How about mods having to meet some minimum standards....

[jdelasko]

before they can be listed on this site.

For one..... coders should be required to provide detailed uninstall directions for a mod before it is accepted here. Most of them do. A while back, I installed a mod called vBRadio, assuming that if I ever wanted to remove it, there would be no problem. Not the case. The vBRadio mod, and others from the same coder, do modifications to the database, templates, admincp, and hell knows what else. Trouble is, the mod doesn't show up in the product manager so you can't remove it that way. A look at the distribution package shows no uninstaller. OOPS! There is no list of what modifications the installer made to my vBulletin installation.

Can someone at vBulletin.org, at the very minimum, publish a set of guidelines for mods? It my save some poor dumbass like me a lot of trouble in the future.

[Dismounted]

Who is here to judge what the "standard" of a modification is?

posting a question as an answer to that same question is pointless Hanson... the guy is asking if the site could have some protocol...

and yes, this is a good question. the problem is that as there is no rule, nobody wants to apply any...

[markbolyard]

The problem I see with this is, any coder could provide uninstall directions which in turn could not work as they have described. To have a set standard on the mods that are released would almost mean that someone would have to take he time to install and test each modification.

With that said, your best bet when getting ready to use any modification is to test it on a test forum (thus why I believe vbulletin allows you to use two instances (so long as one is not viewable to the public). If and when your forum becomes substantial in size, would you risk the word of someone who is providing a modification free for download to work 100%) Personally, and nothing against any coder here, I would test it on a demo forum before allowing it to go on my live forums.

Good question but I'm not sure it's up to the mods / staff to determine the quality of a modification or set guidelines on what is included, in this case uninstall instructions.

As for "uninstall instructions" well reversing the order which you installed it would be the typical way, remove template edits if any, uninstall the plugin, delete the associated files. If you follow these steps and it left your DB with extra tables, then the modification wasn't written too well... and back to my original point that someone HERE would have had to have tested it to know it in fact did not work. Anyhow, not trying to be negative but shed some thought on why it might be a difficult task.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

We have no intention to change our policy on modifications. We have a limited set of guidelines/rules in place, but we try to keep low requirements for sharing solutions with the rest of thecommunity. We could add a lot of (artificial) rules a modification must follow, but that will only lower the number of submitted modifications.

Some modifications are coded by experienced vB coders who will ensure that everything will run smooth in most situation, some others are simply a solution someone made for their own board and share it so others do not need reinvent it.

Using any third-party modification should always be done with a bit of care and if possible first tested on a testboard.

[cheat-master30]

I personally disagree with the idea of mods having to meet some minimum standards due to the fact that even if these standards only are based on the coding and instructions given at first, nearly every site I've seen which has added a set of rules for submission has then basically used it to remove or ban content the moderators don't personally like, and with all due respects, I don't want to see moderators playing judge, jury and executioner with modifications like I've seen on a couple of other sites in other subject areas, especially with some of the more controversial submissions (aka, anything seen by some to be controversial or quick activity/content boosting would probably get banned if it went that far). The other reason is that only some mods need these instructions, things like BB code, or minor edits, or just product/plugin files really don't need a step by step list of instructions how to install or uninstall.

being a site for " fans " to share their own stuff is not supposed to be ruled by a big protocol... there is already one existing, when we build something to be a product/plugin ... just following this protocol is already good.

if vb.org become an official site for pros, yes it would require a protocol of approval and strict coding, but i don't think we need something like this in the vB community...

[jdelasko]

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

We have no intention to change our policy on modifications.

Well Marco .......... I guess that ends this conversation. Not everyone is into quality control I guess.

Attention all coders: Go ahead and post your hack job of a mod on this site. It's ok.

Originally Posted by Marco van Herwaarden

Using any third-party modification should always be done with a bit of care and if possible first tested on a testboard.

So vBulletin doesn't mind me running 2 copies of their script?

[markbolyard]

So vBulletin doesn't mind me running 2 copies of their script?

You are allowed to run a second copy in a test directory that is password protected from the public, for example though htaccess, or you may do as I do and use xampp and run it locally on your computer.

[Wayne Luke]

Originally Posted by jdelasko

So vBulletin doesn't mind me running 2 copies of their script?

It specifically states in the license agreement that you can have a Production/Live installation and a Test/Development installation. In fact we encourage people to have a test/development installation so you can test out upgrades and addons without affecting your live site and causing issues that would adversely affect your community.