Chmod to 777 = bad?

[Roundboy]

crap, I just had about 10 more FAQ's to add and I didn't try to copy it. Then it said I was over the limit. So.. I will try to rewrite them now.

• How do I reduce the size of my database?
  Remove posts, old members, and one thing that most people don't do.. remove private messages. Cleaning out your logs, removing the clicklog, disabling karma and the calendar are also good things.
  
  
• When I open the settings section I get "Failed to make backup of Settings.php"
  Make sure the YaBBSE directory is chmodded to 777.  If it is, if the file Settings_bak.php exists chmod it to 666.
  
  
• When attempting to upload attachments I get "2: OpenDir: No such file or directory (errno 2)"
  Check your attachments directory in Installed 'Mods' Settings and Options and make sure it is chmodded 666 or 777
  
  
• People are having problems staying logged in or they can't login. What do I do?
  Upgrade to 1.5.1 first. Then tell everyone to make sure their browser allows cookies from your site. Also login via www.yoursite.com and/or yoursite.com. They are 2 different cookies.
  

I wish I could post all of the FAQ's in a row or something.. hmm..

isn't chmod 'ing something to 777 generally a bad thing ?

[[Unknown]]

isn't chmod 'ing something to 777 generally a bad thing ?

Well, think of it this way.

If someone gets access to your forum/website, files that are 777 could be edited or deleted.

If someone gets access to your forum/website, the database and its contents could be edited or deleted.

So basically.... not making things 777 will mean that no one can delete them... but won't protect your posts, and all the other data that is harder to replace.  (you could just upload YaBB SE again... but you probably don't have an up-to-date backup of the database.)

Thus, if someone gets access... not having things chmod'd to 777 won't do you ANY bit of good.

-[Unknown]