[Typo3-dev] The Right Crew

[David Bruehlmeier]

Dear Kasper,

I've been reading this ML since I first started working with TYPO3, so about
for two years now. I have not replied very often, but this time I feel
obliged to do so.

I fully understand your concerns and they are for real. However, before I
start replying to them, I would like to offer you another view:

Inpiring people...
When I was looking for a CMS two years ago, I was frustrated by the sheer
number of CMS out there, and a lot of them were really not worth a dime.
Then I found TYPO3, tried it out, was impressed by its solid quality, the
thourough documentation and the active community. And on top of all that,
there was this highly motivated guy - named Kasper Skårhøj - who devoted so
much of his life to get this all going. That *inspired* me and my decision
was made: I wanted to be a part of it.

...to share
Then came the hard part: Learn. I must say that many times I was close to
giving up. But I was inspired enough to have the stamina and stick to my
decision. It was worth every minute. After a while, I started developing my
first extensions and got to know first-hand one of your strongest motivation
for this project: Sharing the best you have is great!

Going the extra mile
You have always been a strong source of motivation for me to sticking to
this project and you also made me go *the extra mile* to actually finish an
extension, and not only the coding but also an up-to-date documentation.
This takes stamina. I have done so because you, with your personal
engagement, have inspired me.

Why do I say that?
Well, I think it is important for you to hear it. People are usually faster
in expressing critisism than praise. Despite all the critisism, I am certain
that there are *a lot* of people out there enjoying TYPO3, the software as
well as the community, and are inspired by it. Perhaps they are not as
present in public discussions, but they are around. And this is a big source
to draw on.

OK, back to the topic!
> A true concern I have is this; How do we channel all the great resources
from
> the TYPO3 community into a unified effort on the development of TYPO3
which
> does not compromise the quality or impose great levels of overhead.

Extensions: I believe the first basis is already there: TYPO3 can do just
about anything through extensions. So, except when it comes to the core, I
think the setup is fine. People can organize themselves when the need arises
to create something new (as e.g. is currently happening with the calendar
extension). What it takes most IMO is someone dedicated (a leader) to get
people coordinated. But for extensions, that cannot be your job or the job
of the Association. It will happen if the need is strong enough.

Core: A lot of suggestions have already been made. I too believe that with
the planned version 5, the core should be re-designed and split up into
seperately maintainable units. There will need to be an overall maintainer
(head of development): you. And there should be dedicated people for each
unit. You have the people around you to get this started. The redesign
process should be done by a small group of people IMO, but it should be made
public. The WIKI would be a good place.

Helping Hands: If there are tasks which can be done by less experienced
programmers (such as me), or if there are other tasks at hand
(documentation, etc.) I will be very happy to help. I guess there are many
others out there who feel the same. Maybe there could be something like a
"Task Marketplace" on typo3.org where people in need of help can describe
the task and then people like me could help out? One consideration, however:
If I sign up for such a task, I want there to be somebody at the receiving
side whom I can ask questions and who will give me feedback once the task is
done. A fire-and-forget system would not be motivating to me.

> 1: Vision
I think vision is not the problem. You have proven that and the roadmap
proves it once again. The vision can (and should) be discussed publicly,
then you map it into the roadmap with the R+D team (I see this as an ongoing
process... there will be life after 5.0, right? :-).

> 2: Pragmatism
Yes.

> 3: Stamina
Yes. :-) What I think is needed the most is people who take the lead. After
the core is redesigned for the core modules. And for important extension
projects. Perhaps here the Association could be more active, like in helpint
with the start-up phase.

I am dedicated to this project and you can count on me. But I would like to
see the options I have where to invest my time. So the tasks available
should be made transparent (see my point above).

- Dave
(TYPO3 Cheerleader no2)