Moving Forward
Date 2007/6/27 17:47:13 | Topic: XOOPS
| There has been much discussion and deliberation lately about the direction the XOOPS Project and Community are going. The following information should clarify much of the confusion that has been present as of late.
Quick note:
According to JMorris' statement on June 28th, the proposal for splitting Project and Community into different root domains is suspended due to JMorris's step down from Community management. The proposal will be adjusted according to JMorris' further explanation on his future role and xoopsinfo's future situation.
Project teams establishment and Project Council construction are being worked on as planned.
Management Structure
Currently, XOOPS is in a transitional period where we are bridging the gap from the old standard to a new open model. This is a much more complex process than seems at face value.
During this interim period the guiding body will consist of phppp and JMorris. Phppp (D.J.) will oversee the management of the XOOPS Project while JMorris (James) will oversee the management of the Community.
It must be stated that this management structure is not permanent. This structure is only temporary while we transition from the old ways to the new ways. As circumstances permit, more contributors will be participating in the management of the Project and Community.
To clarify, the various areas of the Project and Community will be autonomous, but will collaborate openly. All "Official" Project Teams will be managed by the XOOPS project while all Community Teams will be managed autonomously by their Team Leaders.
Facilities will be implemented to allow Community contribution to the project. However, the Community will not dictate the direction of the Project and the Project will not dictate the direction of the Community. Instead, we will all work towards the common goal of producing a quality CMS in an open and transparent fashion.
As we move past this transitional period, more control will be divided among the appropriate groups.
Official vs. Community
After all the discussion and considering all the points made, the following model will be implemented for the XOOPS Project and community.
http://www.xoops.org, docs.xoops.org, dev.xoops.org and any future "Project" sites will be managed by the XOOPS Project and respective teams.
http://www.xoops.org - This will be the "Official" homepage of the XOOPS project and will include promotional information about the XOOPS CMS, Core Development discussion, and links to other Project and Community resources. Only Core Development related discussion will be held at http://www.xoops.org. All community support will be held elsewhere.
docs.xoops.org will be the "Official" home of the XOOPS Core Documentation; while dev.xoops.org will be used for XOOPS Core Developers to work closely with Community module, theme, and hack developers in order to ensure maximum compatibility with the XOOPS Core and to provide development resources for developers and designers in necessary cases.
Project and Community Teams
There have been numerous team proposals and nominations as of late. It is important that the scope of these teams is established clearly.
The team proposals started by phppp are Official Project Teams, meaning, they would be governed by the Official XOOPS Project and would solely focus on Core Development related issues and/or the websites that support the Official XOOPS Project.
Teams such as the Module Development Team and the Communications Team are seen as community initiatives and therefore will be operated autonomously by the leaders of each team. The XOOPS Project will not intervene in the functioning of Community teams.
All Official Project Teams are encouraged to perform their work on xoops.org sites, while all Community Teams will be encouraged to perform their work on the Community sites.
Community Support vs. Project Support
The old model placed all forms of support on one site, http://www.xoops.org; however, this is also one of the biggest reasons for restructuring. The reason for this being that promotion of the project was stifled by the general chatter of the Community.
Given all factors, it is wise to present a "best foot forward" in order to attract more developers to XOOPS and present XOOPS in the most positive light possible. Therefore, Community Support will no longer be held at http://www.xoops.org, but will have a home at a community built and operated site; that site being XOOPSinfo.
Core Development related discussion will be held at http://www.xoops.org while all English Community support will be held at XOOPSinfo. In addition to English support, XOOPSinfo will also host the team work forums for those Community teams that wish to use the resources available at XOOPSinfo.
Summary
There has been much discussion about how XOOPS should move forward. All of the points presented have been taken into careful consideration. After considering all points, the above structure and direction of the XOOPS Project and Community was agreed upon by the current management structure.
It is the desire of the current management structure that the changes being implemented will facilitate a more open structure where all members can participate in the greater whole that is XOOPS without concern of politics and personalities.
While many of the above changes are a drastic change from the "Old Ways" of XOOPS, the general feeling is that such a drastic change is necessary in order for XOOPS to progress into becoming a major Open Source Software Project.
It is the hope of the interim management body that members of the XOOPS Project and Community will see the big picture and will help usher in a new era for XOOPS where all members are treated as equals and where communication is transparent.
- Project Leader phppp
- Community Leader JMorris
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