XOOPS: Interview of Mamba by ArabXOOPS Community

Posted by: AnonymousOn 2010/5/3 12:00:00 5035 reads
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The ArabXOOPS Community was so glad to interview Mamba , to asking him many questions about XOOPS,his experience with XOOPS, New versions ...etc, Here is the English translation:

1- What got you to XOOPS?

An Open Source project in which I was active, Project JEDI, started using XOOPS in 2004 for one of its Websites, and it got my attention. So I started playing with it and the rest is history - I got addicted to XOOPS!

2- How did you get started in programming?

I took COBOL classes in the college as part of the business degree requirements, and got hooked. But it was Delphi which change my world!

3- How to strike a balance between daily life and XOOPS website ?

XOOPS is the fun part for me, so I do what I have to in my work life, and the rest is for XOOPS

4- Where is XOOPS now among other CMS ?

It's definitely in the top 5 in the world of Open Source CMS, but it's not as recognized as it could or should be. It's still the "best kept secret"
So there is still a lot of work to be done to promote XOOPS! And it is happening, but we need to accelerate it - we need to blog about it, tell our friends, ask our schools/universities to use it and to teach it in their "Web Courses", etc. If we work as a community together, sky is the limit!

5- How do you read the future XOOPS and what are your aspirations for the future?

As I always say - we want to make XOOPS the best it can be! If we could become the #1 Open Source CMS in the world, then we want this to happen! Is it possible? We will never know until we try!

Currently we're still in the phase of consolidation and rebuilding our project. There is still a lot of work with our documentation, but thanks to the hard work from people like Burning, we have now a great Theme repository, and he will be done soon with the Module Repository.

6- Does the recent problems that occurred with the former Project Manager Herko Coomans, will affect negatively on the future of XOOPS?

No, I think, it will be the opposite. It will help our community to come closer together, as everybody can see that we have a good and dedicated team, with people who are not afraid to fight for XOOPS if needed, and who want XOOPS to be a truly Open Source project that is run in a transparent way, with no tolerance for any conflict of interests or unethical behavior. If we dedicate our free time to a project we want to be sure that our volunteering hours and our donations are going to a good cause benefiting the whole community, and not an individual.


7- In XOOPS 2.4.5 and 2.5 we notice lot of innovations in the core, what other innovation are we expecting? and in which versions ?

Right now we need to finish and release 2.4.5 and 2.5.0, so there are innovations coming here. The version 3.0 will have a new architecture, but it's still too early to talk about it, and I don't know yet the details - it is still "work in progress".

But there are some other cool things coming - like the RMCommons module framework, and another Module Framework currently being developed by Trabis. So there will be more new and exciting things coming out...

8- What is the most interesting experience you've ever had from XOOPS ?

The most interesting experience for me was turning XOOPS around with a group of very dedicated developers and community members. XOOPS wasn't doing very well in 2006 and 2007. The new releases were not coming out, and there was a lot of internal fighting going on. But with a group of people who really cared about XOOPS and Open Source, working together as a community, we were able to put it behind and get back on track. In the last two years we had several good releases, and the community is growing. You can see the progress in our 2009 Annual Report. It is still a lot of work to be done, but with more and more people getting involved, it is getting better and better!

9- How do you evaluate arabxoops ?
It's one of our best and most important local support sites, and people like Mowaffaq and Mariane are doing such a wonderful job by not only keeping the Website in top condition, but also contributing to other XOOPS site - like our main XOOPS site, or XOOPS France.

There are millions of people speaking Arabic around the world, so the ArabXoops Website is a very important gateway for XOOPS to the Arab world.

And it's great to be able to show the whole world that we're a one big XOOPS family, where people from around the world can work together toward a common goals, regardless of any world conflicts around us.


10- What wishes and advises would you have for the Arab XOOPS community ?

The same as for every XOOPS community around the world: Get Involved!
Please contribute code, make financial donations, write documentation in your language, help your fellow XOOPS users, especially the beginners, and spread the word around - tell your friends, write to computer magazines and newspapers, blog about it. Each Open Source project is only as strong as its community! So please get involved - every little contribution counts!