A bunch of people don’t do and don’t like this while I’m over here somewhat happy that third party modules can’t be accessed anymore, and while that may harm a bunch of users and business on roblox (I’m looking at you, admin commands and “server” protection things), at least now people can know what they’re getting and adding to the game if they have the proper knowledge, and this prevents almost all malicious code from being added from modules since someone will eventually come across the corrupted module and report it.
Edit: I’m aware I’m getting a bit of bad rep for this comment, but Roblox is mostly open sourced (even the core scripts that run studios and the API can be publicly seen) so that’s where this comment originated from.
I don’t get why they can’t open-source their code either instead of keeping it locked away. Let people learn from it for gods sake! If you’re worried about your endpoints then you should probably make them more secure if that’s the case.
I believe @SquirrelByte did not want to open source it, with worries that people could spam his database. Something along those lines. I know he said something about it in a post, I read it a while ago.
His database being spammed shouldn’t be an issue. If he’s worried about a denial of service attack then he needs to improve his server security. You can pretty much solve most problems that arise from a client-side system.
Or, he can continue running his genuine service using closed source code? What if he does not want people to steal his code, and re-upload it as their own? Something that happens with plugins quite a bit, because they are open source. Just gotta open the folder. Something most kids on Roblox do not know how to do, which goes back to my viewpoint of private modules not having an effect on kids who have no experience with scripting. Which, I assume, is the majority of people on Roblox.
Again, anyone can state something is “genuine” and “safe” if the code is locked behind some barrier. The problem is when specific individuals start throwing statements out similar to, “Our service will come to an end if this change happens!” even though it won’t at all. Your statement about private modules not affecting regular users on Roblox is false. This is the primary push for removing private modules as a whole. Due to the backdoors and other malicious code that we’re placed in these private modules. Additionally, these modules have only one target primarily and that target is the typical user. I’ll stop replying to this thread though as I have deemed it as a tunnel-vision type thread.
I create a free model. Inside is a large, and complex script. I also minify it (easily “un-obfuscated”). Somewhere inside, I create a backdoor. I give it to some kids or whatever.
See my point? The kids won’t be able to do anything except delete it. I can always say the script is “genuine” even if it isn’t! My partner is great at building, but knows nothing about scripting. If I decided to give him a script which runs a game but also contains a backdoor, I bet you he would just delete it, rather than try and figure it out like an experienced scripter would. And I assume this is the way it would go for many, many other developers on Roblox.
Sorry to chime in but, it is my personal opinion that you’re at fault for putting malicious code into your game. Using code that is not yours can always leave you at some sort of risk. So I don’t see why we’re removing private modules. I understand younger developers might not be aware of the risk of inserting someone else’s code into your game but that is a apart of the learning process.
I’m also torn because I believe this will help the community, but it is sad to see it go away with no alternative in sight.
I’m sorry, but I can’t tell if you’re agreeing with me.
In the case that you aren’t: Running code that you cannot see is your own fault. Don’t like it? Delete it. That is also part of a learning process, to not trust code you cannot see.
That is exactly what I am saying. If you put a Private Module or Free Model into your game that is on you. I only use Private Modules from trusted individuals.
It feels like you’re saying that part of the learning process is that you shouldn’t trust anything you didn’t make? Doesn’t that go against the entire reason for free models existing in the first place?
I said to not trust code you cannot see. Please re-read my post. You can see everything in a free model, if it doesn’t use private modules, and if it is obfuscated, you can un-obfuscate it. That is, once again, you know how.
I never use Free Models because of the malicious code they can possess that can ruin my game. I only use Private Modules from trusted developers that I know
I want the entire source code for Skyrim (or Adobe Photoshop), so that I may have the “proper knowledge” of what is being added to my computer.
As for someone above saying that code should be open-sourced so that you can learn from it, well, I present the same argument. I want the entire source code to Skyrim (or Adobe Photoshop) so that I may learn from it. What’s the problem?
The problem is that this logic doesn’t work for business practices, which is what people are trying to imitate.
Trust is easily broken and people betray each other all time(I know too well), now that code has to be open source with the removal of private modules, you don’t have to trust anyone to not suddenly turn their admin script into a script that plays loud explict rap music and covers your game with explicit images becuase you can read the code and not require code that can change at any time.
If you think about it, that’s kinda what Roblox is doing here, just on a universal scale. Yes, there is some collateral damage, but that’s unavoidable in nearly every major change.