FAQ & Aims

This FAQ/Aims document is intended to simplify the terms in the T&C document, and also answer the most common questions people will have about DBTech and our policies. Feel free to submit any other questions you may have to iain@dragonbyte-tech.com


Q: Who are DBTech?

A: DragonByte Technologies Ltd is a limited company based in Scotland. Company Number SC397765 with the registered address 118 Maryhill Rd, Glasgow, G20 7QS, Scotland.

Less formal answer:
DBTech is a collection of coders, programmers and designers from various parts of the world including Scotland, Ireland, Norway and the U.S.A. All of the members of the team have years of experience with the vBulletin system. DBTech is owned by Iain "Decado" Kidd and Fillip "Belazor" Hannisdal who both own 50% of the shares of DragonByte Technologies Ltd. The other members of the team are technically freelancers, but we see them as family ^.^

Q: What do I get for my money?

A: A license to use the software as described in our Terms & Conditions document http://www.dragonbyte-tech.com/conte...rms-Conditions

Less formal answer:
With any purchase you get the right to use the software for as long as you like on 1 website. The "time" specified on each license (e.g "3 months", "1 year") refers to how long you will be eligible to receive and use updates for the product (please note that as per our T & C there is no guarantee of updates – have a look at our aims section for info on our targets, though).

As a paying customer you will receive priority over other users when it comes to receiving support and get to feel awesome that you are supporting a small independent software studio!


Q: How often are products updated?

A: There is no set number of updates guaranteed for any product

Less formal answer:
Our aim is to update each product with at least 1 major and 2 medium sized updates per year. This isn't a rule though, and often products get 2 or more major updates a year, and anything up to a dozen medium updates depending on the popularity of the product. On rare occasions certain products may receive less, though this has never happened so far.

A major update is one that adds one or more large new functionalities (i.e adding an awards component to an activity modification. Adding support for real money to a points modification).

A medium update is one which develops current functionality, or adds some small new features. An example would be adding a lottery feature or a bank to our vBShop modification.

Major updates are often accompanied by a price increase. If you have purchased before the increase, you will not have to pay any extra. We will always strive to give you at least one weeks notice of any impending price increases.

You can usually tell what kind of updates a product has had via its product number. Product Name version X.Y.Z

X represents a major update e.g from v1 to v2.
Y represents a medium update e.g from v1.0 to v1.1
Z represents a minor update or bugfix e.g from 1.0.0 to v 1.0.1


Q: What is the DBTech policy on support issues?

A: Support is provided on an as-available basis

Less formal answer:
Paying customers will always be looked at first when it comes to support. If we are unable to diagnose an issue via the forum, our support agents will visit your site to try to diagnose the issue there. They may require ACP and/or FTP access for this. If you fail to provide this then they may be unable to assist you further.

Each modification is supported primarily by the developer responsible for coding it, this means support times can vary between products, and if you have an issue that hasn't been resolved while others have, that's probably why.


Q: What are the normal support response times?

A: There are no guaranteed response times with regards to support

Less formal answer:
Support for mods is provided primarily by the coder of the modification, so the average response time varies from product to product. With that being said we do have internal guidelines about support and response times which our coders are expected to meet:

Major Bugs/Security Risks: Fixed within 24 hours. A major bug would be one which affects the ability of your forum to function, or stops the product from functioning.

Medium Level Bugs: Fixed within 7 days. A medium level bug would be Individual features not working or performing as they should.

Low level issues: Fixed within 60 days. A low level issue would be something aesthetic (a line being a few pixels out) or a feature having a small flaw in its operation (activity bars only count 99% instead of 100) or a non-integral feature not performing as it should (a backup feature having issues with certain server configurations)

We must reiterate that while paying customers get priority support you are not paying for support. Support will be offered for users of our free mods and Lite mods as well, but this is done as and when the agents have time. They do not follow the above response time guidelines.


Q: What happens when my license expires?

A: You are no longer able to download updates for the product in question.

Less formal answer:
If you purchase a 3 month or 1 year license, then in order to gain updates after this time you will have to pay a renewal fee. This fee varies between products, but is usually 65-90% of the cost of a new license. Bear in mind that prices will probably rise during the products lifetime, so your renewal fee may be more expensive than you anticipate.

If you purchase a 3 month or 1 year license and wish to upgrade to a higher level of license (e.g 3 month to 1 year or lifetime) then you will be able to do so. The cost depends on the product, but it is usually the difference in price plus 10-50% (e.g if the 1 year licenses was $50 and the lifetime $100, then to upgrade your license would cost $55-75)


Q: Who receives the money I pay?

A: The money is divided between the original programmer and DragonByte Technologies Ltd

Less formal answer:
The exact details vary from product to product, but as a general rule the coder/artist will receive between 50% and 75% of the money you pay, with the remainder going to anyone who assisted with the project, any additional support agents for the product, and finally a %age to the company itself.


Q: Can I sell my license to someone else?

A: No. This is against our Terms and Conditions.

Less formal Answer: We cannot support any sort of license transferring. While we would love to be able to, PayPal are our primary payment processor and they will always recognise the purchasing account as the owner. This is important because if we did allow license transferring the following could occur:

John Doe purchase DBTech Software via PayPal for $100.
John Doe sells his license to Jane Deer for $50
John Doe tells PayPal the original transaction was unauthorised. If PayPal put the reversal through John Doe receives his $100 back and the license is automatically cancelled.

This means Jane Deer has paid $50 in good faith for her license, but it is removed through no fault of her own. Obviously this is a situation we want to avoid, so transferring licenses is not an option.


Q: Can I link my admin/friend/representative to my account to access pro support?

A: Only the license holder can access the pro support forums.

Less formal answer: This is something we want to be able to offer in the future, however there are a number of technical and other issues that need to be resolved first. Hopefully this feature will be available soon, but no promises!


Q: Are you guys part of "insert company name here"?

A: DragonByte Technologies Ltd is not a subsidiary of any company.

Less formal answer: Neither of the DBTech owners are involved with any other company, developers on our team may be affiliated or part of other companies, but this does not impact on their work published by us. We will occasionally have partner site/companies on our forum home page. These are companies we know and can personally recommend and who can offer a discount to DBTech customers, but neither of DBTechs owners have any stake in those companies.