Ok lets make a list of scripts that hosts should ban (SPAM scripts, resource intensive scripts, etc...).

When I mean ban I don't just mean to put a page saying 'These scripts are banned', put stuff if possible in the FTP or Online File Manager (if you have one) software to filter out those scripts from uploading

Right off the top of my head I can think of the following:

Ikonboard
YaBB
Ultimate Bulletin Board
Some lstmrge.cgi Script (Spam Tool)

ikonboard ain't that bad! At least its not flat file like UBB :) I can't wait till IBforums - the php board being made by the developer of ikonboard.

Also, ban any formmail thats not the latest version.

Can you list the actual filenames? For example, its more helpful to say formmail.pl rather than just Form Mail.

I would like to know what, exactly, I should search for on my servers. :)

--Tina

ikonboard.cgi
ubb.cgi (i think??)
formmail.pl
FormMail.cgi
yabb.cgi (i think??)

Its ultimate.cgi NOT ubb.cgi
There ae 2 yabbs, yabb.cgi and yabb.pl

YaBB and Ikonboard shouldn't be banned. I agree with UBB, that is horribly written. People want to be able to run free forums, and those would cut off three of the four biggest free ones. If they are resource-intensive, then they will just use up the user's bandwidth. It isn't really fair to members to ban all of them.

Ikonboard (the newest version) uses a mysql database and appears to run much faster than the old.

any script could use up server resources, its not fair to ban a specific make because some people have used heavy resources.


Jim

when it comes down to it........its the hosts choice and its THEIR choice to ban whatever they see fit.

We see fit to ban matt wrights formmail, ikonboard and Yabb

Don't forget, when it comes down to it the customer will be choosing their host, and surely will find one that allows those scripts. sure, you can ban them, but is it worth losing customers?

any script could use up server resources, its not fair to ban a specific make because some people have used heavy resources.

You mean kind of like banning a host because they use a term like lets say ... "unmetered"? ;)

I would rather have 299 customers happy and 1 angry customer rather then 299 angry customers and 1 happy customer..........that's just my opinion of course......

Really its the hosts choice on what they want to ban and its not anyone elses...end of story

Originally posted by Proper Inet
Ikonboard (the newest version) uses a mysql database and appears to run much faster than the old.
umm... It gives a choice between DBM, MySQL and PostgreSQL and most people choose DBM

Today I found a customer hosting Ikonboard with a freaking database that was over 20 MB's I just couldnt beleive my eyes when I saw this. This would be so much of a resource drag.

We unfortunately are banning this board here in the near future

Originally posted by DWood
Don't forget, when it comes down to it the customer will be choosing their host, and surely will find one that allows those scripts. sure, you can ban them, but is it worth losing customers?


Did you actually think that through, before you posted? ;)

--Tina

Heh, that was a bit of a mess. I think it is because I use Ikonboard, and basically I would find a new host if they banned it. Better? ;)

dont forget that if you are banning YaBB to mention that YaBB SE isnt banned as its php not cgi :)

Originally posted by k9brian
Today I found a customer hosting Ikonboard with a freaking database that was over 20 MB's I just couldnt beleive my eyes when I saw this. This would be so much of a resource drag.

We unfortunately are banning this board here in the near future

20Mb? I assume they must have been using a flat file database, because to mysql 20Mb is nothing, we have forum users with 200Mb databases that don't cause a major load on our servers.

Banning scripts that might be used by spammers or that could be used in an illegal fashion, seems reasonable. Banning a bulletin board script would seem a bit unreasonable. Why not suggest that they use script X instead of script Y? In other words, explain that they can use scripts that aren't too resource intensive, without actually saying so.
One unhappy customer will tell more people about the service than ten happy ones. In the long run it could lead you into more trouble than anything else. Of course you could add plenty of disclaimers.

thanks for reminding me, whats that damn cgi script all those spammers are using to take advantage of sendmail????

u know they can buy tofr like $89....