It might seem pompous or pretentious to sit here, about to discuss the success of BellaBook, when it clearly isn’t on the same level as WordPress and other scripts of that ilk. On the other hand, it has it’s fair share of users.. and that scares me.
I couldn’t be more pleased that people like my script. When I randomly surf to a new site and see a guestbook with “Powered by BellaBook3.1” or “Powered by BellaBook3.2” at the bottom I feel a little giddy that something I’ve done — something that once was a 12-or-so line script with no security and no features — now has users, add-ons, plug-ins, tutorials and fans and things.
Then of course there’s the fact that it has brought me many new readers and almost doubled my daily hits, which is always a bonus.. But there’s a negative side to this. The more attention I/it gets, the more people I get trying to break it or do wrong by it. Idiots bad-mouthing it before they’ve tested it and spammers finding ways past the blocking and moderation. It makes me worry that one day I’m going to wake up and find that someone has found a massive hole and every user will have been exploited.
I’m sure admitting this doesn’t inspire confidence in those of my readers who do use it, but I don’t know how to get over it.. and don’t know what to do to go about getting over it. Under-confidence in my abilities; you wouldn’t necessarily think it was a personality flaw of mine, would you?
14 Apr at 6:49 pm
I’m sure everything will be fine. If something like that happens all you can do is learn from it. I’m sure WordPress had bugs at the beginning. Heck even big things like The Boston Globe newspaper makes mistakes. A few weeks ago it accidently gave out some of its readers credit card information in a few of the news deliveries. Your users should know you’re human and it’s the computer and they put a risk everytime they put some of their information in. It wouldn’t be entirely your fault.
14 Apr at 8:44 pm
With you as BellaBook’s creator, it’ll be fine. Or at least, there won’t be a massive hole discovered until /way/ into the future. I’d never make a script by myself to release to people. Or, not in the near future, as I’d be awake every night thinking if there’s a security hole or something. You should be proud.
14 Apr at 9:20 pm
It’s totally natural to worry about something that you have created having holes in it, expecially as it gains popularity. You need to remember that a lot of the major scrpits that the big names have produced started where you are now and don’t forget as well that WordPress does have it’s problems and it’s holes. It’s not foolproof, but they do the best that they can and until either they, or someone else catchs the hole all they can do is hope for the best and then come out with a security update. Jem, you have created a wonderful service for those of us in the web community, take pride in it.
14 Apr at 9:28 pm
Even WordPress has flaws, as was already pointed out. People who know you and respect you won’t hold it against you because we all know you’ve done your best. Plus, it speaks highly of you that you take the time to update your script and keep it as current and safe as possible…that means something! You have a right to be proud of the work you’ve done :D
14 Apr at 9:34 pm
Thanks guys, I appreciate your generous comments :) I didn’t mean to suck up for compliments, haha.
14 Apr at 9:37 pm
That’s what Loadx is for. ;) Just kidding. :P
14 Apr at 11:56 pm
I think if (actually, when) I do my guestbook, I’ll be using bellabook. Its kind of like eating at the locally owned restaurant instead of the nationwide chain.. I’d be scared shitless for those security holes to though… Someone should make a script that tests a script for security holes and can like, gaurantee its perfect-ness. But people insist on finding ways around every possible thing, so yeah.
15 Apr at 12:41 am
We HAVE you compliment you. It’s your website. Otherwise, you could do something horrible to us and nobody would ever know! Gasp! Just kidding. You’ve earned the compliments. And oh my! You’ve changed the colour of the “wp themes” button! I’ve just noticed it.
15 Apr at 12:51 am
I’m going to have it on my site once I get it up, and I’m not worried about exploits. You’re too diligent. But…you know, those idiots badmouthing it and stuff? Stuff them. A friend of mine did a guestbook script (megabook, maybe you know of it?) and maintained it very well until he decided to disappear off the face of the internet but people were always being jerks…modding the script to get rid of credit, charging to install a script he, the creator, installed for free…all that stuff…and he chose to ignore them. It just wasn’t worth the hassle. And I think you should do the same. Bellabook is awesome, well-written and it may not be as popular as WordPress [yet] but I consider myself proud to use it and support it. …getting off my soapbox now…
15 Apr at 1:04 am
Bellabook will be fine as long as you keep looking at it and learning more and more about PHP. Don’t ever stop adding security features just because it works. You can never be too safe. Nevertheless, if someone’s silly enough to not update their old script with new ones, well, that’s not your fault. ;P
15 Apr at 1:45 am
I guess the same goes for owning websites, doesn’t it? I mean, the more popular it is, the more spam and hatemail it will get, and the more likely it is that some bored kids somewhere, sometime will try to “hack” your website. You’ve had your site hacked and defaced once or twice, haven’t you Jem? And of course you’ve had plenty of experiences with spammers, thieves and haters. But you persist with your website, and I don’t see why you shouldn’t persist with BellaBook! :) I don’t think you should be concerned, really. With so many friends to help you debug and test-drive the script, what are the chances that some huge exploit will be uncovered by someone whose intentions are not quite so pure? And if someone can’t be arsed to keep up with the new releases of BellaBook, they can’t come crying to you when their site gets defaced by a hacker, because you can’t be held responsible for someone’s laziness. You did your job by ensuring the new releases of the script were secure and functional, and they only have themselves to blame for using an outdated and potentially insecure version of BellaBook. I think you’re amazing. You have something to be proud of right here. Don’t be paranoid. :P
15 Apr at 3:44 am
Think of it as a good thing? A challenge. So what if it gets spammed, I’ve owned plenty of guestbooks that get FULL of spam. Even my wordpress gets about 4 pieces everyday. And my hotmail. I’ve been visiting your site on and off for ages now, and I’m impressed by how much your skills have grown. They will keep improving too, and people trying to break bellabook will only, eventually succeed to make you improve EVEN more!!
15 Apr at 3:58 am
Even if you do get hacked: So what – it’s a learning experience. I’m sure you’ll find out right away, fix it, and know for next time. I think all complicated scripts have to go through that kind of process.
15 Apr at 5:33 am
No I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I believe this feeling will actually drive you to make something better from it. Besides, just like Kimmie once said to me (though I’m paraphrasing) There will ALWAYS be someone who will dislike you (if no other reason: envy). As for being hypocritical with blogging about sucess… I highly doubt that WordPress was developed by one single individual (I’m refering to coding here), so it IS a success.
15 Apr at 5:22 pm
…. whiner
15 Apr at 5:55 pm
Absolutely Echo :D
15 Apr at 8:17 pm
Welcome to the world of semi-professional programming ;) Isn’t it so exciting to see a complete stranger use something that you created? I’ve done this professionally for ten years, and the feeling never goes away; the worry that you’ve left some critical flaw is always there too – and grows as more and more people use your stuff – but you also learn that there are very few errors which cause more than a couple of people a day of inconvenience before you’ve got a patch out. The only thing weirder and more exhillarating than having other people use your code is having them pay for the privelege, so when you move from “semi-professional” to “professional” you’ll get the added dimension of having to actually listen to their bitching because they paid you money for the right to do so. It’s entirely worth it, though – providing a tool which is important to other people’s lives means that in a very real and beneficial way you are touching them. Rate your success by the number of idiots who send you unsolicited flame-mail, because that means your fame is growing, and remember if you have some massive flaw which opens up thousands of sites to an exploit, it means you’ve got thousands of people depending on your stuff!
15 Apr at 10:32 pm
Welcome to my world! ;) That’s exactly what happened to me with Flinx and PHPFanBase. Small scripts that I really just wrote for myself and my friends – were suddenly used by thousands of people and security holes were found and exploited. It was/is an absolute nightmare, and to be honest, it has put me off programming. I don’t think I’ll ever release a script for public use again, because I never want to go through that stress again! But on the other hand – your script is out and about, and you just gotta let it go. If a hole is found, patch it right away. A hole itself is no big problem, even the big scripts like WordPress and Invision Power Board have them often enough. There’s no use worrying about it now, because if there is a hole, it *will* be found, and you can’t fix it until then, you know? Hope that made sense – and good luck with your script! I really hope it turns out to be totally secure! :)
16 Apr at 4:36 am
I hope this comment doesn’t come out wrong, I’m stating some facts and my opinions. As suggested already, I think every script that exists has, or at one time, has some flaws. I have spent time making a few nifty things, but I’m worried that someone, who has absolutely no time on their hands, mind you, will find something wrong with the work I did. I guess there is an upside, you did the best you can, and to your knowledge, there aren’t any problems. If something were to happen, which I hope it won’t, (I hope that didn’t come out wrong.) I’m sure the users will understand! …and if something were to happen, hopefully morons will understand that you can’t be held responsible if damages occur, right? I know better. I know that virtually nothing is 100% safe, and as a writer and user, I feel more confident when some bugs, etc. are found since with each thing found, hopefully no more will be found, right?
16 Apr at 3:35 pm
But… it’ll only make you stronger as a programming right? I don’t see what would be wrong with that.