My memory is hazy on this one, so there is a slight chance I could be wrong (as to whether I am thinking of UBBS or some other product)... but... I downloaded this code to look at a few years ago, and I really didn't like what I saw.

I wouldn't touch Ultimate BBS with a 10" barge pole. The code is shrouded, so that even if you felt like modifying the code in violation of the license agreement, the code is incomprehensible. This means that as far as learning how a BBS is put together in Perl, you could not find a worse example than this.

In an valiant effort to avoid me putting my foot in my mouth, I tried to download a copy, to see whether I was thinking about the right package. I filled in the personal details they requested with random garbage, before being allowd to download the code. Turns out, they e-mail instructions to the e-mail address you specify that contains instructions on how to download the code. Looks to me that they don't want people to inspect the code casually before deciding whether you want to deploy it.

Given that the code is completely obfuscated, there is no way of ruling out the possibility that the authors have included back-doors into your BBS, whether it be maliciously or just careless neglect. I don't want that sort of code running on my servers, thank-you very much.


--
g r i n d e r

In reply to UBBS considered harmful! by grinder
in thread Message Board Script by Anonymous Monk

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