In this post I set up a few basic ideas about what skills a good MOD writer should have. To save you some time they were:

• Knows php
• Practices good programmign techniques
• Knows phpBB

The last one is probably the most important. Someone that knows php that doesn’t know phpBB is going to have a harder time getting started. But none of these are what I consider the most important attribute. What is it?

A good MOD writer is flexible, creative, and imaginative.
That, in my opinion, is the best attribute a MOD author can have. MODs don’t have to include thousands of lines of code to be considered effective. I have two MODs that edit only one line of code each! So good MODs do not have to be long.

I have had clients come up with great ideas but not have the skills to implement them. They are by far my favorite types of client… they have the idea and come to me for implementation. I have been involved in systems design for quite a few years. Many clients are pleasantly surprised when I am able to take the essentials of their idea and turn it into a design specification very quickly. I am able to do that (I think) not because I am a passable php coder, not because I know phpBB fairly well, but because I have a creative mind. I can see what they are asking for, but also see what could be done to extend their idea even further.

It’s a skill that I utilize in real life as a database consultant, and one that carries over into my phpBB hobby as well.

You can teach programming languages.

You can teach good programming practices.

You can learn how phpBB works.

But I think the best MOD authors are those that see something different that can be done and do it.