15 replies to this topic

[Jim Browski]

It maybe a personal impression of mine, but to me it looks like the etomite forum is no longer such an active place as it used to be. There are many new users in the forum today, but the rate of new posts is constantly decreasing. Let me share my thought abouts that.

One reason for this could be that everyone is so happy about eto cms that there is no need for discussion. Well, i'm very satisfied with eto and didn't had the need for more support and discussion too.

But there maybe a second reason, and that is what i'm worried about. It seems to me that the ongoing talk of the new forthcoming codebase cocoon keeps many (advanced) users to generate new ideas and snippets for the old codebase. Maybe they fear all work will be lost because of incompatibilty with cocoon. It could be dangerous for the good reputation of the etomite project if the development of snippets and the attendance to the forum goes in hibernation to bypass the standby time for cocoon.

These are my thoughts at a lazy monday evening. What do you think about it? Do you feel the same?

[Ralph]

Your two theories on this are shared by more people than just you, trust me... The number of bugs has been greatly reduced which reduces the need for support, that's a fact... Whether people are looking for something better because of what might appear to be slow development, that's merely speculation... Rest assured that something is happening in the background as far as new code... Exactly what it is shall remain secret for the time being...

The only item that I will share here is my desire to not leave users of the current code base hanging... I have heard pros and cons from both sides of the fence on this issue and I am doing my best to strike a balance between providing an upgrade path for existing installations as well as incorporating all of the wants and wishes that so many of us have envisioned over the past several years... Be patient and give us the chance to get it right the first time so we don't end up with as many support issues as have been handled over in the past... Every support issue only serves to distract us from moving forward at a quicker pace than we have previously been able to achieve...

In closing I'd like to point out that we are still here... Without knowing all of the details all I will add to this is that the new project that Alex went off and started has vaporized into thin air... Oh, did I mention that we're still here...

NUFF SAID...

[Jelmer]

I still have a list of about 10 snippets waiting to be written, but real life work keeps me busy enough. Web development is very much on a side-track at the moment. But rest assured, I try to read through all posts at a daily basis, and if I can offer any support I'll be there

[Cris D.]

I'm continuing with snippet development for the current code base because:
1) It helps hone my skillsi in general and in readiness to write scripts for cocoon (php 5 has so many new features!).
2) 0.6.1.4 is now so stable and effective, that as Ralph mentions, it is likely to be around for a LONG time yet even if cocoon is released tomorrow. (there are still users running Phase out there!)

[cathode]

I for one am hitting these forums daily, in case something new and interesting comes up, or there is a support topic that I happen to know the answer to.

Aside from that, I would probably fall into Jim's category of "So happy about it that there's no need for discussion."

[mikef]

I write snippets when I need them - etogal works for what I currently need but I'm afraid any major enhancements would be held off for cocoon - partly because I'm hoping it will make compartmentised snippets easier to write. I'll add a new 'style' for EtoGalThumbs though, just to prove I'm still here ...

[Dean]

Well I'll add my thoughts here; with some insider information too

Etomite has been around for quite a while now; Ralph and I have been in charge of this "camp" for what seems like a long time too

I think I can speak on behalf of both of us when I say I'm glad we are still here; We've made many maintenance releases (even the maintenance releases we have made have been more than what were originally released)... Other CMS'es have been and gone in the time we have stuck around.

Soon, the next version of Etomite will be released. Guess what? After that, with the release of Cocoon, we will be scrapping the version numbers. Version Numbers like 0.6.1.1, 0.6.1.2, 0.6.1.3, 0.6.1.4, 0.6.1.5 confuse things. It looks like we haven't made any progress; when internally we have made loads.

Instead, we will just be using code names and SVN version numbers
For example, lets say we were just getting ready to release a new version this second... we'd look at the SVN revision and use that as the release.

So it'd be Etomite Codename rSVN-Number.

The reason that I believe the forums have slowed down is that Etomite has become a stable product; albeit there are a couple of bugs we've ironed out since (in the next release). People don't need to come and ask for support. The only queries we seem to receive are from the new-comers that are trying to get a grip of Etomite (Welcome new-comers!).

I'm quite amazed the amount of times I'm browsing the internet and an Etomite powered site pops up; Etomite is becoming a great contender in the CMS market. We just never seem to be recognized

Anyway, here's looking at the future!

[Dean]

Talking about hibernation, it's a bit chilly in here with the snowflakes, don't you think?

[cathode]

I think in the meantime, you should call the next version 1.0 - in light of it's stability and usefulness. THEN abandon the digits. Being version 1 or better will increase the people willing to give it a chance on their production sites... which in turn increases the helpful input and user base.

Edited by cathode, 06 November 2007 - 04:41 PM.

[Dean]

But there isn't going to be a v2, what'd be the point in calling Prelude v1?

[Ralph]

Talking about hibernation, it's a bit chilly in here with the snowflakes, don't you think?

Looking out the window I see that we are in the thick of a Lake Effect Snow at the moment... Gotta love living close to the Great Lakes here in the US... Cold air over warm open water and then back over land makes for some interesting weather fronts... Especially when the weather has to compress and decompress over rolling hills... Doesn't help that I live next to another inland lake either because it compounds the problem...

<<< Is it Spring yet...??? >>>

[cathode]

But there isn't going to be a v2, what'd be the point in calling Prelude v1?

I understand, but I described the point in my original post: It's totally a PR issue. Abandon the naming conventions AFTER reaching v1.

[Dean]

I thought the same, so you'd better ask our head coder then

[Ralph]

Stop trying to make me "spill the beans" here, folks... I will be releasing a very informal announcement in the future... Notice how I purposely avoided the word "near" which is one of those relative terms that is open to interpretation and could be used as incriminating evidence...

[Jelmer]

Hold those beans Ralph, no-one is in a hurry...

[vw53a]

This very topic makes one think there's absolutely no hibernation mode. 15 Posts in little over 1 day.
I for one haven't been at my computer much lately. But there's still a lot on my list of to do things, so there's a lot I will do -in due time- with version 0.6.1.0 and newer.