And again a mod is gone

[cashpath]

This is just a thought.. but wouldn't some sort of user agreement along these lines solve this problem.

"Author agrees any mod posted to vb.org will remain on vb.org and will not be removed. Author also agrees that if the hack is not being supported by the author and is found to have vulnerabilities, vb.org will allow other authors to fix those vulnerabilities in the code and re-release with no other modifications".

You could go on to allow the author to checkbox if they would like to allow thier code to become open source in the event they abandon it for more than a period of xx days. Now obviously some Authors might not check this box but some would.

Is this not something that could be done? (Of course this won't help in the case of vbbux/vbplaza, but it could save future similar problems)

Oh.. one last thing... while I understand not POSTING the vulnerabilities found for everyone to see. Could vb.org at least send in the email sent to all people who have the hack installed exactly what the vulnerabilities are?

[Princeton]

it's ok if you want to announce that you have the "vulnerable mod" installed ... we will never stop you or anyone else who wants to do that..

I would prefer to help those who are unaware of such issues.

[d8tabyte]

I see where you are coming from - I guess another way to go about it would be to only allow people who have installed that hack to have viewing permission on it. You can set it so once locked, the install button is removed thus preventing any future installs and it becomes only viewable to those that installed the hack (I don't know if it is possible, I am merely throwing out ideas)

[hambil]

Originally Posted by hambil

It makes no sense to remove a mod. I can assure you I will never remove mine. You can mark them as unsupported and basically abandon them (as I did with vbPluginOrder). There is simply no reason I can think of to remove a mod (other than the moderators and admins doing it because it breaks rules).

Okay, I stand corrected.

The problem stems from a couple of issues. One, you cannot disable a mod. If you remove the main file vb.org will remove the mod. So if a mod presents a security risk and you don't feel like fixing it, then having it removed is your only real option.

Two, you can't transfer a mod or even merge mod threads. So, if I turn over a mod to another developer they must start a new thread. At that point having two threads for the same mod becomes problematic.

Originally Posted by hambil

Two, you can't transfer a mod or even merge mod threads. So, if I turn over a mod to another developer they must start a new thread. At that point having two threads for the same mod becomes problematic.

That's the exact reason why my products were deleted from the database yesterday...

i wanted the guys up here taking over the work i've done with the Points system, and as it would be irrelevant to have me as the thread owner then, i decided that the coders who take over will have to manage their own threads...

good luck guys!

[Xplorer4x4]

Originally Posted by hambil

Two, you can't transfer a mod or even merge mod threads. So, if I turn over a mod to another developer they must start a new thread. At that point having two threads for the same mod becomes problematic.

Not really so long as the old thread gets locked. Then the old thread is there with any fixes and such but the new thread can take over support.

[Cap'n Steve]

Exactly. I took over a mod and the original author just changed the description in his thread to say that development has continued in the new thread.

[FreshFroot]

WHy don't you guys just leave the thread up.. but leave it as Mod was removed... that way we know "what" happent...

Originally Posted by FreshFroot

WHy don't you guys just leave the thread up.. but leave it as Mod was removed... that way we know "what" happent...

mainly because vb.org is not our site, so we can't always make it our way...

[insolentmuse]

I'd rather not see a bunch of threads where the mod was removed, especially when searching for something.

It is already incredibly frustrating to finally find a mod/addon that I've been searching for and discover 500 bugs and the modder has disappeared. I can only imagine if a bunch of removed mods started popping up in searches too. Ugh.

I really don't have a problem with something being removed completely. I mean, what if someone starts out small, learning as they go and eventually decide to turn a hack into a more robust product and want to go out on their own? Why leave the old free version with no support or updates if everything is going to be handled offsite? I think it's more responsible to take it down.

2c