Paid for mods from a non-coders POV

[RacerX]

I just finished reading the thread that was closed for abusiveness about Paid Hack/Mods. There was something I either missed or do not see in there and want to make a few comments of my own.

There was a lot of heated discussion about why paid for hacks should not be allowed at vbulletin.org. One thing that was cited was because everyone would want to charge.

I am not a coder and don't even know how to install hacks... I also don't plan on learning. I am pretty good at managing online communities but due to my real-world business I don't have time to do much else. Yes, I would like to learn but there are only so many hours in the day.

Here is where I am going with this... Both I and some of my close friends that have vB's have requested in the past to get hacks either ported or designed. Hell, we have even offered money to do it, and guess what... The response was PITIFUL! I don't know if everyone just got tired of creating custom hacks & or porting vb2 hacks but the results stink.

So, what do people like us do? We're not coders... We don't have the time to learn it... We have purchased vb and are willing to pay for services that others either DO NOT WANT TO DO or are INCAPABLE OF DOING. That is fair.. And I think that is where the rub is from this end of the road.

If the free hacks are no available, then I don't get why paid for hacks shouldn't be? Usually the paid hacks are more complex and time consuming and it is fair that someone gets money for their efforts.

Please don't take this as any type of flame post. I'm not mad... I'm just want everyone to see it from my point of view where paying for a hack is a heck of a lot better than not having one at all.

We've spent over $2,000 on custom work since January of this year. That is because the work we have had done is unique. Now, I can only imagine how much cheaper it would have been if the hacks were already available and being distributed widely. We wouldn't be the only one benefitting from a high-end custom banner advertising system through every forum and a host of other features.

I hope vB command will see that if you really want vB to continue being the powerhouse that most of us know and love, you will open the doors at least a little for an area where hackers will design really nice hacks for a reasonable price to those who want them BECAUSE the bottom line here is that most of us would rather pay than to never even have the option.

Thanks