phpBB
“And so spoke the prophet that version 3.0 will arrive exactly at midnight, during the first full moon after the release of Duke Nukem Forever.”
phpBB is a deadly computer worm that is distributed through social engineering; users who suffer from it are mostly webmasters. Disguised as an innocent distribution of forum software, this malicious bugware leaves the web server at the hacker's full disposal. The most important thing about phpBB is that it screws up you mind. Don't forget this, kids.
phpBB has become a cultural phenomenon among hackers, as hacking it requires virtually no effort and stopped being prestigious long ago. In Russia, hacking phpBB is a national hobby since the fall of the Soviet regime, before which it was the other way round, namely phpBB hacking users. Occasionally it continues to do so in the modern days, as seen in the below example:
- Parse error: parse error in C:\apache\htdocs\phpbb2\install.php on line 758
If you see a message like that, it means that your server has just been pwned by the developers. Try moaning at the forums. Sometimes it can help you... get banninated.
Versions[edit]
A Debian spawn, phpBB inherited its philosophy: the stable version must be so outdated that people would only use it because it's free, and the unstable version must be cool but Warning: cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/wikia/phpbb22/index.php on line 50) not officially supported. Assuming any free software is ever officially supported.
The current version of phpBB is 2.0.118. This release fixed the SQL vulnerability introduced in 2.0.117, but breaks compatibility with mods designed for 2.0.116. The current unstable version, being developed in a super secret lab at Area 51, is 2.1.42. Nobody uses it because the final version (3.0) will get a super cool and super secret new skin instead of subSilver. So everyone is patiently waiting.
Users who ask about the release date are usually insta-banned on the forum and blocked from viewing the CVS (occasionally blocked from downloading phpBB "[insert camera trademark here]" 3.0 in the future, should they be alive by that time).
Realizing that nobody cares about phpBB anymore, phpbb.com is considering switching its community forum to Invision Power Board, as soon as they collect the required amount of money.
Hacking phpBB[edit]
Over the years, the phpBB developers made it hard for hackers. At one point, you had to login to access the admin panel. This enraged the users of phpBB since a lot of them lacked the brain capacity to do so. phpBB replaced the login with a new system a few years later in their next release. It now sports a question asking "Are you a hacker? [YES/NO]". You probably wouldn't want to hack a phpBB forum for access since 99.9% of boards have 1 or less members and discussions which the admin talking to themselves. Also the fact that the admin panel doesn't actually allow you to do anything except logout.