At times it's really hard to get answers from module developers. I posted the following question re extCal on Zoullou.net on August 14:

http://www.zoullou.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=343&forum=1

Three weeks, 230 views, zero replies.

I posted the following on August 5 on Instant-zero.com re News 1.55 (& 1.54):

http://xoops.instant-zero.com/modules/newbbex/viewtopic.php?topic_id=229&forum=1&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&start=0&

Four weeks, 424 views, a few replies, still no answer.

I may be wrong, but it seems to me that neither of these is a tough question. Maybe they're just too simple to warrant the time to answer them. I don't know.

I am aware that these guys, like many others, are donating their time, and I have always been appreciative of that. On the other hand, every person who tries XOOPS and XOOPS modules is donating his/her time, also--sometimes hundreds of hours. I know that I have hundreds of hours invested myself, but that's more because I'm slow than anything else. . Also, I started from scratch and didn't know a CMS from PMS.

The fact remains, however, that, free or not, everyone has a frustration threshold that, when approached, makes them antsy about every little thing that happens and when exceeded makes them give up and move on to something else.

I do not want to seem impatient or ungrateful, therefore, nor do I want to have unreasonable expectations regarding support for donated work, so the question is what should one expect? When asking a question and waiting on a reply, how long is long enough?

Jere

hhttp://www.timeanddate.com/library/abbreviations/timezones/

EDT Eastern Daylight Time North America UTC - 4 hours
EEDT Eastern European Daylight Time Europe UTC + 3 hours
EEST Eastern European Summer Time Europe UTC + 3 hours
EET Eastern European Time Europe UTC + 2 hours
EST Eastern Summer(Daylight) Time Australia UTC + 11 hours
EST Eastern Standard Time Australia UTC + 10 hours
EST Eastern Standard Time North America UTC - 5 hours


These all have UTC not GMT ... could that be the problem.
I don't use extCal

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

That's the way it is with open-source software. Sometimes you get prompt assistance, sometimes you don't get any help.

If you want guaranteed support, you either have to find a qualified and willing volunteer, hire someone, or learn how to solve the problems yourself.

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The old "if you want it to work, fix it yourself (or hire someone to do it for you)" approach. You may be absolutely correct, and I may be looking at this thing all wrong, but I believe this is a recipe for failure, and I'll wager that I'm not alone. There must be at least 2 or 3 of us who feel this way.

The success of any software, open source or not, depends upon lots of people using it, and the number of those who can "fix it themselves" is very small relative to the rest of us.

I would not like to have to learn another CMS, but not a day goes by that I don't think about it. Actually, I do want to learn php and/or someday hire someone to do some things. Whether it will be with XOOPS or something else I don't know, but that's beside the point, anyway. The point is that there are many, many more who will never, ever do either, and I propose that it is those whom developers should be thinking about.

Like I say, though, I could be wrong.

Jere

Maybe a stupid question, but it's a mistake I once made with eXtCal, did you set the cache for the module or a block somewhere?

If so, set it to no cache.

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There's the following in module preferences:

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It is currently set to 60 minutes which is the default. I didn't change it.

Then there is the place in system preferences where you can set each module to cache or not. Everything is set to "No cache."

If there is another place to look, I don't know where it is.

Jere

this is probably a stupid question - but what is your site date set to.... is it the same as your extcal?

as for the second question - some of the modules i have noticed are very frustrating to use... your best bet is to look in the admin section for that module. if its not there - see if there is another mod that will do the job and install that... some modules are ... lacking in documentation ... some so much that you end up with male pattern baldness too early.

I have found the chances of someone seeing your question and providing an answer about a module increases greatly if you ask here on xoops.org, not the developer's own website. You only need to look at the forums and the 'Number of replies = 0' indicates that many devs get less time than you would have hoped to provide support.

As Dave_L says, that is the nature of open source software. Nobody pays for modules, so direct support from the developer should never be an expectation. However, it is frustrating when the developer ASKS people to post on their own site then doesn't help.

That is why a single, official support site for an open source CMS like XOOPS is so important. IMHO, if developers utilised the module troubleshooting forums here instead of trying to drive traffic to their own sites, everyone would benefit. The developer would gain more feedback about issues that would help them improve their modules. Users would stand a better chance of having their questions answered.

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Yes you are true... As everybody in the world talk english, we should use just one forum...


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Did you took the pain to read the answers you HAD on our site ?
I don't think.

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No, of course there are other language-based support sites. But I suspect Hungarians will resolve problems with a module on XOOPS Hungarian Support faster than asking an English speaking developer a question in Hungarian.