Hi JMorris,
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Anymore, it upsets me to visit this site.
No reason to get upset. I think, all the questions are legit and normal.
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Can XOOPS do this or that?
How do I do this or that with XOOPS?
This is good - people are actually interested, probably new to XOOPS, and having new people joining XOOPS is always good
If this concerns you, it means that our FAQ and tutorials are not sufficient, or people are not aware of them. In cases when people are just too lazy to read FAQ or documentation, we should just gently point them to it
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Can XOOPS compete with this or that?
These questions show concern and curiosity of the people. I want XOOPS to be the leader, so if I see a new development, I am curious if we still can compete with this, or if we should do something about it.
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Why doesn't this or that work in XOOPS?
The Core Team needs to do this or that!
These are good questions and a good source for ideas for things to improve. If this question was already asked, and decided negatively, let's answer it in FAQ, otherwise let's put this ToDo list, and prioritize it.
I believe that being concerned, wanting to make XOOPS better, is healthy. Yes, XOOPS is not perfect, so recognizing some of the issues is the first step to resolve them. Therefore we should be able to talk about it.
What upsets me, are those destructive messages - something like
XOOPS will die, you people suck, this and that developer suck, XOOPS has no future.
But still, answering those type of questions or comments, we should stay as professional as possible. I've been in the OpenSource area for a quite some time (my SourceForge ID <1000
) and one of my learning was that people who want to provide leadership have to be patient and can't allow themselves to be defensive to newcomers. You can argue privately with other members of the Core Team, but don't bash people in public if they ask aggressive questions. Your answers will, whether you like it or not, reflect on XOOPS, and not only on you as a person. So if somebody is on the Core Team, they should think twice before answering in a defensive manner.
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There is so much energy wasted around here with hot air, griping, complaining and comparing that could be much better spent improving! If you don't like something around here, get off your duff, put together a proposal, patch, theme, logo, etc and submit it to the Core Team! If it's too big of a job for just you, partner up with a few people and call yourself a team! I don't care how you do it, JUST DO IT!
Couldn't agree more with you. But one comment: we also have to create an environment where those teams can succeed, i.e. where we support them, provide them the right tools, coaching, and mentoring. And we have to listen to them.
What concerns me is the fact that you said that many of these things are coming up again and again. If this is the case, then it seems like:
- they are important to the people
- they haven't been properly resolved or explained why it doesn't make sense to do them
It comes down to the right communication back to people.
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The Core Team is awake. They do hear the community. Much of what has been mentioned here is being worked on in the background. However, there are only 12 Core Team members and only a few dozen hands actively working on XOOPS. This is a big project and we don't have nearly enough people working on it.
If it is being worked in the background, then people should know about it. Let's not keep things in secret!
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If anyone can implement any of the features that have been mentioned, PLEASE do so! Then submit your code to the Core Devs. They will look at it as soon as they possibly can. If it doesn't get approved, don't take it personal! Only the Core Devs know the [code-level] direction XOOPS is taking. Your suggestion may not fit into the direction that XOOPS is taking, but at least you contributed!
It concerns me that only Core Devs know the direction XOOPS is taking. This should be public, so people know if something will fit or not. Otherwise they would be wasting their time doing something, and then learning that it doesn't fit.
We should have a different process where people can submit code to a specific location (a sandbox), and the community can discuss it there, and provide feedback. Core Devs should also provide feedback, i.e. telling if it fits or not, and if not, then why.
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If you are a newcomer, PLEASE use the search box at the top right corner of this site and read the FAQ BEFORE you post a support request! The time you spend looking for answers yourself will be less than the time you spend waiting for someone else to spoon feed you and you will be a more competent XOOPS user for it!
Couldn't agree more with you on this!!!!!
In summary, I think that the Dev Team does an awesome job. They do it in their free time, and therefore we are very thankful But to be successful it's not enough to be a good coder. The XOOPS leadership team has to be also a good communicator, good team builder, a good mentor/coach, so we can build and mobilize the community. If we say that Joomla is doing a good job, let's not see it as a critique of the XOOPS team, but as an opportunity to learn from them and get better!
