PhpFoX and vBulletin Licenses - Verification

Apparently I don't have enough posts to be considered credible by some and despite about 35 years involved in legal processes I still qualify as a forum Peon, but not being one to hide behind the parapet I thought I would drop into the legal section and say Hi.

If you reat the terms and Conditions for vBulletin and phpFoX you will not I am THE authorised agent for copyright issues and abuse. This means in both cases I have the ability to check the respective databases to ensure any use or license offered for sale valid.

If you are thinking of buying a second hand vBulletin license than please note the following:

1. A lease cannot be sold or transferred.
2. An owned license can only be sold after 90 days original ownership and with the agreement of vBulletin who will issue a new password and ensure the administration is updated.

If you are thinking of buying a second hand phpFoX license than please note the following:

1. A lease cannot be sold or transferred.
2. An owned license can only be sold after 90 days original ownership and with the agreement of phpFoX who will issue a new password and ensure the administration is updated. Only one transfer of ownership is permitted in any 12 month period.

From my reporting experience 95% of traded licenses turn out to be nullified or stolen details and the purchasers are left either with no site at all or having to purchase a license again to have their network restored.

Whilst my clients sympathize with anyone who has been scammed they do not give discounts to make up your loss so BEWARE.

No reflection on this forum but I have closed numerous sites where the user has stated they purchased in good faith here. It is not the moderators job to vet the buy and sell entries.

If anyone wishes to validate either software prior to purchase, whilst I will not supply any information I will confirm if a license appears to be legitmate and transfer worthy.

You can do this by email HowardS@piratereports.com or via my messenger service piratereports@hotmail.com.

If you do pay by Paypal the online complaints service is very good and getting a scammers paypal account deleted is surprisingly easy so beware your means of payment and do your homework.

I am always intersted in followng up alleged scams in relation to my clients' software also including in auctions so feel free to pass on anything you think is dubious.

 

Did you not read the page in the control panel where it clearly states "Send us your resumé and we give you the title of "Forum Master"."? I guess being involved in legal processes for 35 years doesn't get you what it used to.

 

I think he's just trying to get the point across that he is the official person for handling copyright infringement for VBulletin and phpFox. I know his credibility was attacked in another thread, but you know, when you're new, people don't always believe everything you say. They also never do their homework first in order to validate someone's claims before completely trashing them, but you'll have that.

I've worked with Howard quite recently when I was informed that my phpFox license was not valid. I had purchased a copy off of a forum (not this one) by someone claiming it was a valid license that they bought, were no longer using, and wanted to sell. The fact is there are lots of scammers out there trying to make a quick buck off of someone elses hard work. You may be unaware at the time of purchase and then months later find out the hard way like I did, after your site is already active and has 600 users, at which point you don't want to scrap your entire site due to something like this. Luckily I was able to work something out with the company before my host pulled the plug on my site. DMCA takedown notices are never a pretty thing to deal with and most hosts will comply with them without even contacting you about the issue, because at that point you end up becoming more of a liability than your business with them is worth.

So definitely think twice before looking for a simple or cheaper solution, because in the end it may be more difficult and costly than you ever imagined.

I think it's a good public service for Howard to be taking an active approach to try to warn people to stay away from scammers before they find themselves in a situation they weren't expecting. I definitely wish I had known about this beforehand. Alot of people aren't aware of the legalities or consequences involved with buying supposed legit scripts off someone from a forum. And this isn't to say that all scripts being offered for sale are pirated, but you definitely have to do your homework.

 

For $50 you can change Peon to Superman if it makes you feel more respected.

 

Customers are linking me to this thread scared about items we sell using phpfox. I really don't appreciate you making comments such as

"From my reporting experience 95% of traded licenses turn out to be nullified or stolen details and the purchasers are left either with no site at all or having to purchase a license again to have their network restored."

While your intentions are justified, insinuating people are scamming is ridiculous. Would your clients rather we work with another company that doesn't treat their customers in this manner?

 

Ridiculous. The company I work for has been a part of plenty of transfers without any problem. Back up your statistics with verification from vBulletin or phpfox not from your "Reporting experience" since you only hear about reports when things go wrong.

 

While you may call his statements unprofessional, you dragging this out in public is just as problematic.
You should have asked him privately to either issue a public apology or to simply change his position on what he said. That way, both of you could have saved face. Instead, you chose to drag this out in public, which makes both of you look ridiculous.

 

I represent myself, he allegedly represents two very large and well known companies. I called him a jackass, he insinuated people are scamming. Quite a bit of difference there bud.

 

Whatever your opinion about him may be, calling him out in public like that is just as unprofessional, "bud".

 

Actually you completely missed the point that I have a sense of humour. As for sending a resume to a forum to get a better tag now that's a bit sad IMHO.

If a guy called mickey mouse was wiling to spend time trying to give good advice or help I would read and listen regardless. I wouldnt read any more diligently if he was called Sir Mickey Mouse.

 

This has turned into an interesting thread. Had I wished to make any comment regarding you or your business I would have done so. I am not insinuating anything, in fact I will categotrically state that some people are scammers and that this forum has been mentioned on more than one occasion, in fact quite a few occasions, as being the point of meeting leading to a sale.

Whenever a forum has a buy and sell section it's bound to have issues and if it can happen to businesses like Ebay why would anyone be exempt. It's as common as moths circling lights.

I am not sure what you are selling for phpFoX but my client tells me there is no reseller network yet. There are affilliates so if the buyer is happy that you are legitimate then that's for them to check out and I have supplied a means to help which should give you more business and take it away from scammers if your trade in licenses is authorised. If you are not reselling licenses then I suggest you read the post again much of which is taken form the respective owners Terms and Conditions of Use.

Whilst I appreciate and understand the comment of the latter poster and I do agree that this flaming is not good in any forum I make no excuse for trying to give good legal advice in the Legal Forum to people considering buying second hand vB or phpFoX licenses and make no apology for doing so.

 

Same thing the other way round I guess.

 

You seem to miss the fact that I am not trying to act professional. I would wager if you call the companies he represents they would tell you otherwise. I always speak my mind, I will not run to private messages to say what I think, that is me. And again, if he "called me out" or some other nonsense I could care less. It's the insinuating that 95% of deals are scams that irks me.

 

Yes, sorry about that I thought you were being serious as some forums can have some quirky options. I should have checked first shouldn't I.

 

How much would you like to wager? I will be up for it.

I didn't come here to fall out with anyone and surely forums are made for opinions. If we all agreed on everything what would there be to discuss. I merely added a thread stating that if anyone wanted to check pre-sale then I could do it. The rest was just filler from the prospective T&C's and my opinion regarding license trading without checking in advance.

If you want an example of trading let me give your this one. A single vB license purchased, charged back and then installed by over 4000 people. Some were sharers and some were scammed.

I think that is a significant reason to check what you are buying first.

Your bio says you are unemployed so I presume being professional is not the right word. Personally I believe it is fine to debate an opinion but it is not fine to be rude.

My first post in this forum I was called a liar for saying I worked both for phpFoX and vB which also got me some rep points with the commet "twat" (no apology yet from the moron who did not research before writing his incorrect thoughts on my credibility)

I then see a legal forum, read a few posts and think no one is really answering some of these issues and make an introduction immediately to get a hostile response from someone who doesn't agree with my opinion but is basing his statement on his own opinion which I believe you are totally entilted to by the way.

Whilst writing may I also make the point that I have seen a person sell the same legitimate license to several people at the same time so make sure you are the only person completing a transfer.

The last time I heard the term "called me out" was about 40 years ago when I was at school. It's not my style so no need to even consider that one.

 

Do you just read what you choose and make up what it means along the way? Look, I am a webmaster. I have been robbed 100 times, had people try to sell me stolen software 1000 times, and seen people selling obvious stolen software a million times.

Offering to check a license before purchase = good
Introducing yourself and what you do = good
Saying 95% of sales dealing with vbull or phpfox is a scam = bad

As for your wager, I didn't say anything about you working for them, I don't care either way. I said if you ask them if they want their representation to handle things professionally that they will of course say yes. But while we're on wagers, what would you do if I placed an illegal bet with you and didn't pay up if I lost? Sue me?

 

I have tried very hard to understand your dispute and you don't make it easy as you want an argument not a debate. I am happy to hear you out but you are agressive and inflamatory. I have given examples I believe back up my statments and you ignore them.

You give your job as unemployed, your status as webmaster and you have a blog which is intended to make you 30K from snippets picked up elsewhere on the net so you are an entrepreneur perhaps. You have managed to get robbed 100 times, been offered stolen software 1000 times and seen a 1,000,000 scams. I can't top that.

All I am saying is that 95% of resales I deal with that originate in auctions and forums have been scams. This statement is totally correct as I report forums or portals in use and people tell me they purchases said item in said forum in good faith and give me the link.

If you had wanted to debate the statement you could have asked if I am a party to every license transfer and the answer would be no. But that was not the point of my post which was to offer individuals an opportunity to validate a license as part of the pre-transfer discussion and to reiterate the rules. For instance I have seen people on this forum advised to buy vB leases which can't be transferred at all.

Not agreeing with your guesswork and opinion does not = bad

At worst it could be wrong but I honestly believe my statement is fair and correct or I would not have made it.

With regard to your hypothetical question regarding a bet (or wager) I have no intetion of giving any client information and never did as I have nothing I need to prove here except that I tried to help anyone who asks. Obviously you won't be asking so that leaves more time for everyone else who has more faith in human nature as I don't get paid for the offered service.

I am happy to agree to disagree so won't be adding to this post again.

 

It's cool that you decided not to post again. I see once you've made up your mind that there is no changing it.

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=204114

 

What's the point in arguing over this? He does this for a living so when he says the situation is xyz then I believe him. You don't have any hard facts to the contrary, so why drag this out?
By continuing to talk about this you imply that either a) he doesn't know what he's doing, b) he's a liar and wants to make everything seem more dramatic than it is or c) he's an imposter.
So unless you can quote some hard facts that dispute his exact claims you should REALLY let go of this.

 

No thanks.