Hacks !!!

[Raxum]

Would someone be so nice n' tell me what hacks they think rules for the Lite version... also tell which hacks you think are very useful!

Thansk

[Me2Be]

No one creates hacks for the lite version. It is only a test version to make sure your server can use Vb.

Sorry!

[Joe]

Actualy, i have seen a few comments on hacking the lite version, from what i understand, you can hack the lite version all you want, you just cant share you hacks with others...

[Chris Schreiber]

Originally posted by BikeForums
... you can hack the lite version all you want, you just cant share you hacks with others...

That's correct... right on the download page it clearly states: vBulletin Lite may be modified for your own use only. Under no circumstances may any modified vBulletin Lite code be distributed.

-Chris

[chrispadfield]

hehe, don't want the problem ubb had when you could hack it into the full version!

[Raxum]

Damit !!!
Well is it then legal to give other user an already hacked Lite version and then upload it?

[Chris Schreiber]

Nope, you can't share any vB Lite code at all, period.

[wajones]

“Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed”

Unfortuately a hard thing to protect, a product such as vBulletin at best is only protected by the way it is expressed and unfortunately it was originally expressed looking quite like other forums (UBB) out there. just because it's published doesn't make it a unique intellectual property, unless registered first. Has that been done?


Waiting for the flack.... :eek:

P.S. Just making conversation... What do we really know and what do we assume as being law when it comes to this subject... How well are your works protected and what rights do others have that you may have unknowingly infringed upon....

[Edited by wajones on 10-19-2000 at 06:54 PM]

[chrispadfield]

Originally posted by wajones
just because it's published doesn't make it a unique intellectual property, unless registered. Has that been done?


Waiting for the flack.... :eek:



Hehe... here we go :)

That is not the case, i have read in so many places this argument and then seen people who say this is not the case. I am going to go through my bookmark to find this real good site that explains all copyright rule.

So far as to say, you don't need to even write "copyrighted" on something, it is protected by default. Something is only in the public domain if it has been expressly put there. If i put an image on my website and i don't have a copyright notice people can still not come and download it and put it on their site.

Going to look for the info on this.

[wajones]

http://altavista.uslaw.com/library/article/article_161.html

I love a good discussion ;)

P.S. My original statement should have said "just because it's published doesn't make it a unique intellectual property, unless registered first. Has that been done? "

Has someone registered a piece of forum software that is coincidently expressed in the same manner, or close enough to cause doubt.


[Edited by wajones on 10-19-2000 at 06:59 PM]

[chrispadfield]

vbulletin is protected by the actual code in the same way a book is protected

and then

2. When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form so that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

[wajones]

49. How much do I have to change in order to claim copyright in someone else's work?

Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create a new version of that work. Accordingly, [b]you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent.[/u] See Circular 14. http://www.uslaw.com/library/article/article_161.html


Who was the first to copyright a php scripted forum software with the same purpose and result.

What would consitute one's work??? How would we define this??? Has it been tested by a court case???

[chrispadfield]

interesting point. But it is not solely about purpose and result is it? all cooking books have the same purpose, to teach you to cook but they are all written differently have different words, layouts, ways of teaching etc.

The same i would think would apply to computer code. That is why WordPro is different to Microsoft Word despite having a lot of the same features and ways of doing things.

Testing it in a court, no idea how that would happen. Seriously doubt that Jelsoft would have the resources to defend a copyright infrinsion of any sort. If they could not threaten eiter the user or the host of the user through email, phone and writing enough to stop them using it i doubt there is much more they can really do.

Defining someone's own work i agree is very hard thing to do. Gets even harder to do with things like site layout/design which are almost impossible to define. Just as hard are things like logos, there was a case i tihnk about the various GO logos from GO.com and a british arline GO (part of british airways), don't know what happened.

Intersting thing really... my lawyers friends (i am at uni now) do intellectual propety next term i think so i will probably find out more then!

[Chris Schreiber]

Copyright Facts and Myths: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

[chrispadfield]

as always.. gets to it! That is the exact url that i was trying to find!

[wajones]

I think the point I tried to get opened was that we are mostly on our honor, as hard as the courts have tried they really only protect the one's out there that have the bucks and can afford the litigation. Even though small companies like Jelsoft don't have the resources to pursue actions against us, we should have the decency to respect each others work. This I believe extends beyond borders that laws stop at.

Are you crying yet???? Nuff of this topic... Everyone's right!

[chrispadfield]

hehe, i totally agree with you there. There is not much more jelsoft could do anyway. Fortunatly, i have not seen any downloadable versions of vbulletin anywhere unliked ubb which you can get of half a dozen hotline servers. I think the extra technical requirement of php and mysql puts a lot of people who just want an easy downloadable script off which is probably not a bad thing in this case.

[chrispadfield]

I always wonder if jelsoft put a 1by1 pixel in the admin sector of vbulletin (or on installation page) they could then check their access logs to see where the program has been installed. I think i would do that if i made software like this.

[Mike Sullivan]

Originally posted by chrispadfield
I always wonder if jelsoft put a 1by1 pixel in the admin sector of vbulletin (or on installation page) they could then check their access logs to see where the program has been installed. I think i would do that if i made software like this.

As small as that would seem, since we're on the technical/legal subject, that would probably be construed as an invasion of privacy. And not to mention that wouldn't really do much, unless you REQUIRED every vB to be run on a registered URL.

[wajones]

When a company like Microsoft can't stop it, not much chance that anyone else can. That pixle could be like a imbedded pointer that if removed would cause the program to self distruct :D that would be cool...

I forget what product it was, but to install it you have to run a setup script from their site that in return writes a custom install for you that does all kinds of tricky setting of variables specific to your domain name etc.
While you can go thru the code (perl) and change it by hand, what a pain, might as well write the program yourself.

Of course those kinds of things are a challenge and tend to just invite hackers to take a crack at it.

[chrispadfield]

wajones,

sounds like more hard work than it is worth.

ed,

really. not sure if it is. Especially if it is made clear before installation that this is what happens. Another way would just be to make the software installed from vbulletins only server (like http://www.gossamer-threads.com do).