[Freesteyelz]

Originally Posted by MarcoH64

it is ok to look back at our history, and try to take all the good parts from it. However it is in my opinion not possible to simply say let's turn back time, because then we had so much more fun, with such a changed memberbase.

Nice statement.

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Originally Posted by gio~logist

I highly doubt that releasing hacks again with 10-50 steps for an installation will help in any way to change vb.org's atmosphere to a positive one.

On the issue with hack-types: I love the plugin system. It really does simplify the installation process. Now I come from the UBB days where we hacked every .cgi and .pl file. That's how it was and I didn't question.

I appreciated the fact that to customize my board I had to get my hands dirty in the process. Many of the users felt the same way, novice to veterans. The process of hacking forced you to learn and gave you the motivation to expand your skill level.

When I came to vB I was amazed how different this software is to UBB. I was surely overwhelmed, like many here who've purchased vB without having a clue on how it worked. It was my UBB background, getting my hands dirty, that helped me sift through vB's routines to create and to modify.

The plugins are awesome but unless you look through the codes you won't benefit from it. You have a hack but didn't come out more knowledgable. Template hacks and hacks in general that require manual changes help in the long run because it provides an opportunity for users to ask questions, fix problems and apply the codes themselves. It also strenghtens authors' PR skills and patience. While we can benefit from all hack-types, sometimes the old-school methods do have its place in the growth of a community.