ProBoards is a free, remotely hosted message board service that facilitates online discussions by allowing people to create their own online communities.
57-478: ProBoards was founded by Patrick Clinger, who wrote the ProBoards software . Prior to launching ProBoards, Clinger had run HostedScripts, a company aimed at creating free web widgets . The service hosts over 3,000,000 internet forums, which in turn have approximately 22,800,000 users worldwide. Currently, all ProBoards forums combined receive a total of over 600 million pageviews per month, making ProBoards one of
114-509: A vulnerability . Software patches are often released to fix identified vulnerabilities, but those that remain unknown ( zero days ) as well as those that have not been patched are still liable for exploitation. Vulnerabilities vary in their ability to be exploited by malicious actors, and the actual risk is dependent on the nature of the vulnerability as well as the value of the surrounding system. Although some vulnerabilities can only be used for denial of service attacks that compromise
171-520: A web application —had become the primary method that companies deliver applications. Software companies aim to deliver a high-quality product on time and under budget. A challenge is that software development effort estimation is often inaccurate. Software development begins by conceiving the project, evaluating its feasibility, analyzing the business requirements, and making a software design . Most software projects speed up their development by reusing or incorporating existing software, either in
228-530: A breach of the terms. There is a heightened risk of data going astray during corporate changes, including mergers, divestitures, buyouts, downsizing, etc., when data can be transferred improperly. A terms of service agreement typically contains sections pertaining to one or more of the following topics: Among 102 companies marketing genetic testing to consumers in 2014 for health purposes, 71 had publicly available terms and conditions: Among 260 mass market consumer software license agreements in 2010: Among
285-457: A change request. Frequently, software is released in an incomplete state when the development team runs out of time or funding. Despite testing and quality assurance , virtually all software contains bugs where the system does not work as intended. Post-release software maintenance is necessary to remediate these bugs when they are found and keep the software working as the environment changes over time. New features are often added after
342-486: A code's correct and efficient behavior, its reusability and portability , or the ease of modification. It is usually more cost-effective to build quality into the product from the beginning rather than try to add it later in the development process. Higher quality code will reduce lifetime cost to both suppliers and customers as it is more reliable and easier to maintain . Software failures in safety-critical systems can be very serious including death. By some estimates,
399-443: A legal regime where liability for software products is significantly curtailed compared to other products. Source code is protected by copyright law that vests the owner with the exclusive right to copy the code. The underlying ideas or algorithms are not protected by copyright law, but are often treated as a trade secret and concealed by such methods as non-disclosure agreements . Software copyright has been recognized since
456-632: A new policy which would grant third-party business partners, including a marketing firm, access to its members' telephone numbers. Several days before the changes were to take effect, an AOL member informed the media of the changes and the following news coverage incited a large influx of internet traffic on the AOL page which enabled users to opt out of having their names and numbers on marketing lists. In 2011, George Hotz and other members of failOverflow were sued by Sony Corporation. Sony claimed that Hotz and others had committed breach of contract by violating
513-500: A number of Terms of Service , restricting the type of content which may appear on a ProBoards forum. ProBoards prohibits illegal or adult content. Formerly, only English forums were allowed, but in May 2010 this policy was changed, allowing boards to be created in any language. In addition to content policies, Proboards terms also seemingly prohibit the use of "ad-blocking" technology when accessing its services. In November 2020, ProBoards took
570-424: A number of subscription style features are optionally available, there is no obligation for any user to purchase anything from ProBoards. Forums are hosted for free, with no bandwidth or webspace cap, provided users allow advertisements to be displayed on their forum. Until September 2003, ProBoards was supported by popunders , but these were discontinued in favor of less intrusive methods of advertising. Currently
627-421: A particular company, or even which companies were tracked in any time period. It links to Terms of Service; Didn't Read, though that typically does not have any evaluation of the most recent changes listed at TOSBack.org. Terms of services are subject to change and vary from service to service, so several initiatives exist to increase public awareness by clarifying such differences in terms, including: In 1994,
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#1732764655570684-431: A partnership with VigLink announced January 2014. This partnership allows any ProBoards forum managers or creators to generate revenue from traffic with VigLink Insert. Software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the execution of a computer . Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital computers in
741-414: A quick web search . Most creative professionals have switched to software-based tools such as computer-aided design , 3D modeling , digital image editing , and computer animation . Almost every complex device is controlled by software. Terms of Service Terms of service (also known as terms of use and terms and conditions , commonly abbreviated as TOS or ToS , ToU or T&C ) are
798-474: A recent change that allows every ProBoards forum to be accessed without a server number in the URL. (For example, boardname.proboards.com) Due to the advent of Facebook, ProBoards transitioned into a social network and forum service hybrid with the introduction of version 5 in 2013. In 2014, ProBoards launched Forums.net, a monthly subscription-based service for hosting private message boards for businesses. Although
855-495: A significant role in the distribution of software products. The first use of the word software is credited to mathematician John Wilder Tukey in 1958. The first programmable computers, which appeared at the end of the 1940s, were programmed in machine language . Machine language is difficult to debug and not portable across different computers. Initially, hardware resources were more expensive than human resources . As programs became complex, programmer productivity became
912-514: A specific version of the software, downloaded, and run on hardware belonging to the purchaser. The rise of the Internet and cloud computing enabled a new model, software as a service (SaaS), in which the provider hosts the software (usually built on top of rented infrastructure or platforms ) and provides the use of the software to customers, often in exchange for a subscription fee . By 2023, SaaS products—which are usually delivered via
969-415: A system's availability, others allow the attacker to inject and run their own code (called malware ), without the user being aware of it. To thwart cyberattacks, all software in the system must be designed to withstand and recover from external attack. Despite efforts to ensure security, a significant fraction of computers are infected with malware. Programming languages are the format in which software
1026-508: A typical forum will contain a Google AdSense banner ad and some small text links on every page. ProBoards also sells advertising directly to users through a selfserve system. ProBoards also has an agreement with a third party chatroom provider, addonInteractive, to provide Java-based chatrooms to users. Each forum admin can activate a free version of the chat on their forum, with paid upgrades available for busy forums. The chats integrate fully with forum accounts. ProBoards users are bound by
1083-768: A wrongful death lawsuit against Disney in February 2024, claiming that she had alerted staff to her severe allergy to both multiple times, but was ignored. On May 31, Disney filed a motion to get the lawsuit dismissed, citing the terms of service of both the My Disney Experience app (which they booked tickets from) and Disney+ (which they had used a free trial of in the past). This term would require all legal disputes against Disney and its affiliates to be held in an individual binding arbitration . The story's publicization in August 2024 prompted severe backlash against
1140-508: Is coded in Perl , a popular programming language with web developers. Previously, due to the remotely hosted nature of the service, users could not modify the software directly as with some forum systems, but some customisation was possible through the use of CSS or JavaScript codes. With the release of v.5, however, ProBoards gives Administrators and certain other members access to the HTML and CSS of
1197-508: Is enforced by requiring all users to enter their date of birth on registration. Users aged under 13 are not permitted to register at any ProBoards forum. According to the Terms of Service, any user under the age of 18 also requires parental permission to register, but this is taken as implied when they accept the registration agreement and not verified. ProBoards allows users to apply affiliate marketing practices to monetize their communities via
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#17327646555701254-438: Is mainly used for legal purposes by companies which provide software or services, such as web browsers , e-commerce, web search engines, social media , and transport services. A legitimate terms of service agreement is legally binding and may be subject to change. Companies can enforce the terms by refusing service. Customers can enforce by filing a lawsuit or arbitration case if they can show they were actually harmed by
1311-453: Is written. Since the 1950s, thousands of different programming languages have been invented; some have been in use for decades, while others have fallen into disuse. Some definitions classify machine code —the exact instructions directly implemented by the hardware—and assembly language —a more human-readable alternative to machine code whose statements can be translated one-to-one into machine code—as programming languages. Programs written in
1368-495: The Washington Times reported that America Online (AOL) was selling detailed personal information about its subscribers to direct marketers, without notifying or asking its subscribers. That article led to the revision of AOL's terms of service three years later. On July 1, 1997, AOL posted their revised terms of service to take effect July 31, 1997, without formally notifying its users of the changes made, most notably
1425-438: The high-level programming languages used to create software share a few main characteristics: knowledge of machine code is not necessary to write them, they can be ported to other computer systems, and they are more concise and human-readable than machine code. They must be both human-readable and capable of being translated into unambiguous instructions for computer hardware. The invention of high-level programming languages
1482-468: The legal agreements between a service provider and a person who wants to use that service. The person must agree to abide by the terms of service in order to use the offered service. Terms of service can also be merely a disclaimer , especially regarding the use of websites. Vague language and lengthy sentences used in these terms of service have caused concerns about customer privacy and raised public awareness in many ways. A terms of service agreement
1539-573: The 500 most-visited websites which use sign-in-wrap agreements in September 2018: Among 260 mass market consumer software license agreements which existed in both 2003 and 2010: A 2013 documentary called Terms and Conditions May Apply publicized issues in terms of services. It was reviewed by 54 professional critics and won for Best Feature Documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival 2013 and for Best Documentary at
1596-485: The Sonoma Valley Film Festival 2013. Clickwrapped.com rates 15 companies on their policies and practices with respect to using users' data, disclosing users' data, amending the terms, closing users' accounts, requiring arbitration, fining users, and clarity. Terms of Service; Didn't Read is a group effort that rates 67 companies' terms of service and privacy policies, though its site says
1653-602: The Walt Disney Company, with many moving to cancel their subscriptions to Disney+ and for a boycott of other Disney products and services. Piccolo's legal team also argued against Disney's claims, first stating that the terms of service on both platforms were "effectively invisible", and that Piccolo "would have had no notice" of the conditions. They also argued that Piccolo's use of these services should have no effect on Tangsaun's right to be represented in this case. Disney responded by claiming to be "deeply sorry" of
1710-886: The architecture's hardware. Over time, software has become complex, owing to developments in networking , operating systems , and databases . Software can generally be categorized into two main types: The rise of cloud computing has introduced the new software delivery model Software as a Service (SaaS). In SaaS, applications are hosted by a provider and accessed over the Internet . The process of developing software involves several stages. The stages include software design , programming , testing , release , and maintenance . Software quality assurance and security are critical aspects of software development, as bugs and security vulnerabilities can lead to system failures and security breaches. Additionally, legal issues such as software licenses and intellectual property rights play
1767-399: The bottleneck. The introduction of high-level programming languages in 1958 hid the details of the hardware and expressed the underlying algorithms into the code . Early languages include Fortran , Lisp , and COBOL . There are two main types of software: Software can also be categorized by how it is deployed . Traditional applications are purchased with a perpetual license for
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1824-404: The correctness of code, while user acceptance testing helps to ensure that the product meets customer expectations. There are a variety of software development methodologies , which vary from completing all steps in order to concurrent and iterative models. Software development is driven by requirements taken from prospective users, as opposed to maintenance, which is driven by events such as
1881-400: The cost of poor quality software can be as high as 20 to 40 percent of sales. Despite developers' goal of delivering a product that works entirely as intended, virtually all software contains bugs. The rise of the Internet also greatly increased the need for computer security as it enabled malicious actors to conduct cyberattacks remotely. If a bug creates a security risk, it is called
1938-419: The cost of products. Unlike copyrights, patents generally only apply in the jurisdiction where they were issued. Engineer Capers Jones writes that "computers and software are making profound changes to every aspect of human life: education, work, warfare, entertainment, medicine, law, and everything else". It has become ubiquitous in everyday life in developed countries . In many cases, software augments
1995-510: The decision to remove a forum used by members of the New York Police Department after an officer who was a regular poster on the board was outed as having used it to share "racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, and homophobic sentiments". User privacy is protected by a Privacy Policy outlining the use of logged information, as well as cookie policy, forum monitoring, and publicly available information. The US COPPA law
2052-509: The exact wording from the company. The Topics tab lists topics (like "Personal Data" or "Guarantee"), with brief notes from some companies about aspects of the topic. TOSBack.org , supported by the Electronic Frontier Foundation , lists changes in terms and policies sequentially, 10 per page, for 160 pages, or nearly 1,600 changes, for "many online services." There does not seem to be a way to find all changes for
2109-438: The form of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or open-source software . Software quality assurance is typically a combination of manual code review by other engineers and automated software testing . Due to time constraints, testing cannot cover all aspects of the software's intended functionality, so developers often focus on the most critical functionality. Formal methods are used in some safety-critical systems to prove
2166-439: The functionality of existing technologies such as household appliances and elevators . Software also spawned entirely new technologies such as the Internet , video games , mobile phones , and GPS . New methods of communication, including email , forums , blogs , microblogging , wikis , and social media , were enabled by the Internet. Massive amounts of knowledge exceeding any paper-based library are now available with
2223-446: The largest websites on the Internet. However, according to TechCrunch writer Anthony Ha, those numbers have seemingly dropped as of 2014. In an interview, founder/owner Patrick Clinger stated "ProBoards has been used to create 3.5 million forums", but about 1.2 million of them are still active (i.e. resulting in the occasional page view). In October 2021, ProBoards was purchased by internet company VerticalScope Holdings. Proboards
2280-597: The mid-1970s and is vested in the company that makes the software, not the employees or contractors who wrote it. The use of most software is governed by an agreement ( software license ) between the copyright holder and the user. Proprietary software is usually sold under a restrictive license that limits copying and reuse (often enforced with tools such as digital rights management (DRM)). Open-source licenses , in contrast, allow free use and redistribution of software with few conditions. Most open-source licenses used for software require that modifications be released under
2337-404: The mid-20th century. Early programs were written in the machine language specific to the hardware. The introduction of high-level programming languages in 1958 allowed for more human-readable instructions, making software development easier and more portable across different computer architectures . Software in a programming language is run through a compiler or interpreter to execute on
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2394-472: The operating system) can take this saved file and execute it as a process on the computer hardware. Some programming languages use an interpreter instead of a compiler. An interpreter converts the program into machine code at run time , which makes them 10 to 100 times slower than compiled programming languages. Software is often released with the knowledge that it is incomplete or contains bugs. Purchasers knowingly buy it in this state, which has led to
2451-585: The other party's consent. A 2012 court case In re Zappos.com, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation held that Zappos.com 's terms of use, with one such clause, was unenforceable. On October 5, 2023, a 42-year-old woman named Kanokporn Tangsuan (who worked as a doctor at NYU Langone Health ) was killed at Raglan Road Irish Pub at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World after going into anaphylactic shock due to increased levels of dairy and nuts in her system. Her widower, Jeffery Piccolo, filed
2508-618: The physical world may also be part of the requirements for a software patent to be held valid. Software patents have been historically controversial . Before the 1998 case State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. , software patents were generally not recognized in the United States. In that case, the Supreme Court decided that business processes could be patented. Patent applications are complex and costly, and lawsuits involving patents can drive up
2565-560: The ratings are "outdated." It also has browser add-ons that deliver the ratings while at the website of a rated company. Members of the group score each clause in each terms of service document, but "the same clause can have different scores depending on the context of the services it applies to." The Services tab lists companies in no apparent order, with brief notes about significant clauses from each company. In particular, competitors are not listed together so that users can compare them. A link gives longer notes. It does not typically link to
2622-408: The release. Over time, the level of maintenance becomes increasingly restricted before being cut off entirely when the product is withdrawn from the market. As software ages , it becomes known as legacy software and can remain in use for decades, even if there is no one left who knows how to fix it. Over the lifetime of the product, software maintenance is estimated to comprise 75 percent or more of
2679-424: The same license, which can create complications when open-source software is reused in proprietary projects. Patents give an inventor an exclusive, time-limited license for a novel product or process. Ideas about what software could accomplish are not protected by law and concrete implementations are instead covered by copyright law . In some countries, a requirement for the claimed invention to have an effect on
2736-588: The terms and conditions of 31 cloud-computing services in January-July 2010, operating in England: The researchers note that rules on location and time limits may be unenforceable for consumers in many jurisdictions with consumer protections , that acceptable use policies are rarely enforced, that quick deletion is dangerous if a court later rules the termination wrongful, that local laws often require warranties (and UK forced Apple to say so). Among
2793-688: The terms of service of the PlayStation Network and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act . On December 17, 2012, Instagram and Facebook announced a change to their terms of use that caused a widespread outcry from its user base. The controversial clause stated: "you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata ), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you". There
2850-431: The total development cost. Completing a software project involves various forms of expertise, not just in software programmers but also testing, documentation writing, project management , graphic design , user experience , user support, marketing , and fundraising. Software quality is defined as meeting the stated requirements as well as customer expectations. Quality is an overarching term that can refer to
2907-533: The upgrade added over 100 new features and enhancements to the service. Despite this, bugs of varying levels of severity still existed. The current version of the software is v5. ProBoards' servers - physical machines running the ProBoards software - are hosted by SoftLayer . Previous to November 2010, ProBoards was hosted by ThePlanet.com , and previous to 2006, EV1 Servers. The servers are hosted in multiple SoftLayer datacenters in Texas. In 2005, Patrick Clinger
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#17327646555702964-510: The webpage, for easier coding purposes. The first day of business for ProBoards was January 1, 2000. At first, ProBoards originally used software created by the owner, Patrick Clinger. In late 2001, though, ProBoards switched to the YaBB system. At the same time, other changes to the service made it the first remotely hosted service to offer a subdomain with each forum (e.g. username.proboards[servernumber].com) On June 11, 2002, ProBoards Version 2
3021-432: Was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation. This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear. Some terms of services are worded to allow unilateral amendment, where one party can change the agreement at any time without
3078-472: Was invited by EV1 Servers to take part in a commercial for their business. The commercial opened with a voiceover introducing Clinger as the owner of ProBoards.com, and he then gave a testimonial about how EV1's hosting benefited ProBoards. The commercial was shown at the 2005 Houston Bowl . Since 2007, EV1 no longer exists as a webhost, having merged with The Planet. As of March 2009, the server numbers (boardname.proboards##.com) no longer need to be used due to
3135-525: Was launched. This was coded by Clinger and was a rewrite of the entire software rather than improvements to the existing YaBB based setup. The main goals of this rewrite were to improve the overall speed of the software and add new features to keep the product competitive. In February 2003, version 3 of the ProBoards software was released, again making improvements on the overall speed of the software and including over 30 new features. ProBoards upgraded to version 4 of its software on April 30, 2005. This time,
3192-560: Was no apparent option to opt out of the changed terms of use. The move garnered severe criticism from privacy advocates as well as consumers. After one day, Instagram apologized, saying that it would remove the controversial language from its terms of use. Kevin Systrom , a co-founder of Instagram, responded to the controversy, stating: Our intention in updating the terms was to communicate that we’d like to experiment with innovative advertising that feels appropriate on Instagram. Instead, it
3249-401: Was simultaneous with the compilers needed to translate them automatically into machine code. Most programs do not contain all the resources needed to run them and rely on external libraries . Part of the compiler's function is to link these files in such a way that the program can be executed by the hardware. Once compiled, the program can be saved as an object file and the loader (part of
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