**Which Mods?**   
  
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These are just a small sampling of mods that might well be added to YaBB Next as part of the package, depending on how many people would like to have them. (Note that SpamFruits and Anti-Spam quiz aren't on the list nor is Calendar as Calendar is already part of Next and the two major anti-spam mods are (hopefully) also going to be part of the package. (And if any other great anti-spam mods come around, we'll be looking at those, too.)  
  
If there are any other mods you've found to be indispensable, let us know and we can add it to the Poll.   
  
Thanks Dandello for being so involved in YaBB.   
  
I voted to have all of the listed mods included even though I'm personally against the **Self Delete Lock** mod.  
  
  
The self-delete lock doesn't prevent people from deleting or editing their own posts - YaBB already gives the Admin the ability to allow or disallow that and in what time-frame. What it does is keep people from removing - accidentally or deliberately - their membership.   
  
Thanks for the clarification!  
  
In our own forum we'll continue to allow members to delete their own membership if they so choose. However, this is a mod that could be very helpful, and probably one I'll consider more seriously.  
  
After all, not too long ago a member in our forum inadvertently deleted his membership ... long story ... so this option would have been a good one to have implemented.  
  
Thankfully, I had a backup of this guy's membership, so I was able to restore it.  
  
With this mod if I use it, I'll probably then add instructions about how to delete one's membership, i.e., that I would do that for them.  
  
Then again, if they change their mind, _and people have_ I'll be back to square one with them.   
  
Despite the merits of a self delete lock mod, and despite the tool it gives to those admins who simply must have full control of their own forums, I see this as reverse censoring.  
  
In other words, people should always have the right to delete, edit, or modify their own posts even when obvious **_"problems"_** can result from such a freedom.  
  
I realize that I'll most probably be in the minority about the use of such a mod, so there's no point in debating the topic. It's a personal choice I've made out of respect to our own forum's membership. Obviously, admins can make their own personal choice about this.  
  
But don't you ever wish you could take back what you may have said out of anger, or in a moment of foolishness, or whatever?  
  
At least in our forum you can.   
  
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The self-delete lock doesn't prevent people from deleting or editing their own posts - YaBB already gives the Admin the ability to allow or disallow that and in what time-frame. What it does is keep people from removing - accidentally or deliberately - their membership. YaBB has had the instructions on how to do this for some time - this Mod makes it an Admin Centre choice.   
  
On my own forums I've had people accidentally delete their accounts (good thing I had backups) and others who deleted themselves just so their buddies would cause drama. (I've also had troll problems.)   
  
Now they have to go through **me**.   
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The self-delete lock doesn't prevent people from deleting or editing their own posts - YaBB already gives the Admin the ability to allow or disallow that and in what time-frame. What it does is keep people from removing - accidentally or deliberately - their membership.   
  
Thanks for the clarification.   
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With this mod if I use it, I'll probably then add instructions about how to delete one's membership, i.e., that I would do that for them.  
  
Then again, if they change their mind, _and people have_ I'll be back to square one with them.   
  
One way to deal with that isn't a tech solution as much as an Admin one - use delete member on spammers, but for everyone else: create a group that has no permissions to do anything except view the same things that Guests can, put the 'deleted' members into that and change their passwords so they can't log in. This also gives you the flexibility to 'anonymize' their account if that's what's needed. (Change their screen name and contact info.)  
  
This gives the added precaution of blocking re-registration with their old user name and email addy without using ban. (My own experience has been that if they're so annoyed with everything as demand to be deleted, I may not want them back. But every forum's different.)   
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For me there are extra mods to what are listed in the poll.   
  
1\. YaBB Advertisement  
2\. Advanced Email Notification  
3\. Online Activity  
  
Cheers  
  
Derek   
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Woops, online activity is already there   
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Note that SpamFruits and Anti-Spam quiz aren't on the list  can i ask why these are not on the list   
  
i think  


  * ImageShack Uploader for YaBB 2.5 AE Curtiss Grymala. Updated for YaBB 2.5 AE by Thomas Müller (ThM)

  


  * User Age in Message View Derek Barnstorm

  


  * BoardPassword Boris Tjuvanov (MF-B), Jeffrey Man (Jet Li) and Detlef Pilzecker (deti)

  


  * Reason Mod Boris Tjuvanov (MF-B) and Jeffrey Man (Jet Li)

  
  
prob a lot more but thats just some of the ones i use will have a look for more soon   
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I actually so no reason why any fully released mod that has been fully tested is not part of future releases.  
  
Most mods allow you to activate or turn them on.  
  
Derek   
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Some mods are functional but I suspect in the past various mods where considered resource hogs and should be installed through boardmod.  
  
Personally installing mods is the fun part although some folk might struggle if they do not take the time to learn the installation process.   
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Many of these are more Admin functional than 'look/feel'. I personally figure that Admins need all the help they can get.  
  
And SpamFruits and AntiSpam Quiz aren't listed as there are already plans to include them.  
  
Just added:

  * YaBB Advertisement
  * Advanced Email Notification
  * User Age in Message View
  * BoardPassword
  * Reason Mod

  
Ran out of room for ImageShack.   
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The problem I have run across with ImageShack is that with some posts going back a few years the images have gone.  
  
I don't use it anymore.   
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First off, and most importantly, I'm very thrilled to see this activity of cooperation, and involvement here in this forum regarding the next generation of YaBB; **_outstanding!_**  
  
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... use delete member on spammers, but for everyone else: create a group that has no permissions to do anything except view the same things that Guests can ...   
Presuming that I enable a **_"Self Delete Lock"_** mod, I'm impressed with your thinking about what to do with deleted members; _I hadn't thought of your solution_ , which I think is pretty clever.  
  
I'm guessing a deleted member's posts could be identified with them again after they've reactivated their membership with me, which could be a nice benefit to this alternative method of actually deleting an account altogether.  
  
Generally speaking, my position or **_"policy"_** is to always allow members to have full use of their membership; _full use_. I would otherwise feel awkward or immoral about having any kind of control over their online persona. This is why I'm currently against enabling a **_"Self Delete Lock"_** option if it was made available for an admin's use.  
  
On the other hand, enabling **_"Self Delete Lock"_** would benefit members who've inadvertently deleted their memberships. And those who change their minds after having me delete their memberships could have the benefit of me being able to reactivate their old accounts if I managed them accordingly.  
  
In any case, I've always allowed members to modify or delete their own posts, and naturally if they wish, they've always been allowed to delete their membership altogether. This is without any time limits.  
  
In practice on our site when I've noticed it, it hasn't been uncommon for a member who has deleted their membership to sign up again. What would be really cool would be to have the ability to **_"delete"_** a membership by **_"ghosting"_** it from public view altogether, but without the purpose of deception or fraud.  
  
Obviously if I wasn't so libertarian in my views, on my own I could ghost members who have chosen to otherwise delete their memberships.  
  
Sometimes I think I get in my own way.   
  
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... use delete member on spammers ...   
Regarding spammers, that's no longer a concern in our forum thanks to an anti-spam mod that's been installed (_with a backup anti-spam mod in place for activation as needed_). Ironically however, the suggestions you made regarding deleted members are actions I've previously taken with spammers, i.e., I've essentially disabled their accounts, and removed any real identifiers (_before the spam-bot hits became so prevalent_). I sometimes still do this with hu-bots whenever they manage to register.  
  
As you might imagine, spammers don't complain to me about their accounts having been disabled. **_What?!_**   
  
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I personally figure that Admins need all the help they can get.   
I agree. And again, I'm very thrilled to see everyone working together in this forum to improve YaBB, which for us users, we already know is a really terrific forum.  
  
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I suspect any method of storing images via a 3rd party will have the same issues - you just can't trust them. Maybe we should look at a mod that acts like an attachment or avatar upload function but for images only and doesn't generate an attachment link? Something to think about, at least. The possible downside is server-space, but if the graphics are limited in size...   
  
@Bill - What I've noticed about nearly all the Mods available (and this is with most forum software) is that they were written to deal with an issue an 'in-the-trenches' Admin has had and was turned into a Mod so that solution could be shared. No solution is perfect for everyone - which is also why most Mods around here have an Admin's choice function. Which is as it should be.   
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No solution is perfect for everyone - which is also why most Mods around here have an Admin's choice function. Which is as it should be.   
I agree. This is pretty much why I'll support any mod even though I may not want to use it myself. After all, as you and others have more or less stated before, anything that can be helpful to an admin is a good thing.  
  
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I suspect any method of storing images via a 3rd party will have the same issues - you just can't trust them. Maybe we should look at a mod that acts like an attachment or avatar upload function but for images only and doesn't generate an attachment link? Something to think about, at least. The possible downside is server-space, but if the size of the graphics is limited in size...   
I've always had this problem of images suddenly disappearing. Or more accurately, I long ago solved that problem by maintaining our own full inventory of images that have been published on our site since 1997. So when an image disappears, I can simply make it reappear with a direct link from our inventory.  
  
Ironically, our most popular site where our YaBB forum resides came to be specifically because images from contributors kept disappearing whenever third party linked sites were shuttered. In those days back in 1996 (_and withBBS groups circa the mid 80's for me personally_), we shared stories and photos with one another. And because this was more of a local phenomenon than anything else, we actually met in person from time to time.  
  
It's a long story, but in short our group ended up relying on me to centralize our data, which eventually went online in 1997 (_ending up with a domain in 1998_).  
  
Our images, stories, and video clips are only referenced in our forum; _they do not reside there_. A really cool mod would be one that could identify a broken link, and notify the member that an email has been sent to fix this problem.  
  
Edited to fix some really bad grammar & to correct a typo.   
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