just a note!

[red_baron2000]

I am not sure if this is done on purpose or if it is the board policy or just negligence. I noticed some "so called" coders are posting "so called hacks". So far all is ok..but how come the crew let them post hacks that are incomplete, full of bugs, etc. ect? Does no one check these? Does no one read member?s replies and hear their complains? And above all, and this is the worst, the "hacks" creator?s stop supplying support after a day or two!! Why do the crew not remove those hacks from board? Or at least create a section "called incomplete or not trusted hacks?" and move the crap there? This way members do not mess their boards..imho this is a mods job..so far as I can see, and this is a bit ironic, moderators themselves participate on some of those threads but no action is taken once the thread is no longer supported or the so called hacker has left for good.

This is vbb 1st resources forum. Imho it should be trustworthy and led by a strong team that not only encourages coders to post their hacks but also steers them in the right direction.

Just a comment. Thank you for reading.

[cinq]

I think your signature about sums things up for most coders who release hacks for free here.

[Dean C]

You know, it's quite insulting to refer to someone's work as "crap". This community relies on the hard work and support of the people kind enough to share their work. There is no obligation for anyone here to provide support for their modifications or provide perfect work. Obviously it'd be nice if all mods were bug free but people have life outside the box and can't always commit to offering the large volumes of support that people require.

[qwerty2]

Coming from a newbie, how do we know who are official coders that work with VB a lot and those so who are, as red baron says "so called coders"?

[Guest190829]

People are coding hacks for free with their spare time. I and probably others find your post insulting. If you want a top quality hack with support and bug free than go pay for it.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

In my opinion it is simple: If you see a hack that you like, don't just click on the first page and download/install the hack without a second thought. Read the thread, you will very quick figure out if the hack is bug free and if the coder is supporting his work.

I think that bit of work/research is the least coders can ask from the members who want to use the work they are offering for free.

[sabret00the]

In my opinion it is simple: If you see a hack that you like, don't just click on the first page and download/install the hack without a second thought. Read the thread, you will very quick figure out if the hack is bug free and if the coder is supporting his work.

I think that bit of work/research is the least coders can ask from the members who want to use the work they are offering for free.
like marco said research, most hacks i've seen/installed never to go the complete stage till atleast 2/3 pages anyway, i just got used to it and appreciated the effort.

i must say in my caes where i've got awol from a hack i do always go back just not always right away, i sometimes forget and sometimes i just don't get the email, at times i get bored so take a week or so off and on some occasions i have to do some work which will pay my bills so supporting a free hack is the least of my worries till it's done.

* sabret00the is bitter about having to do a logo 15 times this weekend.

[Zachery]

Coming from a newbie, how do we know who are official coders that work with VB a lot and those so who are, as red baron says "so called coders"?
There really arn't many code hacks comming from Freddie Scott Kier Mike or Jerry.

Everyone here who is at this site does so in their free time. There are no "offical coders" presay

and even if the dev's were here. their hacks would be the same as anyone elses.

[Zachery]

I am not sure if this is done on purpose or if it is the board policy or just negligence. I noticed some "so called" coders are posting "so called hacks". So far all is ok..but how come the crew let them post hacks that are incomplete, full of bugs, etc. ect? Does no one check these? Does no one read member?s replies and hear their complains? And above all, and this is the worst, the "hacks" creator?s stop supplying support after a day or two!! Why do the crew not remove those hacks from board? Or at least create a section "called incomplete or not trusted hacks?" and move the crap there? This way members do not mess their boards..imho this is a mods job..so far as I can see, and this is a bit ironic, moderators themselves participate on some of those threads but no action is taken once the thread is no longer supported or the so called hacker has left for good.

This is vbb 1st resources forum. Imho it should be trustworthy and led by a strong team that not only encourages coders to post their hacks but also steers them in the right direction.

Just a comment. Thank you for reading.
If you are not capable of looking at the code of a hack, maybe you should stop hacking your forums? or get a test board.

The hacker takes their free time to release code that works on their own forums. They do try their best to make it work with everyone elses as well.

Try support a LARGE hack, like vBa or uCS or any of the BIG hacks here.

Its a second job for most of us in itself.

[Moxi]

Well...
I'm glad I'm not a coder here...I'd hate to have the work I developed and released for free be refered to as crap just because it doesn't work spotlessly on every board.
People spend their spare time making hacks, and releasing them for free, and not everyone has the ability or the desire to offer never ending support. People have lives they need to attend to, and I imagine trying to fix every problem for everyone at once can be frustrating.

[amykhar]

I generally only release code that I am going to use myself in some way. I figure, the work is done anyway, why not share? I am not microsoft and am not being paid for the code. So, my target audience is NOT non-coders. My target audience is coders who also release their work.

This way, I get a benefit because my code gets tested harder and sometimes useful feature additions are suggested. And, my fellow coders get the benefit of having something that they can use in some fashion or another.

I will agree that most people should release their hacks to the beta forum first and let the kinks in installation instructions get worked out. I also think the current sorting system brings some of the worst hacks up to the top instead of letting them sink. Unsupported code often has the most cries for help, which means it stays at the top of the heap and gets more attention, more installs by people who don't READ before they try to install and then more replies, which keep it at the top.

If you want to avoid bad code, it's your job to read and see if users are having problems. If you can't code yourself, don't install very new modifications. Give them time to either have the kinks worked out or to prove that they are stable.

[eva01_]

i always look over the hacks before installing them, and will test them out first. and i don't find a lot of them to be buggy, they work for the system that the creator made them for, for the most part.

[EvilLS1]

I generally only release code that I am going to use myself in some way. I figure, the work is done anyway, why not share?

Same here.

Not saying this is always the case and I know that some hacks really are full of bugs, but alot of times the so called "bugs" are due to the user trying to install the hack on a vb version which it wasn't designed for, a conflict with another hack or the user not following the instructions carefully. You can't hold the coder responsible for any of those things.

As for support, most of us work full time jobs (50-60 hours per week for me) and can't dedicate all of our spare time to supporting free hacks. I do the best I can but its just not possible to answer every single question. Sometimes you have to rely on the hack users to help eachother.

[CtrlAltDel]

People are coding hacks for free with their spare time. I and probably others find your post insulting. If you want a top quality hack with support and bug free than go pay for it.
i do that already with VB and that's failing at that...

[Brad]

I am not sure if this is done on purpose or if it is the board policy or just negligence. I noticed some "so called" coders are posting "so called hacks". So far all is ok..but how come the crew let them post hacks that are incomplete, full of bugs, etc. ect? Does no one check these? Does no one read member?s replies and hear their complains? And above all, and this is the worst, the "hacks" creator?s stop supplying support after a day or two!! Why do the crew not remove those hacks from board? Or at least create a section "called incomplete or not trusted hacks?" and move the crap there? This way members do not mess their boards..imho this is a mods job..so far as I can see, and this is a bit ironic, moderators themselves participate on some of those threads but no action is taken once the thread is no longer supported or the so called hacker has left for good.

This is vbb 1st resources forum. Imho it should be trustworthy and led by a strong team that not only encourages coders to post their hacks but also steers them in the right direction.

Just a comment. Thank you for reading.
We will always answer any questions asked to the best of our ability. All it takes is posting a thread. :)

We can't simply delete hacks because they have bugs or problems. It is up to the hack author to update his code and up to the user to research and test this code before hacking their board. If anything these bits of 'crap' code as you call it can always be used by other coders. I can't tell you how many times I have taken someone else hack and made it my own for my own needs.

Coders don't spend every waking hour here supporting their hacks. Most of us code something for ourselves and release it. We may never improve that code again because it dose what we need it to, while everyone that installed it crys for improvments. At this point your coding the new version for others needs, and that always gets pushed back to make room for your own needs. This is why updates tend to come slower or never at all.

I also think the current sorting system brings some of the worst hacks up to the top instead of letting them sink.

I agree with this, very good point.

[spence2]

It might be useful if another row of options could be added to accompany:
Supported
DB Changes
Installer included

Which might include:
Support Withdrawn
Add-ons Permitted

And another which would indicate that the hack is "closed" or will not be developed further by the original hacker (not sure how best this could be worded).

If all these options were available to the hacker, could they possibly prove useful to everyone?

[Zachery]

It might be useful if another row of options could be added to accompany:
Supported
DB Changes
Installer included

Which might include:
Support Withdrawn
Add-ons Permitted

And another which would indicate that the hack is "closed" or will not be developed further by the original hacker (not sure how best this could be worded).

If all these options were available to the hacker, could they possibly prove useful to everyone?
Supported can be unchecked, there for, it is not supported.

Addon's are always permitted, I can't think of a reason they wouldn't be. Its not like you are re-releasing the whole bit of code.

[spence2]

Supported can be unchecked, there for, it is not supported.
There is a very subtle yet real difference between "support" and "support withdrawn".
Take, for example, a hack with 300 support posts.
In the first 200 posts, the hacker offers support.
Along about post 201, the hacker stops.

This always results in a lot of exasperation for everyone and a "support withdrawn" box would be bit of clarification.

Addon's are always permitted, I can't think of a reason they wouldn't be. Its not like you are re-releasing the whole bit of code.
Always permitted? Perhaps by you, Zachery, but hardly everyone agrees. Some people do not want anyone to touch their code in any way without their permission.

[red_baron2000]

Let me make my position absolutely clear.
I believe that the administration of this board has an obligation and a responsibility to all users to ensure that the code that they use is functional.
That it works.
That it’s fit for the purpose for which it was intended.
i respect the time and effort involved by all coders..I DO NOT make any attack upon the individual!....NO! Please do not misunderstand me here.
It’s just that I feel that the crew should be more aware of the image that is projected. After all, we are all professional and that is the way it should be.
The coding should reflect professionalism as well.
For one, I am grateful for any snippets that come my way but they must be accurate and have good code protocol and syntax and reflect a good degree of “know-how” and professionalism as opposed to “spaghetti code”.
I trust that the above makes sense.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

I believe that the administration of this board has an obligation and a responsibility to all users to ensure that the code that they use is functional.Then we could better close this board, because the Administration can never look at and test all hacks posted.

After all, we are all professional and that is the way it should be. Wrong again, coders here are not professionals. They are people who share the work they made out of a hobby or for personal purposes with others. And that is also how you should look at it. Some of the coders have luckely a professional attitude towards the work they are making, but that is something different. If you demand professional work, then you must also be willing to pay a profesional price for it. Any idea what a professional software developer cost an hour in teh market?


For one, I am grateful for any snippets that come my way but they must be accurate and have good code protocol and syntax and reflect a good degree of ?know-how? and professionalism as opposed to ?spaghetti code?.
Simple check the code before you install, nobody is forcing you to use spaghetti code.

[amykhar]

Let me make my position absolutely clear.
I believe that the administration of this board has an obligation and a responsibility to all users to ensure that the code that they use is functional.
That it works.
That it?s fit for the purpose for which it was intended.
i respect the time and effort involved by all coders..I DO NOT make any attack upon the individual!....NO! Please do not misunderstand me here.
It?s just that I feel that the crew should be more aware of the image that is projected. After all, we are all professional and that is the way it should be.
The coding should reflect professionalism as well.
For one, I am grateful for any snippets that come my way but they must be accurate and have good code protocol and syntax and reflect a good degree of ?know-how? and professionalism as opposed to ?spaghetti code?.
I trust that the above makes sense.


You would be absolutely right if this were a release site for professional code. It's not. It's a collaboration site for HOBBYIST coders. There's a huge difference in what you want this forum to be and what it really is. http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/ is the site where you can expect code to be stable and supported.

[Erwin]

Let me make my position absolutely clear.

Thanks. I was worried you were holding back. ;)

I believe that the administration of this board has an obligation and a responsibility to all users to ensure that the code that they use is functional.
That it works.
That it?s fit for the purpose for which it was intended.

We have thousands of hacks here. I apologize but I don't have time to install, beta-test and review every single hack here. Unfortunately, I have a day job, and I am just a mere unpaid volunteer here, giving away free time to assist this community.

i respect the time and effort involved by all coders..I DO NOT make any attack upon the individual!....NO! Please do not misunderstand me here.
It?s just that I feel that the crew should be more aware of the image that is projected. After all, we are all professional and that is the way it should be.
The coding should reflect professionalism as well.


Again, I apologize for not being a professional - I am merely an amateur coder. I am sure you are a much better coder than I am.

For one, I am grateful for any snippets that come my way but they must be accurate and have good code protocol and syntax and reflect a good degree of ?know-how? and professionalism as opposed to ?spaghetti code?.
I trust that the above makes sense.

It makes perfect sense. Thank you for your feedback. :)

This site is for people to share hacks they have written for vBulletin.

Some of these hacks are well-written. Some are not.

We all have to start somewhere. Most of us "hackers" would remember our very first hack that we released and how badly written it was. Imagine if we were shot down or discouraged at that stage - we would have stopped contributing.

Therefore, the "administration" of vB.org will continue to encourage "newbie" coders to release hacks - this is how we all learn. :) And improve.

This may frustrate the "professional coders" but for the "professionals" it would be simple to fix up the code. To be honest, I never install a hack without modifying it first anyway to ensure it works, is secure and fits my own site.

I hope I am making our position clear. :)