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| About Us |
| Who is the phpBB Doctor? The best answer to that question is on our home page. If you have not taken the time to read it please do so. Back to top |
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| Why do I need you? You might not! Our services are not for everyone. If you are the kind of person that can get into the guts of phpBB and make it do exactly what you want it to do, then you probably do not need us. If, however, you are more interested in managing your site rather than getting down to nuts and bolts then we might be able to help. Back to top |
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| What services do you offer? We offer free and custom MODs (code modifications), integration services, database and/or site migrations, and most anything else related to phpBB forums. Back to top |
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| What services don't you offer? We do not do graphics or templates. Our skills in that area are sufficient for our needs but there are many other more talented artists that can help you with themes, buttons, and other graphical elements for your board. We may from time to time offer some standard graphics associated with one of our MODs but do not take custom requests for graphics. Back to top |
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| Do you have references? Yes. References are available upon request. Back to top |
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| MOD Support |
| I got a MOD at another board that does not work. Oops, well, that is too bad. We do not generally offer free support for MODs that are not available here. If you are really stuck you can consider hiring the phpBB Doctor for a debugging session. Contact us for rates for this service. Back to top |
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| Will this MOD work with version X? Our MODs are tested using whatever verion of phpBB is avaiable when the MOD is released. We do not test older versions as you should be using only the most current release. When new versions of phpBB are released we will evaluate the changes and determine if our MOD needs to be rewritten. Back to top |
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| Will this MOD conflict with MOD X from another source? Try it and see. We do not attempt to validate our MODs with every other MOD that is available on the web. Back to top |
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| Will this MOD conflict with MOD X from the phpBB Doctor? Our MOD-CE (Compatibility Engine) can be run on all published MODs on our site. This unique tool helps us ensure that MODs on our site do not conflict with each other. Or if they do, we can tell you about it up front. Admin Note: As of today this service is still being developed. Back to top |
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| Will you add <this feature> to your MOD? In a word: maybe. Free MODs were written for use on this or another site that we manage, and we like them just the way they are. That being said, you can always post your request. Back to top |
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| Will you add <this feature> to a MOD written by someone else? No, most likely not. We write all of our MODs from scratch so there is no question as to the source of the code. We have seen plenty of bad code out there, and it is more efficient for us to simply gather your requirements and write a new MOD. Back to top |
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| Will you provide a package of MODs? Yes, we will! Our MOD-PG (Package Generator) service will allow you to fill your shopping cart with MODs from the phpBB Doctor catalog and generate a single installation script that includes all of the code needed for all of the MODs you selected. Admin Note: As of today this service is still under development. Back to top |
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| Will you install your MODs for me? Yes, we will. Our minimum fee for phpBB consulting services is $50 (US) payable via PayPal. Back to top |
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| MOD Coding |
| Tell me about your coding process We take pride in our work. We will not deliver code that we would not run on our own site. We use the DBAL and proper language strings. We follow the phpBB coding standards. You should demand these same standards of anyone that you hire to do phpBB customizations. Here is a hint... if someone that you talk to about phpBB services does not know what the "DBAL" is or what the initials stand for, you should consider finding someone else. Back to top |
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| Tell me about something you have written We have written a number of MODs ranging from simple one or two line changes to complete new systems. We will provide references and representative sites upon request. You can see many of our MODs in action on this very site. Please note that certain portions of this site are not released. These include our MOD Compatibility Engine, our MOD Validator, our MOD Package Generator, and other services that make our site unique. Back to top |
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| What can I do with the Free MODs that you have posted? Whatever you want. The code is released under the GPL which means you can take the code and use it or change it as it suits your needs. The one thing you cannot do is remove our copyright. We ask that you do NOT include our MODs in any "pre-MODded" boards. We can't prevent it, of course, but it would be nice to respect our request. We also ask that you do NOT post our MODs on any other phpBB MOD download sites. Again, we cannot prevent you from doing so. GPL != No Copyright. Back to top |
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| How can I ask a question / get support about a FREE MOD? You must first register on the board, then ask your question in the appropriate topic. We reserve the right to discontinue listing and supporting our FREE MODs at any time without advance notice. Support and updates for FREE MODs are done on an as-time-allows basis, so please keep that in mind. Back to top |
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| So what about your PAID phpBB services? Thanks for asking! We believe that we offer some of the most professional phpBB customization services available anywhere. If you have an idea for a MOD that you think would be useful, by all means let's talk about it. Be aware that we have a $50 minimum charge for all PAID MOD work. Back to top |
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| How do we get started? You should first register on this site, then post your request in the "Ask the Doctor" forum. If you really do not want to discuss your request in public, simply post a note to that affect and we will set up a private forum for your project. Back to top |
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| How do you deliver the code when it is complete? You have several options. We can create an install file using the MOD template from the phpBB Group. You can then install the code manually or using an automated installer of your choice. As an option, all of our MODs can be installed by the phpBB Doctor for an additional fee. We will still provide the MOD template for your records. Back to top |
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| What happens when phpBB is updated? Every MOD that we write for our paying clients is stored in our MOD database here on our site. Our MOD Validator can be run on any MOD in our database, against any version of phpBB that we have on file. When an update is published we will generally have the new code uploaded to our server within a few days of its release. You can then come to the site and run the MOD Validator using your private MODs and the newest release of phpBB and get a report of any incompatibilities. Back to top |
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| What happens if an update breaks my MOD? We stand behind our work. If an update breaks our code, we will fix it. This is true for the 2.0.x codebase only. If you elect to update your board to version 3.0 we will have to review our MODs on a case by case basis. We do not expect to be able to offer this update for free as many MODs may need to be completely rewritten. Back to top |
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| Since you brought up 3.0, what are your plans in that area? When version 3.0 has a stable public release we will determine what to do. At this time we have no official policy on the 3.x product. Back to top |
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| GPL and Copyright and Paid Services |
| So how can you justify charging for your work? Hmm, okay. It's a fair question. Many many people seem to confuse GPL with "free" and the two are not equivalent. For full details you should read the official GPL documents. Here it is in a nutshell: GPL is not software that is free of charge. GPL is software that is free of restrictions. So yes, we can charge you for our work. But once you have paid, there are no restrictions on what you can do with the code. You can use it or not. You can even give it away if you want. Back to top |
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| What about the copyright? Standard copyright law says that we can copyright code that we write for ourselves. Any code we publish based on the phpBB core code is automatically licensed under the GPL but we retain full copyright. Our free MODs are just that... free code that you may use however you see fit. But you must retain our copyright. Code written for and paid for by someone else becomes the copywritten property of that client. It's called "work for hire" and you can google for more details if you like. This is true of all paid MOD work that we do unless other arrangements are made and agreed to by all parties. Back to top |
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| Why should I pay for one of your MODs? Why not?  Seriously,
There is no reason why you should, especially if you can
find code elsewhere that does what you want and is free.
What you get when you pay for a custom MOD from the phpBBDoctor
is not only our quality code but our support as well. We
have a large library of MODs that you can download and use
for free. The MODs we charge for are a bit more complex
and require more time to write, to document, and to support.
You are under no obligation to use them.Back to top |
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| Why are you so expensive? I see plenty of other boards advertising similar services for $5-10... So use them! We do not have any problem with people using any other services, none whatsoever. Our rates are higher than many other services because we feel that we are worth it. You are under no obligation to use our services or pay our fees. We would suggest that you do the following things before using any service, including our own.
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| So what happens if I buy a MOD and then give the code away? You are completely within your rights to do so. We will, however, not support anyone other than the original client. You are allowed to give away code that you paid for; you are not allowed to give away our time. This means that you cannot disclose your username and password for our support forum either... just don't do it. If we find that you have done so then you may forfeit all future rights to service from the phpBBDoctor. Back to top |
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| How can I transfer the code to someone else? As previously stated, you can do whatever you want with the code. But we will only support the original client. At this time we do not intend to allow a transfer of our support agreement to a new party. This policy may be reviewed on a case by case basis but we are under no obligation to do so. Back to top |
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| I insist that you give me the source code for
<insert feature here> on your site. Nope, sorry, we don't have to do that. Please go back and read the GPL. Even if we write code based on the core phpBB code base we are under absolutely no obligation to publish that code. Back to top |
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