Does XenForo Take Action Against Shady Forum Owners?

[VisEntities]

If a forum running XenForo is involved in shady stuff, like selling pirated software, does reporting them to XenForo do anything? Does XenForo take action in cases like this, or do they not really care? I was wondering because I know of a forum using XenForo that's doing exactly that, and I'm not sure if reporting it would make any difference

 

[Ozzy47]

They are redistributing addons and XF software, or they are using a pirated copy of XF?

 

[CedricV]

They don’t.

 

[VisEntities]

They are redistributing addons and XF software, or they are using a pirated copy of XF?

No, it has nothing to do with XenForo itself, other than the fact that they're hosting the shady content (pirated game mods in this case) on XenForo forum. Now whether they're using a pirated copy of XenForo or a legitimate one, I have no idea

 

[Ozzy47]

They really won't do anything TBH

 

[Suzanne O]

You'd be better off filing a report at your local police station mate.

 

[frm]

'Report piracy' tab on the Contact us page: https://xenforo.com/contact/

XenForo can revoke a license for illegal activity (in the license agreement). But, it's up to pursuing them afterward to take the site down that's the harder part.

At least they won't get any upgrades if they yank the license.

You need to be logged out of your XenForo customer account (not the forum) to see the tab.

 

[Ozzy47]

XenForo can revoke a license for illegal activity (in the license agreement). But, it's up to pursuing them afterward to take the site down that's the harder part.

At least they won't get any upgrades if they yank the license.

You need to be logged out of your XenForo customer account (not the forum) to see the tab.

View attachment 319393

Sure they could, use a pirated version of XF

 

[frm]

Sure they could, use a pirated version of XF

Yeah, there's really not much they can do unless they have a strong legal arm to enforce it.

With 2 huge sites that I know are up and running a pirated version of XF, it makes it seem like they don't go after them hard enough (or at all), just revoke their license for future upgrades... which they can just re-purchase under another identity and upgrade.

 

[CedricV]

Internet piracy is an ongoing war you cannot win. Best to ignore it.

 

[Ozzy47]

Internet piracy is an ongoing war you cannot win. Best to ignore it.

It would be a bit helpful for us and annoying to the pirates if XF stopped them from downloading addons when proof is shown they are stealing our work.

 

[frm]

It would be a bit helpful for us and annoying to the pirates if XF stopped them from downloading addons when proof is shown they are stealing our work.

I think Add-on update notifications (2.4) is the framework to stop the piracy of add ons, if you can hide the API calls that @DragonByte Tech referenced in his post about it, or at least I took it that way. If someone knows PHP, they can still hack it out. But, if you insert it enough in different functions that might be dependent for other things to work, and all around to make it hard for the average layperson, it might convert a sale or two (or at least you'll know what site installed your add on and when).

If I had to guess, by default it'll only be able to fetch XFRM updates from xenforo.com that have a direct download.

Unless the devs have a brainfart and forget to make this update downloader extendable, it would be a simple enough task to create our own "Update Essentials" that - in my case at least - will let you enter your DBTech API key and I can use it along with an embedded license key to fetch the update

I already did with ThemeHouse's old Install & Upgrade I think it was called, so I'm looking forward to resurrecting that code path

 

[zappaDPJ]

Internet piracy is an ongoing war you cannot win.

I agree with that.

Best to ignore it.

But not so much with that.

If you believe someone is operating outside of a software's licencing terms I'd argue it is worth reporting to the developer. There's a small chance a suitably worded email from the developer might encourage the site owner to purchase a licence.

 

[frm]

The other option is force everyone to use IonCube if they want your add ons. I have only ever seen 1 developer here offer a free trial of their add on if they had IonCube Loader. But, it's probably something developers should look into doing to stop the rampant sharing of add ons.

The encoder is $199~, but the Loader is free (for the end user).

 

[DragonByte Tech]

I think Add-on update notifications (2.4) is the framework to stop the piracy of add ons, if you can hide the API calls that @DragonByte Tech referenced in his post about it, or at least I took it that way. If someone knows PHP, they can still hack it out. But, if you insert it enough in different functions that might be dependent for other things to work, and all around to make it hard for the average layperson, it might convert a sale or two (or at least you'll know what site installed your add on and when).

I wasn’t really referencing hiding API calls, as any DRM/code obfuscation would need to be declared according to the resource guidelines.

Once upon a time, I was hiding a callback to a server I owned, that was triggering randomly, and since it didn’t prevent any function from working, nullers didn’t catch it.

This trick caught a major supplier of pirated copies of my addons. However, a legitimate user noticed the call in their server’s logs and reported it, so that functionality was removed from all releases.

My post was more clarifying the fact that my customers will be able to use the auto update checker in XF to see updates from my site (and possibly grab/install them), and the same will be true for anyone else using DB eCommerce to sell their addons

———

Reporting piracy is always worth it. In the off chance the pirates are hosting with a web host that is amenable to DMCA/copyright notifications, the site can be taken down.

———

The other option is force everyone to use IonCube if they want your add ons. I have only ever seen 1 developer here offer a free trial of their add on if they had IonCube Loader. But, it's probably something developers should look into doing to stop the rampant sharing of add ons.

The encoder is $199~, but the Loader is free (for the end user).

Doesn’t ioncube require a PHP extension installed? That’s going to be a blocker for many people, as it’s not guaranteed any given web host will have this extension installed.

 

[Mr Lucky]

With 2 huge sites that I know are up and running a pirated version of XF, it makes it seem like they don't go after them hard enough (or at all), just revoke their license for future upgrades... which they can just re-purchase under another identity and upgrade.

There's a small chance a suitably worded email from the developer might encourage the site owner to purchase a licence.

That's a very small chance.

There is problem in these cases with trying to take action. Even if you win a lawsuit, you get nothing except a big fat lawyer's bill if the party you are after has no money to pay your costs and damages.

In my line of work I am often confronted with piracy, counterfeiting and copyright theft. I don't have the finds to pursue.

 

[Mr Lucky]

The other option is force everyone to use IonCube if they want your add ons.

How does that work?

I remember years back when Logic Pro required a dongle. Cracked versions ran without the dongle, but the MIDI instruments would randomly play out of tune.

I was admin on a Logic forum and we'd often get queries from users who would present this problem. I think we had a cut and paste response that involved them jumping through all kinds of configuration hoops and then when they went back to say it didn't work they found they were banned. Great fun.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

The other option is force everyone to use IonCube if they want your add ons. I have only ever seen 1 developer here offer a free trial of their add on if they had IonCube Loader. But, it's probably something developers should look into doing to stop the rampant sharing of add ons.

The encoder is $199~, but the Loader is free (for the end user).

I also just realised, using IonCube Loader would be against the Resource Standards:

Other than for time limited demo or trial purposes, code must not be encrypted, encoded or otherwise obfuscated.

So there is really no method of anti-piracy that would be suitable. It's just something we have to deal with, unfortunately

 

[zappaDPJ]

That's a very small chance.

There is problem in these cases with trying to take action. Even if you win a lawsuit, you get nothing except a big fat lawyer's bill if the party you are after has no money to pay your costs and damages.

In my line of work I am often confronted with piracy, counterfeiting and copyright theft. I don't have the finds to pursue.

It is a small chance and I agree the cost of taking legal action for a couple of hundred dollars is futile but it costs nothing to send an appropriately worded email and I know from personal experience it can result in a genuine purchase.

 

[frm]

So there is really no method of anti-piracy that would be suitable. It's just something we have to deal with, unfortunately

I believe that's to list it in the Resources on XenForo. There's nothing that says you can't independently run your own add on commerce site and sell through there.

If you're well known enough (like you), there really is no need to put it in the Resources section here. Just add it to your signature or take private inquiries only (I have your branding free package, but your footer links can also help drive awareness).

While it is not currently possible for XenForo Ltd. to review every single resource available in the Resource manager, it is important that all resource authors are aware of the minimum standards we expect from them when they release their products here.

How does that work?

Developers would just need to include a very good FAQ on how to install it.