vB.org and Hacking Questions

[zetetic]

Hi Folks,

After a year of using phpBB, I've recently purchased vBulletin and am using it for a new site I'm developing. I've installed about 20 hacks and template mods, including altering some of the templates myself. I don't know php, but I'm trying to learn it now. I've been working with website development casually over the last 10 years, so I'm not totally new to HTML etc., just to "real coding" (i.e. php... I know, I know, it's not real coding still, but you know what I mean).

Anyway, I've got a couple questions:

1. Does anyone know of a good tutorial for learning php as it pertains to vBulletin? I've already done the php tutorials and looked through the vBulletin manual, and of course added numerous hacks, as well as visited all the other vBulletin hack related sites I could find, but I haven't found a good resource that addresses the specific use of php in vBulletin.

2. What is Jelsoft's position on hacking and what is the purpose of vB.org? I've found some really great mods and hacks here, but there seems to be a lot of infighting and disorganization. People (staff and coders alike) accusing each other of stealing hacks, complaints about people doing paid work and not free work, mod requests going months without any response, several people working on nearly identical hacks simultaneously. Is vB.org officially affiliated with Jelsoft? Is there any kind of heirarchy or structure to the hack development?

I have more questions but I'll wait to see if I get any responses to these first.