Can VB Theme be created without Cpanel access?

I had a hissy fit coder run out on me because I refused to give him
cpanel access, and he said it was required for him to create the
theme, then stated how much slower it was then ftp, etc, mostly BS., then
he ran out saying that I just did not trust him, and he could not work
with someone he did not trust...so f$%^ what?! This is not friendship,
this is business. Do banks know you enough to give you master access?
This is about trust, we all have our assigned access for legit reasons....

I do not see the reason why any coder would need access to cpanel,
or master access, themes are located in the image directory, and
css files are located in another directory, so I am not sure why
any higher access would be needed in order to create or edit
existing themes. Like most of you other forum admins, I grant
access as appropriate to the job, and I just do not grant admin
access just for the sake of granting the access.

What do you guys think?

 

There is ZERO reason for a vB style designer nor coder to have a need to your cPanel or even to your vBulletin settings.

Any decent coder you hire should have their own resources (eg: access to a vBulletin copy to develop with). What should be delivered to you is an XML file to be imported into your vB ACP and the accompanying image files. If somebody is asking for anything on your server in regards for them code a design for you, red alert sirens should be sounding.

 

an alert was sounding alright

I know about the XML file as I have to import one for just about anything that I setup.

Coders should have their own VB, but some do not, and I am wondering exactly what type of ftp access he should
be getting. I am thinking access to the XML file, Img/css directories, and that is it.

am I wrong?

 

Even if your coder doesn't have access to a localhost copy of vB to work with (though the question that begs to be asked in that case is how could they be a vB coder if they don't have access to vB themselves ) there is still no reason to give them access to your production site.

In regards to what FTP access he needs, it is a bit of a chicken & the egg type question. By that I mean what exactly will he need to upload if he hasn't sliced & coded the design yet?

Ask the person to zip up & email to you whatever images they need uploaded and you'll FTP them to the server yourself. The paranoid side of me forces me to caution you to check out all of the files to be uploaded to make sure that they are only image files and there are no PHP or other script files included.

Barring the above, if for some strange reason you still find yourself wanting to give him access to your server, create a test copy of your vBulletin installation in a new folder that is password protected (this is allowable under your vB license; check vB.com for the details), point the vB test copy to a different MySQL database than your production site (including totally different database user names & passwords), and then grant the person permissions only to your test folder. When he is done doing whatever it is he is doing, you can copy the images to your real folder and then export the style XML from the test copy to your real copy.

 

I 2nd what KW said
There is no reason why a designer needs cpanel access, and furthermore, they should have their own install of vBulletin to design on and than can easily import the style to your forum.

 

dscurlock,

By any chance, is this thread over at vB.com yours? If it is, then I hate to break it to you, but it sound like your "coder" has either not worked with vBulletin before and is not familiar with how the style editor works or is somebody who says they know how to design for vB but really don't and are using you as their learning experience.

 

Definitely no need for cPanel access, although some find it easier to make edits and upload images themselves, but still, FTP for that should suffice. I wouldn't recommend giving anyone cPanel details unless you trust them 100%... They could do all kinds of things to your site(s).

 

I think so!