[TYPO3-english] Customers and Extensions

[Georg Ringer]

Hi Mark,

what you describe is very common and IMO everyone has to deal with those 
issues!

Mark Kuiphuis wrote:
> I don't feel comfortable modifying 
> someone else's extension. First reason is the current "lack of technical 
> insight in an extension" and second: I don't want to break the added 
> functionality when the extension has an update in the TER. (A security 
> update is always a good reason to upgrade imho).

First of all: Don't hesitate to change someones extension! There are 2 
different usecases:
a) You need a feature which won't be needed by anyone else ever: So just 
hack it into the extension or add only 1 hook which will be less work if 
you update once.

b) The feature will be needed by everyone (the same for translations): 
Contact the author and send him the changes ingluding a description. 
Provide either a diff or just the files you changed and the changes will 
be hopefully in the next version.


> We cannot expect of an extension developer to add functionality 
> immediately (even if we are willing to pay for)

If you got the money and less experience this is usually the best and 
fastest way because an author just knows the own extensions the best and 
maybe there is already a new version in progress which will be just fine 
for you too!

Hope that I could help
Georg