Why would you remove the Powered by phpBB text?

[shade11]

This has been something that I have been wanting to ask. I have browsed around many forums before and I see that people choose to remove the little "Powered by phpBB" text on the footer of the forum.

Names of these forums I wont give out. But what interests me is, why would one do that?

So just post if you do it or not, and if you do, post why you would do it.

[Bulvox]

I don't think it's right. They take all the time to make it and people dis respect them.

[GeorgiePorgie]

I do not remove it. I keep it for these reasons, mainly....

- I want to show some respect and give credit to those that developed it.

- I do not want to foster a false impression that I developed it myself. The absence of the tag might give that impression.

- This community will not provide support if you have removed it.

[shade11]

Interesting, well I myself keep it on there because I love phpBB, though the link won't get a lot of people to click on the phpBB link, I still like it to be there.

[Emufarmers]

I can think of several different reasons:

• People don't want it to appear as though they're using free software, because they're trying to run a business site
• People don't want to appear as though they're using phpBB, because they've set up a whole site around the forums and/or significantly modified them (think Gaia Online)
• People think it will reduce the amount of spam they get (there are better methods)
• People think it will protect them from hacking (keeping one's version up-to-date is far more effective)
• People are greedy, and don't want to give away a free backlink on every page

I would maintain that it is still improper to remove the copyright, even in the cases listed above, but those reasons probably cover most of what's out there.

[Simon Smith]

i havent removed it and im the same i wont remove it because it is rude

though if i make my own style i might not add it as it is my own design but i might still keep it to show respect to the people who made it

[Elias]

If i ever removed it it was this one time i was learning how phpBB works and wanted to see what will happen when i removed it and found out.

Then i put it back and continued with other stuff

People mostly thing they can advertise themselves by saying "Powerd by THEI SITE"

Know some that do that.

[Poomerio]

I think it's quite disrespectful to the whole phpBB team, MOD authors and such.
The most I ever did to the footer was place a thank-you to the site that hosted me.
Never would take out the phpBB copywrite though.

- Poomie

[shade11]

I've seen some people just remove it to try and imply the fact that they made their own forum. I hate that.

[Isotonik]

I saw a discussion of different PHP-based forum software. It was suggested that phpBB is too vulnerable for a forum software even if there should not be any know vulnerabilities. So, as a quick remedy against any hacking attempts, it was suggested to prevent phpBB forums from showing up in search result of search engines by removing the 'Powered by phpBB' string.

It was advised to replace it with a picture with that text.

edit:typo

[imac600]

The GNU GPL for phpBB requests that link stay there, and like most I intend to respect the license.

It's also respectful. The folk who put in so many hours a day in to making phpBB a reality deserve credit. So the link stays.

[karlsemple]

The GNU GPL for phpBB requests that link stay there, and like most I intend to respect the license.

It's also respectful. The folk who put in so many hours a day in to making phpBB a reality deserve credit. So the link stays.

It is a request though, there is nothing preventing you from removing it. It is just a case of respect and users who do not show the proper respect by keeping the visible copyright will not receive support on this forum

[imac600]

It's only fair. I think the phpBB developers are quite generous for say, not requiring a huge banner. The least we can do is have that link there.

The way I see it, in terms of support, if one won't be respectful by removing the link, then why should these forums have to offer advice and tech support? Like they say, you only get what you give.

Just thought I would offer my view on the topic.

Edited: Minor Grammar Corrections.

[athakur999]

The GNU GPL for phpBB requests that link stay there, and like most I intend to respect the license.

It's also respectful. The folk who put in so many hours a day in to making phpBB a reality deserve credit. So the link stays.

Technically, this is incorrect. The GPL really only covers redistribution of the software, not usage or modifications for your own use.

I can remove the banner, replace it with "Powered by Monkeys", etc. etc. as I see fit as long as I'm not redistributing my modified version and passing it off as my own creation. If the phpBB team tried to impose additional restrictions to the software (like forcing the use of a "Powered By" banner), phpBB would not longer be licensable under the GPL (which prohibits additional restrictions).

That being said, I still have the banner up on my forum. phpBB is a great thing and I think the developers should get all the credit they deserve.

[imac600]

Thanks for the correction karlsemple and athakur999, it isn't the GNU GPL but rather a request of phpBB that grants you rights to tech support.

I stand corrected.