Piracy, Who cares?

[cyberxp9]

I keep on reporting suspecting sites, that I am 99% sure are pirated vbs.

[URLs Removed]
and no one seems to do anything.:confused:

[Steve Machol]

Why on Earth would you or anyone think we are not interested in stopping piracy and protecting our Intellectual Property? That doesn't make any sense. :confused:

Something is ALWAYS done. Keep in mind that Jelsoft is not some all-powerful entity that can smite down illegal sites with a wave of it's mighty hand. The process requires cooperation from the web hosting companies and others as well.

Some sites may be hosted in places that don't respect copyright laws. Some may have purchased a license
after getting their warning. Some just pick up and move to another host after getting shut down. And some may just take a while to get shut down.

Thank you for your reports. Believe me, we DO follow-up within the limits of our power.

[MRGTB]

I keep on reporting suspecting sites, that I am 99% sure are pirated vbs.
[URLs Removed]
and no one seems to do anything.:confused:

Also remember, lots of sites running vBulletin illegally will go out there way first to rent a host were the the laws are weak. Or they may even live in a country were the laws are weak and rent a local host. Like with many Russian sites out there.

[Wheels]

Just keep on reporting them. Like Steve said some go to legal status or other circumstances. I reported one that looked funny awhile back and it was gone after 2 weeks.

[Jose Amaral Rego]

You also need to understand, in some countries they do not care for such laws and lots of servers do not bother doing anything about it if they are getting paid for space. Good apples & Bad apples, can not do much.

[Floris]

Our successrate to fight piracy has increased tenfold, if not more.

[The Overlord]

Piracy with Vbulletin was pretty difficult since I thought prior to installing it had to varify with the server the customer number and what not. Is that not the case?

[filburt1]

vB has viewable source, so it can easily be modified to remove any undesired code which is what pirates do. The only alternative rather than protecting the code using expensive and proprietary methods is to offload critical funtionality to a critical server which is not desirable.

[Cal813]

The only problem I seen is hosts that help piracy. I've heard and and awhile back was even offered a pirated vbulletin by host though after reporting his pirated vb he seems to take it down for about a month place it back up and I send vb the link and he seems to be doing that ever since. Just takes it down enough time for vb to be satisfied and then its up again. Pretty annoying but I guess vb can only do so much like everyone has said in the thread.

[Floris]

Those are basicly rumours. Because we follow up on our piracy. And if a site gets back in the system we take it up by one step and contact the data center besides the hosting provider. And if all fails we can still take the legal steps. Of course we dont' tell our full scale of methods to fight piracy, but be assured that there is more then the eye can see.

Piracy is a crime, it doesn't pay off and it is not as wonderful as when owning a legal license that comes with the benefits. One also sleeps a lot better, and it is a lot less hassle.

[CMilne]

Those are basicly rumours. Because we follow up on our piracy. And if a site gets back in the system we take it up by one step and contact the data center besides the hosting provider. And if all fails we can still take the legal steps. Of course we dont' tell our full scale of methods to fight piracy, but be assured that there is more then the eye can see.

Piracy is a crime, it doesn't pay off and it is not as wonderful as when owning a legal license that comes with the benefits. One also sleeps a lot better, and it is a lot less hassle. Yeah, I myself use to operate 3 boards under one license. I was ALWAYS scared i'd get myself into trouble if jelsoft found out. They eventually did and I just ended up buying the licenses, felt much better for it and the licenses arent exactly expensive at $90 per year. Your hosting for it probably ends up costing more in a year.

So, jelsoft DOES find out and they DO take action. Because 3 boards under 1 license technically means 2 are illegal ... for everyone who didn't understand .

[pspcrazy]

where cna we report piracy of vb?

[ManagerJosh]

where cna we report piracy of vb?
www.vbulletin.com/piracy

[Cal813]

I just reported one myself and its offline, hopefully the user doesn't re upload it again for the 3rd time. It sucks to see these kind of people these days....I don't get why they don't bother using a free BB like I did till I saved enough money and ported over to vB.

[thibeaz]

You should offer a free version of vbulletin maybe use an older version so that people will use the free version and be satisfied and maybe in the near future to buy the latest version.this is just a suggestion not a to do immediatly just a suggestion

[thibeaz]

I suggest as the free one use v 1.x

[---MAD---]

thank god something is done. I thought nothing was done too.

[ManagerJosh]

You should offer a free version of vbulletin maybe use an older version so that people will use the free version and be satisfied and maybe in the near future to buy the latest version.this is just a suggestion not a to do immediatly just a suggestion
That will only hurt you the webmaster as older versions are full of security holes or bugs that can affect your website.

Plus it also affects Jelsoft as they would need to provide support, and thereby harming existing paying customers.

[Onimua]

You should offer a free version of vbulletin maybe use an older version so that people will use the free version and be satisfied and maybe in the near future to buy the latest version.this is just a suggestion not a to do immediatly just a suggestion I know that's been talked about before and I think the answer was still no.

That still wouldn't stop people from pirating the latest version anyway.

[Zecherieh]

You should offer a free version of vbulletin maybe use an older version so that people will use the free version and be satisfied and maybe in the near future to buy the latest version.this is just a suggestion not a to do immediatly just a suggestion

I think once upon a time they did - (like 2000) - but honestly - why?

Why should they spend the time and effort on a free version, when there is very good forum software available for free. If someone wants to not pay - use one of them - its as simple as that. Personally - I perfer vBulletin - but then again, after, what - five years, and watching this product grow from the point where John actually fixed my initial installation mess (in retrospect - how the hell can you mess up a vB intall - even 1.1 :) ) - to the company they are now - I am little partial :)

On the original subject - I think it can be said, without much dispute, that vBulletin, for a open source script, is far and away the best I have seen at cutting down priracy - granted, they have that nice double edged sword that some software doesnt have - you use a forum, you want people to come to it - you want it in the search engines - and bam - you busted (god I must be a nightmare for your company that does that - with, what 3000 domains over the past three years at different times pointing to one, or another of the two licenses I have :) )

[Zecherieh]

I suggest as the free one use v 1.x

Honestly - that would hurt sales.

Not because people would only use it, and not buy up - but because people would see it - and get the idea that is what vBulletin is.

Which either of the two big freeones is way better than that.

In 1 - you want PMs - you better start digging through some old threads to find the hack, though if I was able to install it - it cant be that hard :)

Polls? Same thing.

Online user listing? Same thing.

Quick Reply? Pretty sure that was not even hacked in until 2 was out for a bit.

The list goes on - to the point where I would not even try to remember - so much of what is thought of as basic functions now - wasnt then.

[Mayers]

I suggest as the free one use v 1.x
I would suggest aginst that. A free version of vBulletin would just make sales go down. There are many free forum software out there. If someone doesn't have the money or is just too cheap to pay, use one of the free ones already out there. There happens to be free forum software that works well, you can make it do anything you want. Don't rip off a company who works hard to provider their customers with great service, thats unfair to them.

[RHarbison]

I can assure you they do actively pursue piracy. I was accidentally running an illegal site. (How do you do that accidentally? You forget to renew your leased license...) At first they sent us some notes asking us to renew. A spam filter ate 'em for lunch, and we never saw them. A month or two went by while we unknowingly ignored the VB attempts to contact us.

Pretty soon I got a note from my hosting company... "Uh, we have somebody here who's threatening to sue us under the DMCA, can you please explain what's going on? Oh, and do it quickly before we pull the plug on your server..."

Once I contacted VB, they quickly staightened things out. (I also immediately switched to an owned license to prevent that problem from ever happening again.)

[RHarbison]

I suggest as the free one use v 1.x

There have been a huge number of upgrades, security fixes and bug repairs since then. It would be like telling folks "OK, here's a free copy of Windows 95 to help you decide if you'll like Windows XP..."

If anything, maybe they could release a version limited to 100 members and/or that expires after a month of use. But that could be difficult for them to program.

Meanwhile, if you try a leased version it's $85. If you're serious about running a professional forum, that's certainly a reasonable investment. Folks also have plenty of chances to see the software in action and to ask folks if they reccomend it.

[Rolla]

1.0 isn't free.

It was simply made availible to test if your server would work correctly with version 2.0x
all those that gained copies way back when were expected to buy a license shortly after using it.

[boomer_ie]

www.vbulletin.com/piracy (http://www.vbulletin.com/piracy)

I have a suspicion about a particular forum, however I wish to be sure that it is illegal before I report it, can someone tell me where there is a listing of all forums that use VB?

I of course have a VB forum of my own that is legal :)

[thibeaz]

What I am suggesting is that use 1.0 but have certain security precaussions like they can't chage a paticular format like reduced control

[thibeaz]

man it seems a lot of the time I don't type what I want to type I am suggesting to reduce the control of 1.0 and then offer it but from what I say in these posts that there will not be use of it and I understand. me I love Vbulletin but I don't have it if you know what i mean. I use it from christianguitar.org and just the basic controls for a member is incredible. VBULLETIN ROCKS

[Colin F]

There is no public listing of all forums that own a vBulletin license. If you have a suspicion, report it, and our piracy team will check it out.

boomer_ie, please follow the instructions in this thread (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79557).


And no, there are no plans to offer a free version. You're free to discuss it, but I don't think that'll change much :)

[boomer_ie]

Thanks Colin,

I thought I saw a listing of all forums using VB somewhere at one stage when I was registering my version and some mention of whether we wanted to list the forum to the public.

Shane

[RHarbison]

....I love Vbulletin but I don't have it if you know what i mean. I use it from christianguitar.org and just the basic controls for a member is incredible. VBULLETIN ROCKS

If you like it so much, what's wrong with paying for it? These folks do this for a living. They need to pay for all of the expenses involved in creating and distributing this software and who knows, maybe even have a few bucks left over for food and shelter.

This software is relatively inexpensive. A leased lincense works out to well under $10 per month. Now I realize some folks are on a tight budget, but if you can't afford $10 per month for the software, you probably can't afford the server to run it on either.

So if you think it's a good product, buy it!

[Cal813]

actually that sounds good in a way. Say offer vb2 for free. This way people get a taste of vB plus less piracy? I mean if they want vB why not give it? Just older versions well if that satisfies them if not they will still pirate the newer vB's? I guess this issue goes both ways. Or better yet have a monthly fee? Meaning a lease to own licence, some people just can't pay all at once.

[Onimua]

actually that sounds good in a way. Say offer vb2 for free. This way people get a taste of vB plus less piracy? I mean if they want vB why not give it? Just older versions well if that satisfies them if not they will still pirate the newer vB's? I guess this issue goes both ways. Or better yet have a monthly fee? Meaning a lease to own licence, some people just can't pay all at once.
That's still not going to lesson piracy. People will always want the latest and greatest, but they will not always pay for it. ;)

[The Overlord]

If you like it so much, what's wrong with paying for it? These folks do this for a living. They need to pay for all of the expenses involved in creating and distributing this software and who knows, maybe even have a few bucks left over for food and shelter.

This software is relatively inexpensive. A leased lincense works out to well under $10 per month. Now I realize some folks are on a tight budget, but if you can't afford $10 per month for the software, you probably can't afford the server to run it on either.

So if you think it's a good product, buy it!

I agree and that's why I made the switch for The Rpg Outpost. I was using PhPBB which worked fine, but VBulletin has better features then PHPBB. Sure, you can get some of those features on PhpBB but you have to hack the software to do the mods (something I didn't want to do) so I purchased a copy of Vbulletin and I have been very happy. If the current use doesnt work I will do whatever they will have me do so I can switch the license to another domain name.

[ManagerJosh]

Colin's right. There is no complete listing of all forums who own vBulletin. However there is a partial listing available.

http://www.vbulletin.com/links

[Cal813]

Is there anyway members could search for a url? It would save some time then reporting if we know the link matches a forum. Therefore me know it has to be registered.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

Just report it. Jelsoft Staff will do the searching to see if a site is licensed. If it is licensed, the owner of the board will never know it was ever reported. If it is not licensed, it will be followed up.

[Lizard King]

There is another point of piracy. Some sites ( i just reported one 2 minutes ago ) buy a license and then download all hacks from vb.org ad release it to public. I hate this kind of people. ALso they are using my country name and vbulletin name in their domain so they are insaulting my country but they believe they are not doing anything wrong.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

Unfortunatly neither Jelsoft, nor vb.org, is the copyright holder to those hacks. Only the hack author can take legal actions.

[Lizard King]

Unfortunatly neither Jelsoft, nor vb.org, is the copyright holder to those hacks. Only the hack author can take legal actions.
So anyone can open a vbulletin site download all the hacks from vb.org and can open a board on vbulletin ? What can the hack authors can do about it ? Sue them ? I believe there shall be something Jellsoft can do like cancelling their license or something like that.

[Cal813]

No the author either contacts the ISP or Host and usually it will be solved within a few days. All the author needs to show is that he "really" did create the mod thus showing the vb.org post where the author posted the hack. Most hosts if in a area where copyright laws exist will take it off. In the end it doesn't really matter too too much if the hacks are given off as if there board gets reported everything will have to be taken off anyways.

[fufu]

When purchasing vBulletin, you recieve excellent techincal support! Plus, some illegal boards are on the 'localhost' of the pirate.

[Wheels]

actually that sounds good in a way. Say offer vb2 for free. This way people get a taste of vB plus less piracy? I mean if they want vB why not give it? Just older versions well if that satisfies them if not they will still pirate the newer vB's? I guess this issue goes both ways. Or better yet have a monthly fee? Meaning a lease to own licence, some people just can't pay all at once.

People can actually get a taste of vB before buying or going the piracy route. It's called the Admin Demo. You can sign up for it and play with it all you want.

[Floris]

For who likes to discuss vBulletin piracy check out PRF (http://www.PirateReportsForum.com/), for who likes vBulletin and uses it as a warez version WATCH YOUR BACK! I AM COMIN FOR YOU.

For who likes it, runs a warez version and is the bigger person: Please purchase (http://www.vBulletin.com/order/) a license.

For who like a free version: We are a commercial company and have no intention to provide you with a free version.

For who likes vBulletin and made a purchase: Thank you. You can report piracy here (http://www.vBulletin.com/piracy.php).

[echo_unlimited]

I now where to get hacks/mods for vBulletin, this forum I now freely distrubutes hacks you can also get the latest version of vBulletin from their.
The server is based in Russia, Btw..


I haven't reported it though. But people who already own a vB license download hacks from vbulletin.org and put them onto their russian servers so any one can download them Their are thousands of hacks on that site though.

[Marco van Herwaarden]

Then why haven't you reported it.

[echo_unlimited]

Then why haven't you reported it.

What do I benifit outta it?


Nothing.


And I don't snitch. o.O I am 15 by the way snitching on some one is not the way I do things.


Unless you'll give me a Free vBulletin license, then I'd be happy to send you a link.

[Onimua]

What do I benifit outta it?


Nothing.


And I don't snitch. o.O I am 15 by the way snitching on some one is not the way I do things.


Unless you'll give me a Free vBulletin license, then I'd be happy to send you a link.
Why do people think they have to get something back before they do anything? It's somewhat sickening. Have you ever heard the phrase "guilty by association," by the way?

How you would like if you worked on something very hard, and charged people for it, while other people were stealing it? Would you just sit there and do nothing? I doubt it.

What if your friends was planning on doing illegal activites where someone could be harmed; and that person being someone else you knew? Would you still not "snitch" on them?

Reporting privacy helps keep prices down--money that continues to keep vBulletin in business and allows the price to remain cheap for what it is. I noticed you were planning on getting vBulletin--well, imagine if you were a customer, and you see some people illegally using a vBulletin for free when you used hard-earned cash to get your own, legalized license.

It's not about getting something out of it for reporting piracy; it's about doing the right thing.

[Floris]

The topic of this discussion has been exhausted. Thread closed.