This is common. I won't ever drop any names, but I've been using IPB since the first release.. it was completely free before version 1.31..
They even told us "Invision Board will always be FREE!!!". *waves* at you, Matthew Mecham.
Then with 2.1 they introduced a freemium type option, then completely paid. A lot of old warez members become developers for IP.Board plugins, over the last last couple of decades.
I miss the old days TBH.. it's very hard to find a good skin now (R.I.P SkinByDragonfly). I'm actually using this guys skin myself.. to be fair it's one of the better ones..
..if you look at this guys communities though, the style of his mods etc.. you can see he comes from the warez scene. Biggest clue is he is obsessed with group formatting.
I also miss the forum games like ArmySystem, and the various arcades. The Peak of IPB was 2.1.7 IMO:
Well, at least I feel 0% guilt for using this skin now ?
eX CODEMAFiA admin.