Orchid loving hacker willing to volunteer... - Orchid Board

YetAnotherOrchidNut · #1 01-27-2022, 01:27 AM

Just curious: I see a lot of issues with the site implementation. Links that don't work properly, workflows that get sticky for no good reason, etc. I have a background in this area, if you were interested I might have some time to help out here or there. These days having a https redirect to http is a bit of a no-no, etc. I am more of a coder than a sysadmin, but I do both and if I can help feel free to ask.

camille1585 · #2 01-27-2022, 02:21 AM

You are preaching to the choir, and we are painfully aware that everything is hopelessly outdated (forum software, php version, security...).

But our hands are tied and nothing can done as last I heard, the site is hosted on the forum owner's company's servers, though according to Who.is his forums seem to be on a separate server now. Ultimately it doesn't change much as it is still inaccessible to us.

A year ago he did mention doing a complete overhaul of the forum and migrating to new software, but I have not heard anything further about that and assume the project has once again been shelved.

YetAnotherOrchidNut · #3 01-27-2022, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

You are preaching to the choir, and we are painfully aware that everything is hopelessly outdated (forum software, php version, security...).

But our hands are tied

Understood, I only mentioned it because I happen to have skills in this area, and very soon will have quite a bit of time and thought I might volunteer. Didn't mean to preach. FWIW.

My Green Pets · #4 01-27-2022, 08:07 AM

Please hack this site away from the administration and place it in the care of the users. It's time to declare independence. I'm 100% serious. This community was created and then left to fend for itself while continuing to generate ad revenue for owner. Enough is enough.
It's been slowly deteriorating for years.

isurus79 · #5 01-27-2022, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by My Green Pets

Please hack this site away from the administration and place it in the care of the users. It's time to declare independence. I'm 100% serious. This community was created and then left to fend for itself while continuing to generate ad revenue for owner. Enough is enough.
It's been slowly deteriorating for years.

I totally agree. This place needs rehab and maybe YetAnotherOrchidNut is the person to do it.

WaterWitchin · #6 01-27-2022, 09:43 AM

Just as info, we have several folks here with sysadmin, developer, etc, skills, who have offered to assist with updating, running, etc, for Orchid Board. I know nothing about all the roles involved in hosting, running, owning servers or much of anything computer related as to the mechanics of it. Pretty much my role is similar to a janitor.

Having said all that, my question may appear ignorant but I'm really just asking... isn't hacking someone's forum and taking it illegal?

---------- Post added at 08:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 AM ----------

PS Believe me, even as the janitor I feel the pain of absentee ownership. If the owner doesn't want to do anything differently, wouldn't the best approach be for someone with interest to start a new forum? I'm aware there's lots of info here, but...

Mr.Fakename · #7 01-27-2022, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Having said all that, my question may appear ignorant but I'm really just asking... isn't hacking someone's forum and taking it illegal?

Simply attempting an action that would lead to a data breach (such as SQL injections), server inavailability (such as DDoS) is highly illegal in pretty much every country.
Stealing a website would be a very involved task that would require obtaining total control over the website and the server hosting it; and wouldn't be very sneaky.

camille1585 · #8 01-27-2022, 10:20 AM

I'm just as frustrated about this as you guys, and would love to have the owner more involved and taking care of the forum for us. What we could do is make a 'business plan' of sorts, and then pitch the idea to Marty to take over the forum from him.

We would need to identify users who are willing to take on responsibilities in the long term, and note which skills they can contribute. I think it would be preferable to have a small core team and not have a dozen people who have access to the server.

We also need to investigate what forum software is available to us, what are the pros/cons, and which matches our needs best. For instance with Vbulletin5 they can handle the transfer for us, and even do all the maintenance (for a fee). Downside I found is that many are of the opinion that the software is shit compared to the older versions.

Another point, where would we host, and who would be willing to take on the financial responsibilities for paying the bills/recieving the forum supporter donations? I can see how much money is coming in from forum supporters every month, but not the ad generated revenue, but that already would give an idea of how far out of pocket we would be.

1-2 years ago I had mulled over the idea of taking control of the forum, as I have an in-house IT semi-expert. My boyfriend has 2 offsite servers that he manages for our emails/cloud storage/photos. However, ultimately I didn't want to put the burden of the forum entirely on his shoulders (it's not his hobby, for one) and a large forum is a far bigger undertaking than anything he's done until now.

WaterWitchin · #9 01-27-2022, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

Simply attempting an action that would lead to a data breach (such as SQL injections), server inavailability (such as DDoS) is highly illegal in pretty much every country.
Stealing a website would be a very involved task that would require obtaining total control over the website and the server hosting it; and wouldn't be very sneaky.

Thanks MrFakename... Kinda what I thought. I've read just enough spy books to think that was accurate, but good to have confirmed. My cousin is some sort of hotshot computer guy and I could ask him... but he'd laugh and tease me, then give me an answer I wouldn't be able to comprehend.

---------- Post added at 09:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------

Good comments, Camille. And indeed, a lot of responsibility as well. If y'all go forth and need a janitor I'd probably send a resume.

isurus79 · #10 01-27-2022, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Fakename

Simply attempting an action that would lead to a data breach (such as SQL injections), server inavailability (such as DDoS) is highly illegal in pretty much every country.
Stealing a website would be a very involved task that would require obtaining total control over the website and the server hosting it; and wouldn't be very sneaky.

True, but definitely sounds fun! And think of the great news articles that would be written about the website theft of an orchid forum!! 🤣😂