Customizing SMF > Graphics and Templates

calling home from within a theme

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Orangine:
I am making a custom theme I would like to publish here. Am I allowed to call home from within the theme files? I would like to display if the theme version is up to date with latest release, would that be acceptable?

Arantor:
It's generally considered not acceptable because if your site gets compromised, depending on the type of compromise it could infect anyone who uses your themes.

No server is 100% secure.

(In any case, the best way to call home is to set up a scheduled task in the admin panel, which can't be done in a theme, as it's a database change and the theme code never has any opportunity to do the scheduled task... while you 'could' do so by abusing one of the admin templates, it wouldn't then pass the review stage which requires no database calls in templates out of simple good practice)

Orangine:
I'm not asking for anything too sophisticated, I just want to read the theme version. And I cannot find anything about this in the guidelines, that's why I'm asking.
I can understand your point of view, but for example SimplePortal seems to call home to check the most current version, and I can still see it listed on the Mod site. And I cannot find anything about this in the guidelines.

Arantor:
The guidelines are not the final and definitive set of rules that things must be built to. You can't write a series of rules about how everything must work. So some things are left out and a little intelligence is applied at the time.

There are a few mods that do call home, and it generally isn't appreciated for the reasons I mention, and I see little reason to assume themes will be favoured any more. Back when I was on the customisation team, I know full well I would not have appreciated it too much, and the current incarnation of the team does feel the same way.

If the theme does it and it doesn't violate any other rules, it'll just have to pass the 'is it really necessary' stage? Do you plan to update your theme very often? Do you expect users to keep installing them? Do you expect users to have to uninstall their mods to reinstall them on your themes?

Orangine:

--- Quote from: Arantor on July 15, 2012, 02:21:20 PM ---The guidelines are not the final and definitive set of rules that things must be built to. You can't write a series of rules about how everything must work. So some things are left out and a little intelligence is applied at the time.
--- End quote ---
That's why I'm asking for the official answer. I don't want to spend time doing something that would let to disprove my work.


--- Quote ---There are a few mods that do call home, and it generally isn't appreciated for the reasons I mention, and I see little reason to assume themes will be favoured any more. Back when I was on the customisation team, I know full well I would not have appreciated it too much, and the current incarnation of the team does feel the same way.

If the theme does it and it doesn't violate any other rules, it'll just have to pass the 'is it really necessary' stage? Do you plan to update your theme very often? Do you expect users to keep installing them? Do you expect users to have to uninstall their mods to reinstall them on your themes?

--- End quote ---
Irrelevant. I need to know if I am allowed to do something or not. That simple. Are you saying that the theme/mod may be dissaproved because someone 'feels' some sort of functionality is not necessary? Are you for real now?

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