[amykhar]

So why not just make it part of the deal that when people post a hack, they implicitly agree to surrender their code if they disappear, unless they specifically request that it be removed?

Because many of us would never release a hack here again. Our code is free for you to USE but is not free for anybody else to claim credit for.

Over time, bugs get worked out and the same installation errors repeat themselves. After that, questions are generally posted by people too lazy to read a thread or by people who want the hack author to make niggling little customizations like - I want to restrict this so only user x can do that, etc.

Once a hack gets to that point, I don't always waste my time replying to people. It doesn't mean the hack was abandoned. It's just my way of preserving my sanity by not answering the same questions over and over again and by not being begged to death for subtle changes that a simple glance at a php manual could resolve the need for the installer.

Amy