I’m aware this sounds quite involved, but would it be possible to make a Flash button counter that would store the number of clicks (that it displays) on a remote server; so even if the page was closed and re-opened it would still show “2” or “11” for example.
In addition to that, would it be possible to only allow one click per IP address? So for example, one specific IP address (user) couldn’t keep clicking it over and over and increasing the number.
The reason I wanted to use a Flash object as opposed to something like jQuery was because I want to embed it on a forum that isn’t mine. Obviously I don’t have access to the site’s files/modules etc.
Essentially it’s almost like the Facebook “like button.” It displays the number of likes, as well is storing the value on a remote server.
If it is possible to embed flash object in the forum, then you could probably do it. I would suggest that you put all your logic for keeping track of IP addresses, etc on the server, and just have the flash object send the HTTP request to the server to indicate a click. The server could then respond with the current count, and the flash object can update its display (or the flash object could just increment its original display, so a user wouldn’t get the impression that their click counted twice if two people click it at the same time).