Our "XOOPSer of the Month" Award is given to XOOPS members who show extraordinary dedication to XOOPS, and go the extra mile for XOOPS. Sometimes they do something spectacular, but most of the time they just do something everyday, but by doing it day-in and day-out, they make a BIG DIFFERENCE in life of XOOPS community. And we thank them for that!!!
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This month, we would like to recognize Cedric Montuy (black_beard) from France, for his work on TCPDF updates, and his contributions to XOOPS France.
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I was born in the north of France, in a small town named Armentieres. I grew up in a city calling Hazebrouck still in northern France. After a few moves, I landed in southern Quercy. It is a beautiful region in the southwest of France. I live in the countryside, near a small village called Castelnau-Montratier.
How long have you been programming?
I program since I was 12 years old, I am 37 years old now, so it has been 25 years since I program. I started programming on Amstrad 464 by learning BASIC, then through my studies in electronics, I learned machine language and assembler. Since then, I learned C, Pascal, PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript, BASH, and other languages that fell into a little obsolescence. But my favorite is the PHP.
What is your expertise?
I have a lot of experience in marketing and especially programming. Sometimes I contribute to the Debian project. I'm good at securing networks and servers. In my work, I developed a lot of APIs, mobile applications, and I work on SEO semantic. Especially, I like having challenges in software programming.
What got you to XOOPS?
I was looking for a CMS, I've tried several and I ended up adopting XOOPS.
What do you like most about XOOPS?
I like XOOPS for the flexibility in object-oriented design, stability and security of the platform.
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
I contributes to XOOPS in several ways :
- I have created several modules for my clients. At the end of the year, I'm going to release some modules under a free license to XOOPS community.
- frxoops.org administrator, I am committed to revitalize and restructure the site.
- I test some modules and make corrections with the test team to CESAG.
You've been helping with many modules, incl. the TCPDF porting to XOOPS, in addition to helping the French XOOPS community. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities that you see for XOOPS?
XOOPS is good CMS, but it has not evolved with the new standards and new technologies as fast as its competitors. Progress has been made to make up for lost time since last year but it has been delayed. XOPS must quickly adapt to new standards (HTML5/CSS3, etc ...), new technologies (smartphone, tablet, ...), and prepare for the future (web 3.0).
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
I am currently developing a "XOOPS modules download platform" to download and install XOOPS module directly without going through the FTP (kind that exists on Debian or Eclipse). As soon as I finish developing this module, I would put at the disposal of the XOOPS community.
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
My first site, it was 10 years ago (100% HTML) 
Since then I have come a long way.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
my family, walks in the forest, nature, zen ambiance
You favorite dish and drink?
I love spaghetti bolognese, pizza houses, and lasagna bolognese. And to drink, I prefer to drink plain water.
What about movies and music?
Movies: The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Gladiator and Braveheart.
I listen to all kinds of music except Rap and R&B
If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?
Learn to live in harmony with yourself.
Be happy and go after yourself
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
Anywhere and anytime, as long as the place is in harmony with nature and it is quiet
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
I always wanted to meet the great love that I've found 12 years ago in my wife. So now I have no preference - I meet people that fate makes me cross and I enjoy every moment
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This month, we would like to recognize Stefan Ilivanov (DCrussader) from Bulgaria, for his coordinating the the translation process.
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I am from Bulgaria, where I lived in several towns - my job required me to move a lot: Sofia, Pazardjik, Varna, Dobrich. Since October - I live in Canada, Ontario, Oshawa.
What is your expertise?
Team leading, I started i18n project like a game GTLT - https://sourceforge.net/projects/gtlt/ 2003, with the idea, to get mostly used apps translated into rare languages such as Bangla, Bulgarian, rarely used versions of Chinese such as Cantonese and Mandarin, but later evolved into bigger project.
What got you to XOOPS?
Ease of use, XOOPS was the only CMS - where the user can install anything with one click, talking about 2.0.18 distribution, everything required to have a site and start playing with it was there.
What do you like most about XOOPS?
The activity in development in the last year. XOOPS even ugly still remains the easiest CMS ever.
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
Maintaining language files up to date and organizing translation teams on Transifex.
You've been contributing a lot lately to translations of XOOPS and XOOPS Modules. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities that you see for XOOPS in this area ?
People are the biggest challenge, some apply for task they can't understand or can't handle, but just to be present there. I guess, they want their names to be displayed in some credits or something like that. Lack of communication between developers and translators is another big challenge. But hopefully this will be solved in near future, I trust in XOOPS community.
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
Can't add only one, it misses a lot. Auto-update on the core and system modules from the administration. Modules/Themes installer from within administration. New language files and translation standard. New theme engine, current is unchanged from XOOPS 1.3.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
When I'm not busy, playing with new CMSystems out there.
You favorite dish and drink?
Pork in any forms and beer, a lot of beer 
What about movies and music?
Movies: Braveheart. Music: Hard Rock '60-'70
If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?
Don't pay for GNU GPL!
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
Canada - number one place for living like human being.
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
Onokazu and Mamba. Why ?
Onokazu because he made something amazing from damn buggy and ugly Nuke, and Mamba - because I didn't see in past years in any Open Source community, man/girl which put so much energy, time and nerves in such a project.
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This month, we would like to recognize Mowafag Ragas (Mowaffaq) from Libya, for his leading role in securing two very important users for XOOPS: the Libyan Ministry of Defense, and Libyan National Elections High Commission
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I am from the beautiful country of Libya. I was born in the coastal city of Derna and now live and work in the capitol of Tripoli..
How long have you been programming, what got you interested?
I have always enjoyed web developing. I have had a fascination with web designing and developing since early 2000’s. I actually began a career in medical technology and quickly decided I didn’t want to do that, so I decided to dive into web developing and started my own business in this area.
What is your expertise?
Developing/Designing websites. I am more interested in themes/templates customization.
What got you to XOOPS?
My first experience with XOOPS was about 8 years ago. A friend of mine recommended XOOPS to me. I was looking for a CMS, so it was perfect.
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
What I like most about XOOPS is the flexibility in object-oriented design, stability and security of the platform.
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
I am the sole translator for XOOPS in Arabic. I would love to see users get benefit from great applications that are completely free.
You did a tremendous job in winning some major users for XOOPS in Libya. How did you do it?
I had organized some unofficial presentations to explain to people what XOOPS was all about and to encourage them to try using it. I wasn’t surprised when they liked the secure system of XOOPS and I am happy that I was successful.
What did these users like most about XOOPS?
The highly secured system and the flexibility of design.
Now that the Websites are up and running, are they still happy with their choice?
Of course!
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
I would like to add the Content Construction Kit (CCK) as an official module in the new XOOPS package.
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
I consider my work with my friend Trabis and other developers to establish the “Publisher” module as one of my biggest achievements in web developing.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Spending time with my family, traveling and get to know new people from different places.
If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?
Wish for others what you wish for yourself
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
I don’t know if I would want to live in any other time. Libya has been reborn and this is the most exciting time in my life.
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
I would like to meet the original freedom fighters who sparked Libya’s revolution!
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This month, we would like to recognize Christelle Gaulupeau (Cesagonchu) from France, for her help in translations, and testing of modules.
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I come from France, I live in Gaillac, a little town renowned for its wine, near Toulouse.
How long have you been programming?
I am not programmer. I began learning PHP but the road is long. For now I use my knowledge of English to translate Xoops and its modules, and my logic and google for problem solving, when coders do not have the time to help me.
What is your expertise?
I worked in very different jobs, as much manual as intellectual, but to sum up, I especially learnt office automation software, creation of software packages with Microsoft Access, then later, the software of Internet site development, creation 3D, objects 3D.
What got you to XOOPS?
Dozen years ago, I was looking for a CMS, and the simplicity of this product as well as the kindness of people who support him, charmed me.
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
I could not well explain why, but having tried other CMS, I always come back to Xoops. For me, it is a tool which brings a lot of possibilities, and the community is as a big family: there is good and bad times, but they always come back help.
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
I did what I could, I have not still a lot helped, for all these years. I do it because I have a bit seniority and I put myself on the position of people.
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
I wish it had a default theme modern W3C compliant and suitable for mobile.
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
I'm proud of anything right now. This will just be one day.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Anything that has to do with creating 3D, virtual worlds in 3D. I played many MMOs too, but I'm too old now I think. I absolutely love cycling, get some fresh air and discover new landscapes.
You favorite dish and drink?
Ham pink sauce (Jambon sauce rose)
http://www.cuisineaz.com/recettes/jambon-sauce-rose-34383.aspx
Turkey cutlets with cream and Paris's mushrooms (Escalopes de dindes à la crème fraîche et aux champignons de Paris in french)
http://www.cuisineaz.com/recettes/esc ... ignons-de-paris-6820.aspx
Vietnamese Steamed shrimp dumplings (Raviolis vapeur aux crevettes à la vietnamienne, in french)
http://www.cuisineaz.com/recettes/rav ... a-vietnamienne-11804.aspx
Regarding drinks, fruit juice (organic farming) at will. With regard to alcoholic beverages, wine of Cahors: French wines (grown in the city which has the same name).
What about movies and music?
I love movies that give emotions, and music that make you want to dance.
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
When I was eight, I wanted to live in Japan. I even reproduced a poster of this island by hand, to view it every day. I learned the language a bit.
Currently I also would like to visit the American continent, and after that, make my choice.
My country is beautiful with all these monuments that made our history, a nature so rich and diverse, but I do not think I have the mentality that goes with it.
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
My father, to dare to say him that I love him (but I cannot, he died).
A television actress and host for children, who is named "Dorothée" (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothée_(animatrice)). With her, I had a happy childhood, even if it was of short because I had to mature more quickly because of events. I would like to thank her.
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This month, we would like to recognize Gregory Jomi (sabahan) from Malaysia, for his help on testing and debugging XOOPS 2.5.4
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I'm from Malaysia and currently live in the state of Sabah, North Borneo
How long have you been programming?
I'm still really new in programming and still in newbie stage. I'm more into PHP/MySQL..
What got you to XOOPS?
In early 2000, I was a loyal visitor to one of the most popular website in my state and I have been wondering how did the webmaster of the website build his website. There were so many cool features like forums, poll, news, chat etc after some time, I found out it by myself from his site footer that he used XOOPS. Since then, the rest is history 
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
The modularization feature and that it is easy to customize
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
I like to test the XOOPS core and modules then report bugs and suggest new features. With some basic XOOPS knowledge, I also like to give support in www.xoops.org forum. currently I'm working on XOOPS Malay translation in SourceForge - If any Malaysian out there want to help please contact me
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
Social network profile module like Facebook
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
I have created a simple XOOPS module that basically do add/update/delete records using PHP for internal use at my office
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Surfing the Net and Workout
You favorite dish and drink?
dish - Local food in my state: Hinava and Bambangan (you can search it internet if you are interested) drink - water
What about movies and music?
so many, this what comes up to my mind as I type this - Johnny English Reborn (just watched this last night) & Jon Bon Jovi
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
I like to meet the XOOPS founder Mr. Onokazu and all the XOOPS developers and thank them for making our life easier 
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This month, we would like to recognize Davide Foresti (ianez) from Italy, for his help on various themes issues, like the Cssified Default theme, and recently recently help on several modules from the upcoming "XOOPS Basic Modules Pack"!
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I'm from Italy and I live close to Milan
How long have you been programming?
Playing with code since 1997
What is your expertise?
Mainly CSS, Html, user interface in general
What got you to XOOPS?
As for many people it started searching a CMS for some works.. then I came to Italian Xoops community (actually www.xoopsitalia.org) and I'm still there
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
It's a very solid system and highly customizable, plus it use smarty for theming!
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
Mainly theming and templating, because it's one of the 'weak' point of Xoops
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
A stable and offical template/theme ruleset for developers
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
Don't know.. may be the next achievement I'll reach..
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Ultimate Frisbee and motorcycle
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
At this moment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann
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This month, we would like to recognize Jim Garrett (ZySpec) from the USA, for his help on various modules, incl. xDirectory, and recently several modules from the upcoming "XOOPS Basic Modules Pack", especially MyLinks!
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I am from the United States. I was originally from Illinois (mid-west US) and moved to Texas approximately 25 years ago.
How long have you been programming?
I started programming in the late ‘70s.
What is your expertise?
I am actually a hardware design engineer by training. As part of my education I became skilled in low-level assembly language programming. This gave me a good foundation for evaluating code for improvement. It also provided me with a strong background in code structure and architecture. After working as a hardware engineer for a number of years I managed large groups of both hardware and software engineers. I also worked for several years as a systems architect for a large computer company and managed a group of systems engineers which gave me a good foundation in systems specification and development. I have programmed in BASIC, FORTRAN, C, Assembly (microcontroller and microprocessor), and of course PHP among others.
What got you to XOOPS?
Initially I had a customer who had a XOOPS site that was not working the way they wanted. I made some modifications to modules and the rest is, as they say, history…
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
The XOOPS community.
In what area of XOOPS do you contribute and why?
I have mainly contributed to module development. I have had many customers request either custom modules or customizations of existing modules. While I have created a few themes over the years I feel it’s better to leave themes to the designers so I can focus on the ‘back end’.
If you could add one feature to XOOPS, what would it be?
An events handler for system wide notifications. I believe this would allow for additional stability and an overall improved system.
What is your major achievement in programming that you're most proud of?
While I’ve done quite a bit in XOOPS my biggest programming achievement was several years ago when developing a microcontroller based touch input system for the medical instrumentation industry. I was able to produce a very low cost, highly reliable system to supplement blood gas analyzer and the schedule to complete the task was extremely short.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Reading books, listening to music, coaching baseball, helping local non-profit organizations and of course working on my ’72 Cutlass ( see my avatar )
You favorite dish and drink?
I would have to say a good, thick steak would probably be my favorite food. Followed by a rich, dark chocolate cake with a great cup of black coffee – now that’s a meal!
What about movies and music?
I typically like spy and action movies. I listen to jazz, classic rock (‘70s vintage mostly) and numerous modern singer-songwriter performers. Of course some occasional reggae sprinkled in never hurts.
If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?
Step away from the ‘things’ in your life and pay attention to the people around you.
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
Could there be a more exciting time than now? Things are changing so quickly. The quality of life makes our ability to influence the future unprecedented.
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
Thomas Jefferson. Whether you agree with his political views or not he had an incredible mind and was a very influential figure in his time. He was a lawyer, inventor, philosopher, psychologist, and statesman serving his country as an ambassador, secretary of state, vice-president, and President of the United States.
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This month, we would like to recognize Ruoyu SUN (insraq) from China, for writing a book on building XOOPS Themes and donating the proceeds to XOOPS. This is for the first time ever that we have the same person in a row receiving the "XOOPSer of the Month" Award. Congratulations, Insraq! We are currently looking for a publisher and will keep you posted...
And since you can read his standard interview last month, this month we'll focus on his book:
What inspired you to write this book? ?
Well, I have been in the XOOPS community for some time (I joined XOOPS China in 2004). XOOPS is a powerful CMS but lacks documentation. As I have tried several CMS and application framework, I know the importance of documentation.
I have released some themes for XOOPS and I got lots of emails asking how to modify the theme. So I realize that telling people how to design and customize their own theme is much more important than just providing themes. So I believe writing something on XOOPS themes is meaningful.
How do you start writing this book and how long did it take you to write it?
At first I just wanted to write a tutorial on XOOPS themes. I wrote several pages a week until some day I realized that the tutorial could be long enough for a book. Then I ask my self: “Why not just write one?”. It didn’t seem that difficult.
Unfortunately I underestimated the work load of writing this book. I originally wanted to finish it in 5 months but It took me nearly a year. I had been busy during that time and wanted to give up several time. But finally I finish the major content in February.
And tell us more about the content.
The books is mainly about designing for XOOPS. I decide not to cover the XOOPS basics as there are lots of materials on that. Also, basic HTML and CSS are not the focus.
So I started by porting an existing theme to XOOPS, to introduce the XOOPS theme engine. Then I discuss some XOOPS related CSS and application of JQuery and related UI libraries.
The next part is on some advanced techniques such as module template override and “block anywhere techniques”. The last sections of the book is a large case study: setting up and designing a XOOPS powered website from scratch.
Why would you like to donate the proceeds to XOOPS?
I never think of making money from the book: it is more like a hobby. And I want the price of the book to be as low as possible, to attract more people to XOOPS. So I decide to give up my share of the profit.
When writing the book, I make use of the modules developed by Trabis, Zoullou, and many of the developers from the Chinese community.
Publishing the book is not easier than writing it. I get a lot of help from the community book: Mamba is helping me to market and distribute the book. Kris is reviewing the technical details. This is not just my book, it is a book of the whole community.
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This month, we would like to recognize Ruoyu SUN (insraq) from China, for his initiative to donate half of the proceedings from his themes sale to XOOPS, and first theme for XoopsEngine.
Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I was born in Qingdao and now I live in Hong Kong.
How long have you been programming?
I started learning design in 2002 and joined XOOPS China in 2004 as a designer.
What is your expertise?
I'm good at UE/UI, Web Design(XHTML+CSS).
What got you to XOOPS?
I learnt about XOOPS through Google. And phppp(aka. D.J.) invited me to join XOOPS China. Since then I've been working with XOOPS.
What do you like the most about XOOPS?
I like the theme engine(Smarty) a lot. It makes designing much easier.
Why did you decide to work on the XOOPS China new look?
The old theme of XOOPS China was a little bit out of fashion. I think, as the official Chinese support site, XOOPS China should have a stylish look to attract new users.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I studied some successful cases of CMS official sites and got an idea of page layout from them. I referred to many great Web 2.0 designs and learnt a lot from them, too.
I understand, you're still studying at a University. Are you going to be a professional designer?
Maybe not. I’m a PAC (professional accountancy) major and as I live in Hong Kong, studying business might be a reasonable choice. But I’ll treat designing as part of my career because I simply like it.
What are your hobbies, when you're not coding?
Movies, music and reading.
You favorite dish and drink?
Well, I’m not particular about it. I like Chinese food but I’d like to try exotic dishes.
What about movies and music?
I like movies and music but I don’t have a specified favorite.
If you would have a chance for a 30 seconds commercial with a message to the world, what would you say?
Please upgrade IE 6 to some standards-compatible browsers.
If you could choose a place and time to live, what would it be and why?
Probably I would chose living in the Ottoman Empire time, especially in 1453 when taking Istanbul. Being a soldier in this time must be a privilege.
Who is the person that you would like to meet and why?
I would like to go to the US after graduating from my university because there are many great universities in the States.
Also read his recent interview on ArabXOOPS
France
Bulgaria
Libya
Malaysia
Italy
USA
China