[Typo3-dev] I don't want to fork!

[Elmar Hinz]

Eric Blom wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> I've got some development work at my web site related to
>     FE user accounts
>     FE user registration
>     FE digital asset management (DAM) submission
>     FE DAM viewing, sorting, and searching
>     Typo3 newsletters
>     Single-signon
> 
> I'm looking for a contractor to help me with these projects, but, I'm  
> very concerned about creating a fork of existing extensions by  working 
> in a vacuum. I also see several of these development areas as  core 
> (frequently needed) features for a web site and want to give  back to 
> the Typo3 community by sharing the output of my sites  development effort.
> 
> My question is how can I work with "Typo3" to accomplish these tasks?  
> I've tried contacting a few of the extensions owners, no response.  I've 
> tried the extension team, no response. I'm grateful for all the  work 
> that has gone in to Typo3 to date and I don't want to just  clutter up 
> the extension repository with more extensions. I would  rather use my 
> resources to improve the state of the existing  extensions so that new 
> users find more of their needs met by the  existing TER. I also don't 
> want to go off and pay for features to be  added that are already 
> planned by other developers. I would rather  pay the original developer.
> 
> Any feedback you can give me would be appreciated.
> 
> Cheers,
> Eric
> 

Hello Eric,

I share your frustration. Obviously the organisational structures of the 
TYPO3 project don't grow quickly enough to manage all the need.

<quote Michael Scharkow>

I really appreciate the efforts of the US TUG to actually *do* something 
but honestly, I understand Tyler's frustration because most of the 
development (in code *and* documentation) is not done by the community 
members who make suggestions here but from the usual suspects, and 
mostly Kasper.

So, no offense, but after being in this community for some time, I am as 
well a little less enthusiastic about such "new ideas", such as 
extension review, tutorial rewrites, reorganisation of docs, as most of 
it *never* happened. Ask Peter Kindström about that topic...
</quote>


<quote Peter Kindström>
Short comment:
It is very nice reading about all these great ideas, but what we
need is someone organising them and make some of them happen!

(It´s more difficult then it may sound, but that´s another thread.)


/Peter Kindström
</quote>

Eric, I think this shows the dilemma. People either don't offer help. 
Some offer their help and then there is no body to organise them. In the 
result they retire and at last it is complained again, that Kaspar has 
to do it all alone.

I tried several times to get some motion into coordination of the 
differnt FE plugins in the sense of a "portal system" or "groupware 
features". There are chances to get a sponsor to invest some month of 
work into this field. Then all your questions become very relavant for 
me, too.

It seems to me that the time still hasn't come.

* The roadmap shows that the focus of all current efforts will 
concentrate on the BE for the next year. (DAM, Acessibility, gremlins, 
etc.) Unfortunatly BE and FE are two different shoes, so that the FE 
plugin libraries will not profit to much.

* Kasper currently starts thinking about FE-plugin interoperability 
standards, maybe in spring.


So what advice can I give?

* The best you could do would be to establish a project team that 
coordinatis FE plugin development. A team that defines interfaces and 
interoperability standards between extensions and that coordinates it's 
implementation. If you dare to manage such a team a would join it.

* The second best is to extend the best of existing extensions in a way 
that they work together well (fe registration, newsletter, archive etc. 
). Then to publish it as a preconfigured bunde wich runs out of the box 
and only needs some indidual configuration.

I am curious to hear your opinion.

Best regards

Elmar


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