hacks ripped
 

I found out on another site that this site url removed has been copying hacks and releasing them on there site,i have found 2 of my hacks released on there without my permission,and it looks like there are quiet a few from here also been posted on that site,and to add injury to insult you dont need to register and all hacks are open source,are they allowed to do this?? this is just bloody wrong

Sadly there are people who do nothing but cause others problems and like to pirate others works. :(

Even worse is hack authors who revitalise or port forward to a new version of vb hack which was released here by someone else (even open source hack releases this has happened to) to the vb.org community, gain a large following here for the new version then next thing you find these authors are taking the rekindled hacks away from vb.org and selling them on there own sites. Just about any newcomer it seems can come here and do this and imhpo if thats whats going to be allowed soon there will be no hacks here as newcomers will just keep coming along building up a following on updated works of past and then run off with what once belonged to the community and begin selling it. I think some new clearly defined parameters need putting in place for both the releasing of new hacks and especially when it involves taking someone elses hack forward that was allready released to the community here.

Uhh I hate to be dense here but examples?

why was the URL edited and removed from my post??? I think coders/members have a right to view the site that has been ripping hacks from here!!!! Moderated without giving a reason what gives???

I'm curious as to what site this was as well.

Sorry Zachery I realise now its actually quite a hot topic with several threads some getting closed aswell, on one of the more recent culprits to this. I should have joined in there. I will just say that some one around here has took a major hack originally released as open source by Velocd and updated it for 3.5, now its been removed, filed elsewhere on a pay site, the community thread here hidden with all the updated hack issues.

I see that as support for open source projects for the vb.org community being "ripped out" of this community with staff co-operation by the looks. :(

The url would have been removed because anyone can view this as a public forum so active links will jump any prospective browser to a rip site, including non license holders.

Ive seen about 5 of zachery modules, and alot from paul and others..

Yeah, mine turn up in the most obscure places, bugs me a bit, but not that much tbh, it's not as if I charge for them, and I don't support them anywhere but here.

If anything is truely released under an open source license, porting it and charging for support is a viable option.

Interesting, so basicly your saying Zack that any hacks released here for free as open source (which they basicly are). People on this site could take them away, play around with the code a little and sell them as there own?

Not without the permission of the original author they cannot as that will breach copyright... ;)

Chris

No, just because something is released here does not mean its "open source software". Most addons etc are Visual Source, and under the same style of license that vBulletin Operates under. Anotherwords its theirs untill they say otherwise.

I understood that both vBulletin itself and the hacks/modifications on here were released as "visible source" not "open source", meaning you are free to view and modify most of the code (generally excluding copyright notices) for your own use but NOT to re-release it elsewhere.

The is a major difference which should be remembered.

Edit: Whoops! Just realised Zachery just said that. I'll get me coat and no large error!

I know of about 5 or 6 sites that re-release hacks from here unfortuantely.

A recent hack of mine had a link in the description to a flash demo hosted on my own site. When looking through the referers in my site logs, all of these other sites showed up. When visiting the sites I found that they'd just copied/pasted my description (including the flash demo and screenshots) with most of them managing to leave my name out of it completely.

But... saying that, I can't say I'm too worried about it. If I charged for my hacks then I might be more concerned, but since my hacks are all available for download by anybody on my own site, I don't really mind if these sites don't ask my permission before adding my hacks.

Thanks,
Alan.

I hate to be one to disagree with you Zach but that is about as good for the vb.org comunity as pulling the plug on its server. Anyway I have been told by the "new" author he was given full copyright by Velocd for that open source hack as all Velocd's hacks are open source going by his profile, I am still sure if Velocd did hand over the copyright he wouldnt have wanted it to be used in this way "of totally being removed from the community and available at a pay site" because that would be completely against the way vb.org has run in the past. Its one thing to take your own work away its another to take away a modification that was given to the community for your own advantages. Charging for premium support is fine, the hack should remain at its home which is here with the usuall no guarantees of support as its all done on a community basis which has allways worked well.

I would really like to see Velocd pop in and confirm he didnt mind the mod being used in the way it now has been.

I would say vb.org really needs to look at its policies regarding this becasue now its official that if a hack is handed over which many probably have been without any exceptions so many can now be taken away in the same manner. In which case vb.org will be lucky if its still viable after v4.

If he released his software under an open sourced license, anyone could take it, continue the development, fork it and continue development otherwise. Its the problems of OSS. We cannot force anyone to license their work in some specific way.

This is very true and not in dispute, people removing stuff from this comunity which wasnt theirs originally is a personal issue as I feel thats not the right way to go about it, personally I think he has done more damage to himself than good by doing it as most of the community is well aware of the potential snowball if it was to become common practice, would have been much better marketing and retained full respect by retaining what was orignally someone elses work in the originally targeted community and used that in a much more respectable way to get whatever else he wanted off the ground.

However on the fork subject if someone was to re rekindle a hack and retain it here within the comunity that had all ready been ported forward previously and then forked off elsewhere theres a name issue which is going to cause confusion, normal practice is the fork takes a new name.

due to all the complaints lodged over our hacks being ripped the host has closed
down the offending site http://onlinevnnet.com/

http://www.piratereports.com

you can report sites that are pirating hacks to Howard,,
he will do what he can ;)

For example...

http://img302.imageshack.us/img302/153/untitledfa0.png

And i now know who that is on here..

I agree with the above, let them copy and paste them - doesn't really bother me, but anyone that wants support/changes will only get it from here.

Ahh so someone on here is ripping them? According to that post the person is just uploading them elsewhere. Probably to avoid using legit copies of vb (since you have to link your customer#).

Guess that's not really an offense. PM me with that site. I'd like to keep an eye on 'em.

Um, site?
I know of at least 6

Ok then.:) PM me with all the sites you know of.

Ahhh, another vB.org wanna-be site. it makes me laugh how they upload them to rapidshare, then try to act like a support site for the hacks like here.

it will never stop ;)

there will always be ppl that want things for free..
I think those who are sharing them from here should be banned or punished somehow ;)