mobile-first, swipe-friendly cards Administration & Control Optional but recommended: Admin can pin 1 item manually Admin can temporarily disable the widget Fallback: hide the widget if there are too few active posts What This Concept Intentionally Does NOT Do ❌ No manipulative engagement algorithms ❌ No user profiling ❌ No feed reordering ❌ No shadowbanning or filtering It is a guide for attention, not a control mechanism. Why This Matters (Functionally) Gives active posters visibility Rewards genuine interaction without a heavy algorithm Helps new users find conversation entry points Reduces manual work for community managers Fits Sngine’s algorithm-free philosophy while preventing inactivity Summary for Developer > Build a lightweight, transparent popularity widget above the feed showing posts where conversation is actually happening. Keep the chronological timeline intact, but provide guidance and recognition to stimulate activity and engagement in the absence of a feed algorithm. #concepts #sngine