MyBB Commercial Plugins Discussion

[motokochan]

Since there is at least one forum member who keeps bringing this up elsewhere (hijacking legitimate discussions), I thought I'd try to open a friendly and calm discussion on MyBB and paid plugins.

As many of you might be aware of, there are several paid closed-license plugins out there for MyBB, despite the license of the forum itself now being GPL. This situation brings up a few questions.


What is the cause of MyBB having such commercial third-party interests around that?

My opinion is that a few things are responsible. First, MyBB itself was under a restrictive license early on, which could be said to have encouraged commercial additions. Secondly, MyBB is (more or less in my mind) a "look-alike" of vBulletin, a product with a very commercial community. As MyBB is often seen as the free vBulletin, it has attracted those commercial interests - people not used to the ideals of the GPL fascists (yes, I did call them fascists).


Are non-GPL plugins even legal?

In my mind, this is a tough one. The GPL was created in the era of compiled applications with those in mind. Interfaces in that world are much more defined, making it easier to know the boundaries of interaction. This isn't so in the web-application world where source code mingles and is interpreted at run-time. In my mind, it's near impossible to not have any addon or item that interfaces with the internals of MyBB without requiring that it be GPL licensed. We have seen this with Joomla! (and the subsequent forcing of several commercial efforts to be re-licensed as GPL).

Frankly, I'm of the mind that the GPL is a bad choice for web-level applications because of the nature of the environment. The GPL is very restrictive in telling others what they have to do with their code. If you are aiming for the most freedom, using something like the three-clause BSD license would be the best as it doesn't require any special license for changes to the code or any code that interacts with code licensed that way. Of course, you run the risk of a "source closing" incident, but if you want to allow commercial changes, you kinda have to take that chance.


What is the best way to deal with this?

First, a clear determination needs to be made as to the legalities of enhancements to the MyBB system and what licenses are legal to use. After this determination, a clear set of guidelines need to be published that show the boundaries so the community knows what is acceptable and under what licenses.

If it is determined that the only legal licenses are GPL and GPL-compatible (licenses that the GPL can override), a justification should be published and an effort needs to be taken to make sure code that is in breach of the software license is removed from the MyBB site, and the community rejects any future efforts that would cause license issues.

If it is determined that the GPL does not apply to external parties, then that needs to be said very clearly along with justification for this stance.

Another alternative would be to switch to a license that allows the behavior desired. Hopefully all contributors can be contacted for permission, or the smart thing has been done and copyrights have either been assigned, or permission was given in advance to allow any license changes necessary by those contributors.



Remember that those who hold the GPL up as "the one true free license" are going to keep at you until you can answer these questions clearly. They'll probably still keep at you if you don't follow their desires, but at least you can point them to your answers rather than ignore their shrill voices.


This is my take. What do others feel? What are their answers to the three questions in my post? It's an important question, and will grow ever more so important as the MyBB community matures.

 

[HarryWx]

Since there is at least one forum member who keeps bringing this up elsewhere (hijacking legitimate discussions), I thought I'd try to open a friendly and calm discussion on MyBB and paid plugins.

As many of you might be aware of, there are several paid closed-license plugins out there for MyBB, despite the license of the forum itself now being GPL. This situation brings up a few questions.


What is the cause of MyBB having such commercial third-party interests around that?

My opinion is that a few things are responsible. First, MyBB itself was under a restrictive license early on, which could be said to have encouraged commercial additions. Secondly, MyBB is (more or less in my mind) a "look-alike" of vBulletin, a product with a very commercial community. As MyBB is often seen as the free vBulletin, it has attracted those commercial interests - people not used to the ideals of the GPL fascists (yes, I did call them fascists).


Are non-GPL plugins even legal?

In my mind, this is a tough one. The GPL was created in the era of compiled applications with those in mind. Interfaces in that world are much more defined, making it easier to know the boundaries of interaction. This isn't so in the web-application world where source code mingles and is interpreted at run-time. In my mind, it's near impossible to not have any addon or item that interfaces with the internals of MyBB without requiring that it be GPL licensed. We have seen this with Joomla! (and the subsequent forcing of several commercial efforts to be re-licensed as GPL).

Frankly, I'm of the mind that the GPL is a bad choice for web-level applications because of the nature of the environment. The GPL is very restrictive in telling others what they have to do with their code. If you are aiming for the most freedom, using something like the three-clause BSD license would be the best as it doesn't require any special license for changes to the code or any code that interacts with code licensed that way. Of course, you run the risk of a "source closing" incident, but if you want to allow commercial changes, you kinda have to take that chance.


What is the best way to deal with this?

First, a clear determination needs to be made as to the legalities of enhancements to the MyBB system and what licenses are legal to use. After this determination, a clear set of guidelines need to be published that show the boundaries so the community knows what is acceptable and under what licenses.

If it is determined that the only legal licenses are GPL and GPL-compatible (licenses that the GPL can override), a justification should be published and an effort needs to be taken to make sure code that is in breach of the software license is removed from the MyBB site, and the community rejects any future efforts that would cause license issues.

If it is determined that the GPL does not apply to external parties, then that needs to be said very clearly along with justification for this stance.

Another alternative would be to switch to a license that allows the behavior desired. Hopefully all contributors can be contacted for permission, or the smart thing has been done and copyrights have either been assigned, or permission was given in advance to allow any license changes necessary by those contributors.



Remember that those who hold the GPL up as "the one true free license" are going to keep at you until you can answer these questions clearly. They'll probably still keep at you if you don't follow their desires, but at least you can point them to your answers rather than ignore their shrill voices.


This is my take. What do others feel? What are their answers to the three questions in my post? It's an important question, and will grow ever more so important as the MyBB community matures.

1. You say you want a friendly discussion but you start with the forum member(hijacking legitimate discussions) who most know who you are referring to? Thats not exactly the way to start a friendly discussion.

2. Your views on this matter are not suprising considering the type of license SMF has which you are a part of. In either case i dissagree about the GPL. See PHPBB for a good example as to why. Nice of you to call those who support the GPL " fascists ". You sure you want a friendly discussion? You dont sound friendly so far.

3. A question for you or anyonme else who takes issue with the GPL/Opensource? How come PHPBB is doing just fine with the GPL/Opensource?

Outside of that you do bring up some good points which hopefully will be answered by the MYBB developers and others such as PHPBB who are using the same license. And yes it would be good if MYBB expand more on this and what they really want and where they wanna go. I am adding my thoughts below.

I personally dont believe it will be in MYBB's best intrest to up and change the license AGAIN. It will not go over well with many especially considering they just changed the license less then a year ago. Says to others the project is not stable and doesnt know which way it wants to go into the future.

I as well think that if people wanna do commercial plugins that they should do them on commercial products such as IPB/vB. Many people who use FREE systems such as this use it for a reason because it is FREE. If they want a paid product they will usually use the others. Typically what people do on GPL systems such as PHPBB that do Mods/plugins is ask for donations to help cover the server costs and such and from what i have seen it has not been a issue and there is a phpb mod site or two thats even larger then MYBB itself. So please dont try and say that donations dont work.

MYBB is still relativly small compared to the rest and i strongly doubt that going back to a closed license will help MYBB popularity grow. MYBB needs to reach out to all and not just a select few which in this case is the paid plugin developers and thats exactly what this will be doing if MYBB changes the license just to suit their needs. This has been a issue and continues to be one for many. See the MYBB forums and do a search about the lack of quality sites using MYBB. Despite what i am sure will be dissagreement from MYBB developers i believe the development and addition of some features have been held back as well because of the plugin developers and their users who dont want them added and thats not good. How long now have many people been asking about the paid subscription system? Last i heard it might not get added now till 2.0 if that and who knows when that will be out as we have yet to see 1.6. This is just one example too. If MYBB really wants more professional sites using it's software then well this is not the way to go about it. IMO Mind you that typically professional sites have a income source as well and thus most likely to donate back to MYBB.

I think this paid stuff and MYBB's reluctance to take a stand on the issue are the reasons why the software is not taking off as it should be and thus the small mod/theme community and lack of decent professional sites using the software still. I think it would also help if MYBB was to start pushing the idea that free/opensource is the way to go for plugins and thus start pushing the GPL ideas/concepts.

The thing that MANY such as the topic starter dont get about the GPL/Opensource is that it allows projects to keep rolling ( be it MYBB/PHPBB/mods/Plugins etc ) even if the developer leaves because the license allows others to come and update it and add on and thus keep it rolling. With a closed license you dont have that and this can get a bit messy where Plugin/mod authors are concerned that just up and leave. This is the main reason i wont use Paid plugins and i dont care who it is. Can tell me a 1000 times you are staying but i have heard that countless times before from others who in the end one day just up and left and never to be seen again. If i am gonna pay i'll pay for IPB/vB ( As i already do ) or even MYBB if it ever went paid. Sorry but i see no reason to pay for one feature or more no matter how many plugins you have even if it is 5 lousy bucks. If i wanna give i will donate as i have in the past at other places. Another reason is because i feel these people are holding MYBB back and thus not helping the project and yes this includes those who donate a small portion of the money they get for thier plugins to MYBB. If you really wanna help MYBB start releasing your stuff for free and help MYBB attract better users who will probably wanna give back to MYBB and even you in the form of donations. If this is not for you then perhaps you would be better served trying to get a position at IPB/vB.

Anyways i hope MYBB really thinks this thru and as well doesnt let friendships get in the way of making a proper decision that will benifit MYBB and it's community. Sorry but changing the license AGAIN just for a few Paid plugin authors and thus encouraging more paid plugins will not benifit MYBB and if anything will stunt it's growth with professional sites etc even more.

That is my opinion on this matter. Feel free to agree or dissagree but if i hear any sly remarks about people being cheap or whatever because they dont care for the paid plugins i am gonna take that as a attack and will respond in kind. So please lets not even go there. I ask the mod's here that any such comments are deleted/moderated as i dont care to have this thread locked.

 

[Connect2Devs]

I'm not going to write an essay, just say this.

There is nothing wrong with charging for access to some plugins, as those developers have to meet their hosting costs etc somehow. $5 for 12 months access to downloads of some very good plugins is not expensive, and let's be honest, you'll recoup that $5 through just one of the plugins.

One thing you didn't really mention was that the commercial plugin community does exist for other, paid, forum software. What are your opinions on that?

 

[Lisa]

That is my opinion on this matter. Feel free to agree or dissagree but if i hear any sly remarks about people being cheap or whatever because they dont care for the paid plugins i am gonna take that as a attack and will respond in kind. So please lets not even go there. I ask the mod's here that any such comments are deleted/moderated as i dont care to have this thread locked.

Can you just clarify this, please, as it sounds like you're asking staff to delete any comments that disagree with you.

 

[HarryWx]

Can you just clarify this, please, as it sounds like you're asking staff to delete any comments that disagree with you.

Just asking that the rude comments such as people are being cheap and thus why they dont want paid plugins be kept out of the discussion. Basically asking that they dissagree politely. Sorry but i feel that people getting called cheap or whatever is a personal attack. People pay for thier websites hosting, etc and dont deserve such comments. I explained my reason for not wanting too and as well explained that if i want paid i will use IPB which i do. Thus it has nothing to do with being cheap. Has to do with the principle of the matter.

 

[HarryWx]

I'm not going to write an essay, just say this.

There is nothing wrong with charging for access to some plugins, as those developers have to meet their hosting costs etc somehow. $5 for 12 months access to downloads of some very good plugins is not expensive, and let's be honest, you'll recoup that $5 through just one of the plugins.

One thing you didn't really mention was that the commercial plugin community does exist for other, paid, forum software. What are your opinions on that?

Is this directed at me? If so i think i stated my postion on that. It is a commercial product and thus commercial stuff is expected there. However I dont use any 3rd party paid stuff on my IPB forum either. I have the IPB blogs i paid for and thats it and that is a IPB product. Outside of that all i have is a couple of free mods/plugins ( Arcade and such ) and thus have no use for anything else. Again i do have concerns even here about people pulling the dissapearing act.

As i also mentioned what is wrong with asking for donations as all do on PHPBB to cover those costs? Need i list the mega sites who do mods/plugins for PHPBB that are supported via donations? Why does it work for them and why cant it for these guys on MYBB??

If that wasnt directed at me ignore. Sorry.

 

[Blind Bandit]

1. You say you want a friendly discussion but you start with the forum member(hijacking legitimate discussions) who most know who you are referring to? Thats not exactly the way to start a friendly discussion.

2. Your views on this matter are not suprising considering the type of license SMF has which you are a part of. In either case i dissagree about the GPL. See PHPBB for a good example as to why. Nice of you to call those who support the GPL " fascists ". You sure you want a friendly discussion? You dont sound friendly so far.

3. A question for you or anyonme else who takes issue with the GPL/Opensource? How come PHPBB is doing just fine with the GPL/Opensource?

Outside of that you do bring up some good points which hopefully will be answered by the MYBB developers and others such as PHPBB who are using the same license. And yes it would be good if MYBB expand more on this and what they really want and where they wanna go. I am adding my thoughts below.

I personally dont believe it will be in MYBB's best intrest to up and change the license AGAIN. It will not go over well with many especially considering they just changed the license less then a year ago. Says to others the project is not stable and doesnt know which way it wants to go into the future.

I as well think that if people wanna do commercial plugins that they should do them on commercial products such as IPB/vB. Many people who use FREE systems such as this use it for a reason because it is FREE. If they want a paid product they will usually use the others. Typically what people do on GPL systems such as PHPBB that do Mods/plugins is ask for donations to help cover the server costs and such and from what i have seen it has not been a issue and there is a phpb mod site or two thats even larger then MYBB itself. So please dont try and say that donations dont work.

MYBB is still relativly small compared to the rest and i strongly doubt that going back to a closed license will help MYBB popularity grow. MYBB needs to reach out to all and not just a select few which in this case is the paid plugin developers and thats exactly what this will be doing if MYBB changes the license just to suit their needs. This has been a issue and continues to be one for many. See the MYBB forums and do a search about the lack of quality sites using MYBB. Despite what i am sure will be dissagreement from MYBB developers i believe the development and addition of some features have been held back as well because of the plugin developers and their users who dont want them added and thats not good. How long now have many people been asking about the paid subscription system? Last i heard it might not get added now till 2.0 if that and who knows when that will be out as we have yet to see 1.6. This is just one example too. If MYBB really wants more professional sites using it's software then well this is not the way to go about it. IMO Mind you that typically professional sites have a income source as well and thus most likely to donate back to MYBB.

I think this paid stuff and MYBB's reluctance to take a stand on the issue are the reasons why the software is not taking off as it should be and thus the small mod/theme community and lack of decent professional sites using the software still. I think it would also help if MYBB was to start pushing the idea that free/opensource is the way to go for plugins and thus start pushing the GPL ideas/concepts.

The thing that MANY such as the topic starter dont get about the GPL/Opensource is that it allows projects to keep rolling ( be it MYBB/PHPBB/mods/Plugins etc ) even if the developer leaves because the license allows others to come and update it and add on and thus keep it rolling. With a closed license you dont have that and this can get a bit messy where Plugin/mod authors are concerned that just up and leave. This is the main reason i wont use Paid plugins and i dont care who it is. Can tell me a 1000 times you are staying but i have heard that countless times before from others who in the end one day just up and left and never to be seen again. If i am gonna pay i'll pay for IPB/vB ( As i already do ) or even MYBB if it ever went paid. Sorry but i see no reason to pay for one feature or more no matter how many plugins you have even if it is 5 lousy bucks. If i wanna give i will donate as i have in the past at other places. Another reason is because i feel these people are holding MYBB back and thus not helping the project and yes this includes those who donate a small portion of the money they get for thier plugins to MYBB. If you really wanna help MYBB start releasing your stuff for free and help MYBB attract better users who will probably wanna give back to MYBB and even you in the form of donations. If this is not for you then perhaps you would be better served trying to get a position at IPB/vB.

Anyways i hope MYBB really thinks this thru and as well doesnt let friendships get in the way of making a proper decision that will benifit MYBB and it's community. Sorry but changing the license AGAIN just for a few Paid plugin authors and thus encouraging more paid plugins will not benifit MYBB and if anything will stunt it's growth with professional sites etc even more.

That is my opinion on this matter. Feel free to agree or dissagree but if i hear any sly remarks about people being cheap or whatever because they dont care for the paid plugins i am gonna take that as a attack and will respond in kind. So please lets not even go there. I ask the mod's here that any such comments are deleted/moderated as i dont care to have this thread locked.

Harry, I think your placing to much importance upon the need for open source.

If it bothers you so much that this conflict is occurring then simply drop mybb.

Mybb will not succeed or fail on its license. Thinking that a piece of softwares ability to thrive is based on the rights of the code is really missing the forest for the trees.

Yes the license is a question that needs to be answered. But charging for plugins is the developers prerogative. I would argue unless mybb deems this unacceptable (going strict open source) then there is nothing wrong with releasing paid plugins.

Software is more than its license, and reducing it to rights of distruabation and ownership is an insult to the software and its devlopers.

And I would hope that mybb wouldn't disallow paid plugins as it may well hurt the mod community as a whole.

 

[Connect2Devs]

Is this directed at me? If so i think i stated my postion on that. It is a commercial product and thus commercial stuff is expected there. However I dont use any 3rd party paid stuff on my IPB forum either. I have the IPB blogs i paid for and thats it and that is a IPB product. Outside of that all i have is a couple of free mods/plugins ( Arcade and such ) and thus have no use for anything else. Again i do have concerns even here about people pulling the dissapearing act.

As i also mentioned what is wrong with asking for donations as all do on PHPBB to cover those costs? Need i list the mega sites who do mods/plugins for PHPBB that are supported via donations? Why does it work for them and why cant it for these guys on MYBB??

If that wasnt directed at me ignore. Sorry.

It was directed at you, yes.

Why is commercial stuff expected with commercial software? At the end of the day, plenty of free addons exist for vbulletin yet some commercial plugins do exist for it. I don't see how that is any different to what is happening with MyBB. Some commercial and some free plugins.

There's nothing wrong with asking for donations, but it's up to the developer at the end of the day.

 

[HarryWx]

Harry, I think your placing to much importance upon the need for open source.

If it bothers you so much that this conflict is occurring then simply drop mybb.

Mybb will not succeed or fail on its license. Thinking that a piece of softwares ability to thrive is based on the rights of the code is really missing the forest for the trees.

Yes the license is a question that needs to be answered. But charging for plugins is the developers prerogative. I would argue unless mybb deems this unacceptable (going strict open source) then there is nothing wrong with releasing paid plugins.

Software is more than its license, and reducing it to rights of distruabation and ownership is an insult to the software and its devlopers.

And I would hope that mybb wouldn't disallow paid plugins as it may well hurt the mod community as a whole.

This believe it or not is a minor issue for me and thus not worth me switching to something else. Yes it is concerning but it is not reason enough yet to go jumping ship. Outside of this i love MYBB. Hopefully someday i can switch my IPB forum to it. Cant do that till a few things are added that are must have for that site.

And how exactly is it reducing it's rights by keeping the current license intact? Do you not understand the GPL/Opensource? Not trying to be rude when i ask that either. Again i ask how come PHPBB is doing just fine with the GPL/Opensource?

And how would it hurt the mod community that is basically almost non existent anyways? How has the current form with having these paid plugins helped them? Sorry but even you know it hasnt as seen by the lack of plugin developers there and lack of professional sites using MYBB. Only ones benifitting are a small group of people willing to pay for those plugins and the paid plugin authors themselves. Again see PHPBB and thier modding community. Why does it work there without having paid mods/plugins?

 

[Ryan Gordon]

I'm not even going to read this thread - This discussion has gone on long enough. MyBB decision, whatever is made, is final. Just get used to it HarryWx, or change forum software.

 

[Blind Bandit]

This believe it or not is a minor issue for me and thus not worth me switching to something else. Yes it is concerning but it is not reason enough yet to go jumping ship. Outside of this i love MYBB. Hopefully someday i can switch my IPB forum to it. Cant do that till a few things are added that are must have for that site.

And how exactly is it reducing it's rights by keeping the current license intact? Do you not understand the GPL/Opensource? Not trying to be rude when i ask that either. Again i ask how come PHPBB is doing just fine with the GPL/Opensource?

And how would it hurt the mod community that is basically almost non existent anyways? How has the current form with having these paid plugins helped them? Sorry but even you know it hasnt as seen by the lack of plugin developers there and lack of professional sites using MYBB. Only ones benifitting are a small group of people willing to pay for those plugins and the paid plugin authors themselves. Again see PHPBB and thier modding community. Why does it work there without having paid mods/plugins?

Harry you don't seem to act like this is minor. But I'm glad to hear that.

You misunderstand what I said. I'm saying that its License is not the main factor in the softwares ability or success.

Less mods paid or not is still not good. I think the mod community has less to do with paid vs unpaid and more to do with mybbs popularity and adoption rate.

 

[HarryWx]

It was directed at you, yes.

Why is commercial stuff expected with commercial software? At the end of the day, plenty of free addons exist for vbulletin yet some commercial plugins do exist for it. I don't see how that is any different to what is happening with MyBB. Some commercial and some free plugins.

There's nothing wrong with asking for donations, but it's up to the developer at the end of the day.

People expect to pay on a commercial system. On a FREE system people use and expect FREE. What is so hard to understand about that? Yes i am well aware that there is free stuff on the paid scripts. Thats on those who dont wish to charge. Take a look around you over at PHPBB and even SMF for that matter which IS where alot of the MYBB users have come from.

And nowhere did i say that it was or wasnt up to the developer to do as they wish. Just so we have that clear. Again i dont see why the plugin/mod authors at MYBB expect more then those over at PHPBB/SMF and thus i think they would be better served asking for donations like all the rest do. What makes them above all the rest? Again they are not helping MYBB ( The project grow itself ) by keeping those plugins to a limited few willing to pay. I would bet any amount of money here that if they were all released for free you would see a big jump in MYBB usage and as well the donations to MYBB.

 

[HarryWx]

I'm not even going to read this thread - This discussion has gone on long enough. MyBB decision, whatever is made, is final. Just get used to it HarryWx, or change forum software.

This is real nice coming from the lead developer after all the well thought out responses here in this thread.

And let me guess.. This is also partly because KDE dropped MYBB and switched to PHPBB? Has anyone bothered to ask why they dropped MYBB? I am not saying that to be rude either but i am well aware of what has happend to that and can understand that it may have bothered you guys. I think alot of decisions about THIS stuff are being based on emotions and friendships and not what is really best for MYBB. Sorry but thats the impression you all are given. Again not saying that to be rude. I am sorry Ryan but i think this is a huge mistake for you guys. This is gonna end up hurting MYBB in the long run. I guess we will see how things go. If i am wrong in a year or so i will pull this thread back up and admit i was wrong. As mentioned in my last reply this is not a deal breaker for me as i love MYBB. To much else that is good about it to drop it over something like this. We will just have to agree to dissagree and unfortunatly for me that means i am at the whims of whatever you guys decide. Dont agree with it but i'll have to live with it.

 

[HarryWx]

Harry you don't seem to act like this is minor. But I'm glad to hear that.

You misunderstand what I said. I'm saying that its License is not the main factor in the softwares ability or success.

Less mods paid or not is still not good. I think the mod community has less to do with paid vs unpaid and more to do with mybbs popularity and adoption rate.

Thing is MYBB is changing it AGAIN. Remember the license was just changed back in Nov/Dec. And now it is being changed again ( can say that now that ryan has confirmed it ) just to suit a few plugin authors that charge for thier work.

I *think* we agree on the last part. Point is alot of those paid plugins are what alot of people want that CAN be had elsewhere for free and thus are doing nothing to help MYBB in that regard. Only a very small segment of MYBB users are using those paid plugins. Again i am willing to bet if they were free you would see the usage and popularity of MYBB go way up. So again i dont see how they are helping MYBB and nor do i see how it would hurt MYBB if they were gone because only a few using them.

 

[Lich_king2]

I Understand Harry perfectly. The PHPBB mod sites (some type of fan mod sites) have far more plugins in their listing then whole MyBB. Second the person who holds all the things based for MyBB is owner of the one of the biggest hackers community. Sorry but i don't like even to look for plugins developed by hackers or by the people who own sites like that. Plus why not give the whole Bulletin Board to him if he is so all knowing?
What is going is that people get picture that gives them right to release payed plugins so they could earn a little money. It's ridiculous to see MyBB payed plugins that can be found on PHPBB or SMF as free. It isn't even sad. It's okay about his donations toward mybb development but then i remind you if it's gonna stay that way change license.
Also some countries ,like mine, have strict policy of giving money online to people in other countries(.Serbia, although we hope for getting PayPal support to the end of they year)

In conclusion: I wouldn't use any payed plugin on my board because i would always knew i could get it for free for other bulletin board system.
Opinion about MYBB: Great project and system that if it had more people oriented towards community could beat SMF and PHPBB3 easily.

 

[Connect2Devs]

Thing is MYBB is changing it AGAIN. Remember the license was just changed back in Nov/Dec. And now it is being changed again ( can say that now that ryan has confirmed it ) just to suit a few plugin authors that charge for thier work.

Ryan has not confirmed it is being changed. For all you know, MyBB could decide to stay with the current license.

 

[HarryWx]

Ryan has not confirmed it is being changed. For all you know, MyBB could decide to stay with the current license.

See this this post by Ryan------>http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/showpost.php?p=441883&postcount=29

So yes it is changing again.

 

[Connect2Devs]

That's still not a confirmation it is changing. All that Ryan has confirmed is that MyBB are looking at other licenses.

My point still stands that they could choose to stick with their current license.

 

[HarryWx]

That's still not a confirmation it is changing. All that Ryan has confirmed is that MyBB are looking at other licenses.

My point still stands that they could choose to stick with their current license.

We'll see but if they do then we still have the problem that has been mentioned in this thread by motokochan unless they tell them that the license doesnt cover their work and thus discourages them from doing paid. This is why i am pretty certain the license will change. There is a MYBB developer who was talking about charging for a plugin they are working on as well. Have other staff as well from MYBB who moderate etc at some of the paid plugin author sites as well. I dont see them willing to just agree on keeping this current license and thus risking what they do elsewhere and or with the friends they have elsewhere. I think Ryan made it pretty clear that he doesnt wanna hurt the guys who do the paid plugins and so the only way to go about that is to change the license again for them guys. It is most unfortunate that MYBB added such people to the staff and development team.

 

[HarryWx]

I Understand Harry perfectly. The PHPBB mod sites (some type of fan mod sites) have far more plugins in their listing then whole MyBB. Second the person who holds all the things based for MyBB is owner of the one of the biggest hackers community. Sorry but i don't like even to look for plugins developed by hackers or by the people who own sites like that. Plus why not give the whole Bulletin Board to him if he is so all knowing?
What is going is that people get picture that gives them right to release payed plugins so they could earn a little money. It's ridiculous to see MyBB payed plugins that can be found on PHPBB or SMF as free. It isn't even sad. It's okay about his donations toward mybb development but then i remind you if it's gonna stay that way change license.
Also some countries ,like mine, have strict policy of giving money online to people in other countries(.Serbia, although we hope for getting PayPal support to the end of they year)

In conclusion: I wouldn't use any payed plugin on my board because i would always knew i could get it for free for other bulletin board system.
Opinion about MYBB: Great project and system that if it had more people oriented towards community could beat SMF and PHPBB3 easily.

Yeah i have to imagine that it doesnt go over well with others as well with him running a hack site. Granted he does state that it is for people to learn how to protect themselves. Still though i could see it not sitting well with some people. Heck it has crossed my mind as well. Also he isnt the only one that does these paid plugins either anymore. Keep in mind there is another plugin developer on his site who has done a number of them. There is several others who are now doing it as well. Sorry but i dont care to give my info to any Tom, Dick, or Harry doing such stuff.