Does 3.5.x make newbies lazy.
 

Hi all.
The reason for asking is because i have just moved some of my forums from 3.x.x. to 3.5.x and i can't believe how easy it is to install hacks and stuff.
Don't get me wrong, i am really grateful for the easyness but i used to enjoy the challenge of adding new hacks and it made me understand a little about the codes.
The .xml takes all this away :nervous: I think that this may possibly take away the interest of limited people.

Yup, I have been saying it since day one.... Plug in play is not always the best way...

but when I have 3 forums to upgrade all with hacks, by golly gosh, I want it!

Well not lazy, just makes things easier. :p

No it doesn't make people lazy, but it does remove the tedium of editing files, adding templates etc... fantastic IMO. Anyone who is interested can still view the plugin code etc to see what's what. :)

Walking to work would probably entail more skill and excitement for me than driving the 26 miles. However.... ;)

Lazy and ingenious, the keys to progress and inovation, they go hand in hand like butter and toast or bacon and eggs.

Lazy and stupid, now that's another story....

I agree with both sides.
They can get stupider because they don't have to learn. People will now no longer have to scratch their heads in torment over not being able to install a hack.
Seen from the authors side of the coin, people will now no longer bug you about having scratched their heads in torment over not being able to install their hack.

So :p

One problem is that the barrier of entry into using code mods is now lower, which does cause some rather difficult support issues. While I love plugins for my own sanity at upgrade time, they really haven't solved installtion or user-error problems. In fact, they seem to have magnified them to some extent because we are faced with more novice users now.

:D :rolleyes:

Er, no it allows me time to focus on content and get my members involved not destroying my tiny brain trying to learn code :) This forum software is a tool to allow communication the more time we spend doing that the more effective our forums are surely?? Using that argument does prohibit development of hacks so there is a downside however :D

:nervous:

I was going to reply to this, but 3.5 has made me too lazy....

LAzy? Not at all! :) It has inspired me to think of creative ways to use plugins instead of code mods. Mind you, I still use quite a lot of code mods - My Araxis Merge still gets quite a bit of usage. ;)

Yeah, but the question at hand really doesnt include anyone who has posted here. It asks if it makes newbies lazy, meaning those new to vbulletin.


Anyone here learn any coding from the file edits of the past? The newbies wont have that.

Hasn't made ME lazy.
I still get wifey to read the posts out to me :)

I don't think it makes anyone lazier. Everything is just easier to do. There's a big difference.

I think 'lazy' was the wrong word for me to use. When things went wrong it made me look into the code and it made start to understand some of the workings. Although it used to do my head in i really used to enjoy the challenge of trying to put it right, it gave me an interest to learn more.
I reckon most of you coders got into it because of what i said above and forum soft is the benefact of it all. When you guys make it so easy for newbies to use i feel you will you also be taking away the natural inquisitive interest of the next generation of coders.
I guess it is a catch 22 question, make it easy make it hard. Don't get me wrong, i am not knocking you guys, far from it. I am finding it hard to explain what i mean. :nervous:

Well, it saves time. A old upgrade would take a few hours, now I can do one in 20 minutes ;)

"natural inquisitive interest" is not a situational event. It is exactly what you say it is, natural. Some have more, some have less. Despite the premise put forth here, plugins are still the same old code hacks they ever where. The only difference is they are now logically contained in a transitional environment that preserves them during vBulletin upgrades.

They are still code, they still alter the way vb operates, they can still be nullified by changes to the vb code base (ex:archives with latest patch), they still take a lot of time and effort, and they still evolve.

Really, the only difference is now you have to look in two places for every event. The vb code, and the plugin. Might even be more work than before.

Anyone with a "natural inquisitive interest" can still be inspired by the new plugin system. Maybe even more so now. Since the thought of having to redo so much after an upgrade isn't so daunting now.

Dam I'm too lazy to reply.

Ops, what am I taking about I'm using vB 3.0 :)

Depends on your definition of lazy. I've been using vb since 3.0.3, before the time of plugins, and while I don't have to do as much work when upgrading, it doesn't mean I don't understand what I'm upgrading.