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MOD Site?

Started by Grudge, August 03, 2003, 11:46:32 AM

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Grudge

Hey,

I was just wonderig - I remember hearing a while back that there would be a seperate site for MOD development? Is this so or will it become part of the forums here? Also - any clue as to when the MOD site would open - I assume upon release of the beta of SMF?

Grudge
I'm only a half geek really...

Jeff Lewis

That is correct, there will be a MOD site which is also under development at this time. It will open once Charter Members receive the first betas.
Co-Founder of SMF

TheDel

Will there be something set up like the supermod-
Where all the Current mods will be in one package so we dont have to manually reinstall after each upgrade?

I loved YaBBse and one of the reasons I moved to the supermod was too many changes for an idiot like myself to have to fix and the potential for error was too high. Some MODs I really liked and were never added to YaBBse like the map, quick reply, whos online and chat?

Any plans are adding these to the actual package or at least combining them in one upgrade like supermod?

Jeff Lewis

We've debated making a "supermod" like package as well and we'll se where we go with that but we're currently looking at altering our license so that if there is to be one like that, it will only be allowed to be on this site.
Co-Founder of SMF

Overseer

* Overseer doesnt like mod's ;)

Joshua Dickerson

Supermod is a user's mod/site. I really don't think it is affiliated with YSE or SMF directly so you would probably want to ask the creator(s).
Come work with me at Promenade Group



Need help? See the wiki. Want to help SMF? See the wiki!

Did you know you can help develop SMF? See us on Github.

How have you bettered the world today?

Jeff Lewis

Quote from: groundup on August 03, 2003, 01:06:55 PM
Supermod is a user's mod/site. I really don't think it is affiliated with YSE or SMF directly so you would probably want to ask the creator(s).

We most likely won't allow ourselves to get into a position like that again, too many headaches and it really takes away from real development time.

Perhaps a team here at SMF dedicated to making a fully modded package or something...
Co-Founder of SMF

TheDel

Quote from: Jeff Lewis on August 03, 2003, 01:06:40 PM
We've debated making a "supermod" like package as well and we'll se where we go with that but we're currently looking at altering our license so that if there is to be one like that, it will only be allowed to be on this site.
That would make it a whole heck of alot easier!
I hope you guys go for it-its a great idea and one of the other cool things is that if a board's members dont like a particular mod, all ya need to do is disable it.

See the hobby I'm in is very cuthroat. Everyone's trying to one up the other. One thing my site prided itself on was the forums. We were the first to use YaBB and the first to migrate to SE then other sites suddenly popped up with their own SE but never upgraded to current versions or added mods, whereas we always did. And with all the recent upgrades, supermod saved me the trouble of re-installing every single mod time after time. Please consider this cause I REALLY wanna switch over SMF!

Overseer

This is the precise version why I don't mod my forum.

Because i'd rather not have that extra headache.

There isnt really a guarantee that mod's are updated for new versions, and waiting for the mod before upgrading could be potentially hazardous if its a security issue.

Joshua Dickerson

The mod team will be giving approval ratings to mods and doing security checks. Also, compatibility issues will be out in the open. If you want to install 2 mods and they are not compatible, and someone has created a mod to make this possible, there will be a link in the database for you to go to it instead of having to search.
Come work with me at Promenade Group



Need help? See the wiki. Want to help SMF? See the wiki!

Did you know you can help develop SMF? See us on Github.

How have you bettered the world today?

TheDel

But some feaures Ive gotten so used to by now, plus the supermod guys were usually up to dat with upgrades and the security patches never really affected the mods. I would just prefer to get it all at one place- the OFFICIAL place.

And now that that the concept is successful,(since you guys are looking into it) I can get one with even more features because some of the real talented guys here chose not to allow their MODs to be used there.

Im so loving SMF right now-
EXCELLENT WORK!!

mephisto_kur

Quote from: Jeff Lewis on August 03, 2003, 01:06:40 PM
We've debated making a "supermod" like package as well and we'll se where we go with that but we're currently looking at altering our license so that if there is to be one like that, it will only be allowed to be on this site.

THAT is BAD MOJO.  Why would you take away one of the best things about YSE?  Why would you WANT to support a heavily modded version?

Two simple questions....
She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal - she was a transdimensional speeder!



Joshua Dickerson

Quote from: mephisto_kur on August 03, 2003, 03:23:25 PM
Quote from: Jeff Lewis on August 03, 2003, 01:06:40 PM
We've debated making a "supermod" like package as well and we'll se where we go with that but we're currently looking at altering our license so that if there is to be one like that, it will only be allowed to be on this site.

THAT is BAD MOJO.  Why would you take away one of the best things about YSE?  Why would you WANT to support a heavily modded version?

Two simple questions....
lol, you just contradicted yourself. You do or don't want there to be a supported 'super-mod'? I personally don't want there to be, but that isn't my choice.
Come work with me at Promenade Group



Need help? See the wiki. Want to help SMF? See the wiki!

Did you know you can help develop SMF? See us on Github.

How have you bettered the world today?

Jeff Lewis

Here are your answers...

1) Because it's a pain in the ass. We had two seperate issues come up where people have "created" (really they aren't creating anything, the coders here do the creating) their own "version" of SE and that caused issues. Pissed off developers, pissed off MOD writers, cost us money to talk to a lawyer. It's an all around huge pain in the rump. Now that isn't to say it wouldn't be possible but there needs to be more control over it. While one project may be a huge pain, another isn't (take pfabb for example, it's been nice to work with michele).

2) I never said I WANTED to, we said we could discuss it :) Besides, we still get support requests for things like Supermod and MOD writers have requests to support it. If it was kept here at least we'd KNOW what the hell was going into the package.
Co-Founder of SMF

Grudge

I do like the idea of supermod but never used it because of trouble getting other mods to work with it. What I would REALLY like to see is MOD makers making more of an effort not to cause conflicts.

It is actually VERY rare to find two mods than actually conflict as far as operation goes - just mainly installation. The biggest problem by far as sql queries in popular modules (such as profiles etc). Too many mod makers (myself included I'm sure) do searches to replace sql statements instead of inserting statements.

I don't want to get too into technicalitites but a mod that does:
search for:

   $request = mysql_query("
      SELECT passwd, realName, emailAddress, websiteTitle, websiteUrl, signature, posts, memberGroup, ICQ, AIM, YIM, gender, personalText, avatar, dateRegistered, location, birthdate, timeFormat, timeOffset, hideEmail, ID_MEMBER, usertitle, karmaBad, karmaGood, lngfile, MSN, secretQuestion, secretAnswer
      FROM {$db_prefix}members
      WHERE memberName='$user'") or database_error(__FILE__, __LINE__);
   $memsettings = mysql_fetch_array($request);

replace with:

   $request = mysql_query("
      SELECT passwd, realName, emailAddress, websiteTitle, websiteUrl, signature, posts, memberGroup, ICQ, AIM, YIM, gender, personalText, avatar, dateRegistered, location, birthdate, timeFormat, timeOffset, hideEmail, ID_MEMBER, usertitle, karmaBad, karmaGood, lngfile, MSN, secretQuestion, secretAnswer, THEIRFIELDHERE
      FROM {$db_prefix}members
      WHERE memberName='$user'") or database_error(__FILE__, __LINE__);
   $memsettings = mysql_fetch_array($request);


Makes it impossible to install another mod without getting errors. All the code in SMF should be formatted in such a way as to make it easy to insert fields into querys etc. ie:

   $request = mysql_query("
      SELECT passwd, realName, emailAddress,

Insert AFTER:

         MYFIELDHERE


So that it won't cause any trouble for other mod installations. The fact is many people use supermod etc because soon as you install more than 3 fairly large mods on your board every other mod has to be installed by hand....

Of course a nice (possible) solution would be if SMF incoorporated many mods in it from the outset. And at each upgrade the more popular mods get incoorporated - I know this would lead to a slightly more bloated download but probably only a few hundred k, and they could all be switched off by default. It would basically do what supermod do but safe in the knowledge that all the mods that are shipped with it are secure (ie tested by the SMF team)

It kind of reminds me of the fact that YABB SE shipped with many mods installed with it as standard - just keeping up that trend (ie the calendar mod and many other bits and bobs)

* Grudge awards myself for my long post
I'm only a half geek really...

mephisto_kur

Quote from: groundup on August 03, 2003, 03:26:07 PM
Quote from: mephisto_kur on August 03, 2003, 03:23:25 PM
Quote from: Jeff Lewis on August 03, 2003, 01:06:40 PM
We've debated making a "supermod" like package as well and we'll se where we go with that but we're currently looking at altering our license so that if there is to be one like that, it will only be allowed to be on this site.

THAT is BAD MOJO.  Why would you take away one of the best things about YSE?  Why would you WANT to support a heavily modded version?

Two simple questions....
lol, you just contradicted yourself. You do or don't want there to be a supported 'super-mod'? I personally don't want there to be, but that isn't my choice.

I see no contradiction.  I asked why they would shut out mod developers, and I asked why they would want to take on the responsibility of supporting it themselves.

Going the way this thread has gone puts me in a bad mind about this switch.  Frankly, I *never* want to see an officially supported Supermod.  What I would want is for mod creators to continue to have full reign over what they produce and where they support it.  I have always felt that one of the greatest strengths of YSE was its SEPARATE mod community.  Sure, it's nice to have a mod section as a central place to tell others about your mod, but no matter how involved the mod is, no matter how "super" I don't think the YSE people should be involved in any way shape or form beyond that central repository.  What I think should be clear is that Supermod (lets not mince words) or any other mod not be able to adjust the license to screw mod writers.  I guess I'm saying I thought the software was great when it was covered under the GPL and changing from that has caused more problems than it seems to have solved.
She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal - she was a transdimensional speeder!



mephisto_kur

Quote from: Grudge on August 03, 2003, 03:45:13 PM
What I would REALLY like to see is MOD makers making more of an effort not to cause conflicts.


*Exactly*

Can I make it more clear that this is my thought *exactly*?  
;)
She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal - she was a transdimensional speeder!



Ben_S

Its unavoidable sometimes though as there are certain lines that must be modified and theres no way around that?
Liverpool FC Forum with 14 million+ posts.

mephisto_kur

Sorry if I seem so enthusiastic about this topic.  It's just that when I think of the one big thing I love most about YSE it has to be the freedom the software offers.  I won't lie and say that (at least up til SMF gets released) YSE has an abundance of features - frankly, it is severely lacking compared to much of the competition.  I will say that I believe that IBf has lost me as a future customer entirely because of my love for how free YSE has been.
She put her foot down on the oscillation pedal - she was a transdimensional speeder!



Jeff Lewis

The intention isn't to limit MOD writers (and we haven't done any changes yet) it's to make sure that the MOD writers and developers are protected.

Why should all these people work so many hours to have their work stolen and have to go through all this stress? it's deeply annoying.
Co-Founder of SMF

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