Modification Site

[Reminder]

Are you going to open similar sites vbulletin.org?

 

[Elizabeth]

I would hope to see a mod discussion forum before this goes gold. There is a strong case for mod discussions to happen as soon as a the beta is released so that modders can begin working on beta's of their mods in order to gain feedback and make bug fixes. If this doesnt happen during the beta of XF then I cant see any reason to wait to gold when release candidates *should* be solid enough for modders to begin releasing their mods.

Here is one of the discussion threads on the subject: http://xenforo.com/community/threads/question-the-resource-forum.3780/

 

[Ruven]

Xenforo.com = Free Mods/Styles
Xenforo.net = Paid Mods/Styles

 

[feldon30]

Why not have it like the App Store and have both Free and Paid mixed together? It's worked well for them. There are separate search options for "All Free Mods", "Best Free Mods". The great thing about a good database of mods is, you can search and cut it up any way you want if you have the right tags/data.

I also want to reiterate (because I think it's important enough to repost) that I think mod, style, and language contributors/authors MUST be required to choose from a list of 3-4 software licenses before uploading to clearly indicate to other users what happens if the mod stops being developed. Can someone else fork the project? On vb.org it's been unclear and as a result, many mods lie abandoned or in the graveyard.

 

[Paul M]

On vb.org it's been unclear and as a result, many mods lie abandoned or in the graveyard.

Its quite clear

If "Resuable" is selected, then anyone can use or reuse the code (so develop their own version) - otherwise its down to the original coder.

The only issue is that the option has only existed for about 2 years, not the entire life of the site - not much can be done about that.

 

[Decado]

I completely agree, however I would hope that in order for people to post paid mods there would be some strict requirements as to their responsibilities to the people that have purchased the mod, as far as bug fixes go, that are inforced. IE: post a paid mod that has a known security risk that is never fixed = license ban( Just an example).

I also think it would be nice to have a team of people that would look over the majority of mods to make sure they are following some sort of guide lines, but at some point I think it would become an overwhelming effort.

Strongly agree about paid mods having certain responsibilites they have to live up to. =)

 

[Dean]

Its quite clear

If "Resuable" is selected, then anyone can use or reuse the code (so develop their own version) - otherwise its down to the original coder.

The only issue is that the option has only existed for about 2 years, not the entire life of the site - not much can be done about that.

That is a great fist step. You may want to consider:

• Making reusable the default if it is not he default (I've not uploaded a mod, that may be the case)
• Display 'not reusable' when that is what was selected, to give people more of a clue that the modification is 'not-reusable'

 

[Paul M]

The first will not happen - it should always be a concious choice of anyone to make the code reusable, not a default. The second is worth consideration, not sure exactly how to word it, but nevertheless, worth looking into. You really should suggest it over on the site tho, it'll get forgotten about over here.

 

[Shanj]

I agree that a mods section of the board is necessary as soon as the beta is released.
But that's so obvious I'm sure it's part of the plan.

Also that different types should be categorised, again obvious so certainly will happen.

Paid or not I think it's up to the mod. Some are going to b e experienced coders worth it. Some mods are substantial - a cms or a gallery is likely to be a paid mod while a single design tweak not.

The issue of quality and support is more complicated.

I'd suggest that a mod cannot be paid unless it's supported.
Then if a support forum has no input from the coder for say 6 months, it automatically becomes open to others to develop the mod. Something like that. That isn't quite right but you get my drift. What I think is wrong is to pay for a mod, and not b e able to get support.

On quality control otherwise I'd suggest some kind of voting system (Mod Likes?) and if a mod gets 100 of them, 200, 500 it's on a starred list one star 2 star 5 stars.
A Mod Like means Installed + 1 month later Satisfied.
Installed triggers a timeline so the user gets a reminder to confirm Satisfaction. Kind of like ebay! K I know that's ugh but the feedback system does work quite well.