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This is an excellent idea.

One major roadblock to more people using XOOPS is the way it arrives out of the box - virtually useless.
It takes a BIG learning curve to actually get it working.
This eliminates a lot of people.
Some eliminated are less technical.
Some are simply too busy to invest the hours in an unknown.

TYPO3 makes a effort towards this by offering a pre-configured download in addition to the bare system download.

I myself use the WolfPack XOOPS because it save me lots of time having to make all those
what I consider essential changes for a working system.
I start-out hours if not days ahead (thanks guys!)

XOOPS is hard to learn, as is any powerful application.
It is a long hard job to set it up for your needs because of that.

What risto is talking about here is catering to vertical markets.
Very common in the commercial world.
Who has not seen an application customized for a particular industry?

A XOOPS package pre-configured with the modules needed would be more usable immediately and have a much shorter learning curve.

Handing someone XOOPS is like giving them a toolbox and saying "build something."
Great if you are builder.
Daunting if you are not.

Knowing how to use a drill and a hammer does not make you a home builder.
Can you move in and then maintain an existing home?
Far more people able to do this.

Build them a XOOPS home.
Help them move in now, and then they can maintain it, and modify it for their needs.

Great idea risto.

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I'm a project manager since 1995, I belive I see through the end users eyes (site owners and end users).

I think this Thread needs to be read in order to judge XOOPS as a CMS / portal system / Community application -
for me @ least it's the difference between using XOOPS to build a community site, but not using it as a CMS for a non community sites.

O.k. .... I know ... functionality is not the issue now, when talking about promotion and marketing ... and ... yes ..... XOOPS is amazing as is ... and can be promoted great as is.
Just remember that if it needs to compete another CMS's, this issue needs to be solved in order to be more competitive !!!
Xoops wins as a community-oriented CMS , not as a regular CMS that needs to be based on Content Flaw !!!

Risto's idea is good, but as Mithrandir already said, it's not new. We have been planning this (actively on dev.xoops.org) for a long time already. I suggest we leave that to the people involved for now, and Mithrandir will make sure that the communications/pr team will be involved when necessary.

Herko

Hi xoopizens,
There has been a lot of talks on this forum with very little moment. Here i started the Spider marketing Tactics and my first step.
I have contacted OpenSourceCMS people and the contact goes as below:
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I have made the first step i would appreciate if someone from the XOOPS Core team get in touch with them and try to install the complete xoops. As all the CMS were fully functional where as XOOPS was a plain website, sorry to say if i would have seen this first before comming to XOOPS site i would have gone for PHPNuke or some other CMS.
Please make sure that the demo is with modules like calender, articles, sections, forums links etc add whatever you feel best.
Please check the other CMS posted there and select a good package.
Could the XOOPS core team do this for all of us.
I am also trying to find out popular indian magazines who add articles on CMS will inform as soon as i get some concrete information.
Keep Xooping
Vikrant
One Step for Armstrong and a great step for Mankind
(Man's Landing on Moon)

That is a good idea, can someone else take this up, as the Core Team members are VERY busy at the moment with the next versions, roadmaps, new organisations, teams, etc. etc. I'd hate to see this momentum die because of that.

Herko

@risto, @kenmcd, @herko,

The pre-configured modules has been talked above (david's "fundmental" module set) and it was considered "off-topic".

I know a distribution for vairous packages has been planned for a long time. Hope it could come out.

No matter they are lazy or they are not capable to configure XOOPS by themselves, people do like pre-configured packages.

On some user's request, we released a package in Feb which exactly our local support site is using. Although we warned that it included some hacks and was just a Festival special gift for taste, but people like it so much and it has got more downloads than our official 2.09 package.

Before creting those packages, wouldn't be necessary to have the proposed modules verified for XOOPS coding standards. Whatever the testing group is supposed to do. This way it would be possible to get some modules up to speed with the standards before the new core is shipped out.

Quote:that would be preferable, yes. Provided the QA team can provide the checklist for this, it sure would be best. It would also be beneficial to have the packages selectable during installation - and installable in one go through the modules administration - but at some point we will have to release what we have and perfect it later. And yes, the "later" has a tendency to become a lot later, but with enough help, we should be able to pull this off.

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looks like i posted the new thread at the wrong time.. lol but you can find it HERE

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Implying that a potential user is lazy because they don't
have the time or inclination to wade through the very steep
XOOPS learning curve is one of the things preventing the
adoption of XOOPS by more mainstream users.

phppp - my apologies, I don't mean to pick on you.
This is something which needs to be discussed as part
of the XOOPS Marketing and PR discussion.
I have seen this attitude more than once in these forums.

Geeks love to grind through the details.
The rest of the world does not.
Expecting everyone to be the same is a denial of reality.
It will never happen.

User-focused, customer-focused, etc.
These are not just marketing catch phrases.
They are an attitude and a philosophy required for marketing success.

XOOPS must adopt a user-focus for more mainstream success.
As Herko's comments above acknowledge, XOOPS is geek-focused.
This is hurting XOOPS (if the goal is more mainstream users).
This does not matter if there is no goal of increased market share.
XOOPS will still be a great product - that appeals only to tech people.

Analysis Paralysis vs. Just Do It
I am getting the feeling that every proposal is lost for
months in another committee, another analysis.
This is an impediment to more rapid progress.
The analysis/creation of packages has been going on for "months"?

phppp - I applaud you for making a full package available for download.
You have addressed and filled a customer/user need - now.
It is popular because of these marketplace realities.

Herko, you mentioned above that having an outsider assess the situation with a fresh view may be helpful (paraphrasing). This is that view. Blunt comments and opinions and a healthy dose of reality is the market researcher's best friend. Some people may be offended by the criticism. I am used to asking customers questions and getting the sometimes difficult answers. Criticism and user comments are the lifeblood of a customer-focused marketer. Otherwise you are living in fantasy of your own making completely out of touch with the user/customer reality. Commercial companies die everyday because they are out of touch. What we think is not important. What the user/customer thinks is important.
Anything else and you will not be successful in expanding into other markets.

KM