Originally posted by .bs0d
You're funny, actually it was setup correctly. How could it not be, its self installing script- and it was up to date. How could you say I did not keep it maintained? That makes really no sense, expecially if you had not even seen the previous forums I ran. If you knew anything about programming and care about your website, its is clearly the best choice to code your own forums - bar none. Face it, in well known forums, exploits exist. I implemented a security code displayed in an image that must be entered before a user can register. This makes it where spam bots cannot fill the form and register, as only a person can see the code before its entered, thus - real members. Also, for the type of website I have, it is very much open to the public and unlike your case I cannot only permit users to signup that only I know personally. In 90% of all forums, you want to public to view the forums and become a member. If im not mistaken, that is what makes a community- like 2gnt.

the more you type, the more i think you are clueless. this shall not be a flame war though. yes, it is a self installing script, but if your version is up to date, they continue to update security vulnerabilities and such to keep your board "yours". if your board was "hacked" or taken over by some script kiddie, you didnt keep it maintained, simple as that. :shrug

screw programming an entire forum. if you just look at how many files are in phpbb and how much backend work there is, why would i want to redo what has been done. no need to recreate the wheel. plus, you are stuck will ALL security tasks, ALL update tasks, etc. since exploits exist in ALL forums, why build your own, as exploits will still be there. as a webmaster/sysadmin, you have to get over the fact that as long as there is the internet, as long as humans create the software we use, there will be vulnerabilities. simple as that. using someone elses software vs creating your own will not change that, they will just find other ways of getting past your code.

phpbb has implemented the image verification, so dont think that your l33t coding skills have bypassed open source forum software that hundreds of people have had a hand in creating. they've been doing it for a while now as a matter of fact.

as far as the public viewing the forums before registering, why? i dont want john doe public viewing the telephone number thread, i dont want john doe public looking at peoples profiles where home addresses are stored. how many cell phone numbers and home addresses are posted here on 2gnt, few and far between. the point is my forum has a lot of personal information stored on it, there is no need to let the public view it.

are you saying that NABR is not a community, you have to register to view thier forums too, even then, you cant view everything and have to prove yourself. NABR is one of the tightest knit communities around. everybody knows everybody. even now, you have to know someone on the inside to get in.

if you want to be a part of the community, join the forum. if you are a guest, you cant post, even here on 2gnt; that means you still AREN'T a part of the community. if you lurk without registering, you are stepping on the balance of "community". a community is give and recieve, if you dont post anything, you are not part of the community. if all of our members stopped posting and just read, what kind of community would we have. bottom line, a community is not formed until there are posts and communication, since you cant do that without registering, there is no community until registration occurs. what was your point again?

/class