papa-kind-treff.info/Internal/en/PROJECT_CONTEXT.md

# Papa-Kind-Treff – Project Context

Updated: 2026-08-07

## Summary
Papa-Kind-Treff is a PHP-based platform for fathers. Core areas are local events, appointments, and meetups, a community forum, member profiles with optional child information, and a moderation/admin area.

## Key Product Decisions
- Main navigation remains intentionally compact: `Home`, `Event Search`, `Community`.
- `Events` is the primary product term across the UI.
- Secondary wording is used only in SEO and explanatory copy.
- The community is hierarchical: categories -> boards -> threads -> posts.
- Moderation is separated from the normal community frontend.
- Location features are important for local discovery.
- The existing `events` logic remains active for now, but future growth should move toward a broader listing, place, and occurrence model.
- Site admins get a dedicated system section for global operating and service flags.

## Account / Member Area
- Profile menu currently contains `Profile`, `Children`, `Events`, `Places & Events`, `Community`, `Settings`, `Logout`.
- `SiteOwner` additionally gets the area `Profile Levels`.
- Children can be created, edited, and deleted.
- If a birth date is set, age is calculated automatically and updated later when needed.
- Account email is encrypted application-side and addressed through a separate HMAC lookup hash.
- Profile address can be completed via address search or browser-based location import.
- The `Events` area is limited again to real own events and event participations.
- The `Events` area now also provides a manual ICS export and a personal subscribable calendar feed for all own events and event participations.
- The `Events` area is now separated in the UI into `My Events`, `Calendar Sync`, and `Expired Events` so that active events, calendar tasks, and past items stay clearly separated.
- Inside `My Events`, the `Create New Event` button now lives directly in the upper tab row; the previous participation box is now labeled `Registered Events` and also includes a direct link to `Event Search`.
- Places and event-like entries were moved for now into a separate member-area section `Places & Events`.
- Inside `Places & Events`, users can create permanent places and time-limited event-style entries.
- New places and event-style entries stay in a pending state until an admin approves them for publication.
- Change and deletion wishes for published places and event-style entries always run through a reasoned moderation request.
- Pending new places and event-style entries can already be used as location suggestions for events while they are still under review.
- Duplicate submissions for places and event-style entries should be blocked server-side at least by name and address.
- The `Events` input flow should stay as simple as possible and therefore only shows fields relevant for real scheduled events.
- Own events now only require title, date, and the `with children` choice; the description is optional.
- Event locations now support the modes `place from database`, `event from database`, or `custom`.
- When a database-backed place or event is selected, the address and category are taken directly from that source entry.
- Database-backed event locations now use a real select field instead of free text; `place from database` only shows places, while `event from database` only shows currently active event-style entries inside their valid date window.
- Inside the own-event form, `valid until` and `recurrence` are hidden.
- When an own event uses a database-backed location, address and category are shown as informational values and are not edited directly.
- The own-event form now offers direct links into creating a new place or a new event-style listing.
- After that intermediate step, the user returns to the own-event form with the previous event input restored and the newly created place or event-style listing already selected.
- When `event from database` is selected, the event date must fall inside that source event's valid date window.
- Categories in the member area are handled via a search input with existing suggestions and automatic creation when needed.
- Own events support an optional description, a clear `with children` yes/no field, optional capacity, an optional image, and either a database-backed location or a custom address.
- `Profile Levels` is an owner-only area for community levels and the overview of system levels.
- Community levels are now editable through `system_settings.community_levels_json` and currently carry the rights `highlight helpful replies` and `apply for forum admin`.
- System levels remain separate as the roles `Forum Admin`, `Site Admin`, and `SiteOwner`.

## Technical Frame
- custom front controller in `public/index.php`
- templates under `partials/`
- business logic under `src/App/`
- global frontend mainly via `public/assets/js/app.js` and `public/assets/css/app.css`

## New Expansion Stage: Listings and Places
- New table base: `listing_places`, `listings`, `listing_occurrences`, `listing_prices`, `listing_benefits`, `listing_categories`
- Goal: later distinguish between own event, partner offer, general place, and editorial event entry
- Google is not integrated productively yet; the system is only being prepared for it via settings and data fields

## Deferred To-dos
- Large calendar-provider integrations should be added later in addition to the ICS feed, starting primarily with Google and Microsoft/Outlook.
- The target model is no reverse sync, but a user-side OAuth login through Papa-Kind-Treff followed by a direct calendar connection or event synchronization at the respective provider.

## Maintenance Note
- Whenever one of these files changes, the matching files in `Internal/de/` and `Internal/en/` must be kept aligned.
- The root `README.md` acts as the startup document for new chats and should be reviewed alongside major context changes.