[contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

davidm · 2005-03-21 14:42:09

I am currently browsing textpattern.org to keep up with new plugins, and I am quite surprised to discover there are no comments at all on most plugins pages :(

So I thought I’d call for a little effort from the community.

I can’t say this enough : textpattern wouldn’t be the same without all the great plugins available ! Half the things we do to customize our websites is from plugin use.

Time and effort of plugin writers should at least be rewarded by a comment on TextPattern Resources website, especially when you use and ENJOY a plugin !

So please take two minutes to give feedback (and sometimes praise) to these great people ! Those who want could also drop by each author’s website and check for paypal donations if available, can’t hurt :-)

I could also mention templates, mods and tutos which are all very useful too.

That was the call of the Day !
Go there NOW !

Last edited by davidm (2005-03-21 14:52:36)

andreas · 2005-03-21 15:25:53

Good call! I’ve just commented on some of them.

However, more plugin authors should register their plugins with the site. There’s only a small fraction of plugins listed there.

So, plugin authors, make textpattern.org the number one source of structured TXP information and resources.

davidm · 2005-03-21 15:40:23

However, more plugin authors should register their plugins with the site. There’s only a small fraction of plugins listed there. So, plugin authors, make textpattern.org the number one source of structured TXP information and resources.

I very much agree with this, since the forum is so bloated the search is not always performing all too well…

ruminator · 2005-03-21 16:03:54

I agree. I find it very difficult to find if a plug-in exists for some idea that I’ve had. There are things I want to do that are features of MT, but I want to do them in Txp. :)

Anark · 2005-03-21 16:25:52

Wait a minute.

It seems like a bit of a stretch to conclude from the scarcity of comments at Textpattern.org that the work of the plugin writers isn’t sufficiently appreciated. The plugin writers do a terrific job and my impression of the TXP crowd is that everyone’s plenty smart enough to realise that.

If there’s a problem, it’s that the TXP documentation and complementary sites like Textpattern.org aren’t visible enough, structured enough, or co-ordinated enough. Is there a division of labour, say, between TextBook and Textpattern.org (if yes, along what lines?) or do these efforts compete against each other?

I’ve been to Textpattern.org before. I remember I was clicking around, without any success, to find out who was behind the site. That’s all I remember about it; for some reason I just never wanted to go back there because all the action seems to happen here on the TXP boards. What is Textpattern.org’s mission? How does it fit into the big picture?

There seems to be a similar lack of clarity about other efforts. Some time ago, for instance, there was talk of a CSS group that would provide “skins” for TXP v1.0. Where is that group now? What is it up to?

That’s quite a number of questions there, and I’m sure I could find the answer to each and every one of them if I decided to poke around and search for them. But I think the point is that I shouldn’t have to.

There’s no lack of appreciation. There’s a lack of co-ordination between those efforts that aren’t focused on the code base and there’s a lack of communication in that it just isn’t clear who’s doing what and how it relates to what everyone else is doing.

wilshire · 2005-03-21 16:41:59

This forum is very well indexed by google. And sometimes it searches this forum much better than the internal search. If you have trouble using the PunBB search, try google. You can even limit your search to just this site.

For example – archive plugin site:forum.textpattern.com

ruminator · 2005-03-21 16:45:09

Thanks, W/O, that was something that I didn’t know. So, I’ve learned my new thing for the day.

Good point, Anark.

Matt · 2005-03-21 16:50:59

Wilshire’s right. I’ve entirely quit using the PunBB search form in favor of Google.

Mary · 2005-03-21 16:55:57

“…a lack of co-ordination… a lack of communication…”

Yes.

The reality is that the people who work on http://textpattern.net/ and http://textpattern.org/ are people like you and me, who, when they have time, add to the almost non-existant documentation to help others in the same boat.

The CSS group is no different. I believe the consensus (but correct me if I’m wrong) was that no work in that area would be done until Textpattern itself leant itself to theming, instead of copy and paste.

I understand that the wiki (.net) was purely for documentation and how-tos, whereas .org is basically a link directory, pointing to Textpattern resources elsewhere.

There is no official documentation or community or plugin or fill-in-the-blank director (or whatever we’d call him/her/them), which limits exactly what gets done and what doesn’t. We only just now have a total of 3 people working on Textpattern itself. Which means, faster, more complete Txp development, but documentation is still where it was — out in space as an idea. We have more now than we did before, but not much more.

I’m not making excuse or picking on anyone, just explanation to anyone who doesn’t know this. This isn’t the first time this has been said, and I daresay won’t be the last (although that would be nice).

Last edited by Mary (2005-03-21 16:56:06)

davidm · 2005-03-21 17:12:24

Anark, I know this community is smart enough to realize that plugins author do a terrific work, and I am not meaning that their work isn’t sufficiently appreciated.

Textpattern.org is a great initiative by Alicson and it should not just become a place where people come and grab plugins or templates, tutos… The Forum is the place where everything started, and where the most passionate spend quite some time. But you have to agree it’s hard to find infos and plugins, the search is not being very efficient given the staggering amount of posts here Edit : Wilshire’s point is quite good actually, but I still believe a structured resources cannot be compared to the forum

As to who is behind the site and why it was launched, it’s there :
http://textpattern.org/about#disclaimer

As for a group that provides skins for TxP, what is the Templates section of TextPattern.org if not such a resource ?

I don’t see where the community effort lacks clarity, I quote textpattern.org :

Textpattern – The official Textpattern site. The reason for everything.

Forum – The definitive place of discussion for all things Textpattern

Development Site – Textpattern Development Site (subversion, tickets, current source, etc.)

Textbook – Textpattern User Manual

However I do agree a main TxP page pointing toward txp resources would be great. Or coordination could be better. At the same time it’s only natural that there be some communication or coordination problems with all the stuff going down at the same time for Dean and the team : TextDrive funding with VCII and TextPattern 1.0 final being in the works certainly qualifies as major workload…

Last edited by davidm (2005-03-21 17:16:55)

nimnix · 2005-03-21 19:25:32

Every textpattern site I’ve made (except one) has details and links to the resources I used to build the site. This is partially because I love all things web-tech related, and partially because I like to give credit where it’s due.

There are problems I notice with any documentation effort that doesn’t have a person who’s job it is to lead it:

When it’s a hobby or a project of love, you don’t have time to comb the various resources every day.

There is no real central submission process for people who build tools or come up with new ideas.

There is little or no standard practice for documentation or programming.

Everyone doing this has other jobs that take up their time, since this effort doesn’t pay for itself. Plugin writers aren’t the only ones sacrificing time and energy to bring useful things to the community.

It’s not just up to the people who run the resource sites, it’s up to us. We can just as easily tell them when we write something or figure something out that has been bugging people.

Niloc · 2005-03-21 19:26:50

I think if you look on all the forum threads where the plugins are released you will find lots of comments by users thanking the author and providing suggestions.

Is there really a need to post comments on both the forum and textpattern.org? I sure don’t think so since textpattern.org just links back to the forum.

Textpattern CMS

Textpattern CMS support forum

#1 2005-03-21 14:42:09

[contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#2 2005-03-21 15:25:53

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#3 2005-03-21 15:40:23

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#4 2005-03-21 16:03:54

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#5 2005-03-21 16:25:52

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#6 2005-03-21 16:41:59

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#7 2005-03-21 16:45:09

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#8 2005-03-21 16:50:59

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#9 2005-03-21 16:55:57

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#10 2005-03-21 17:12:24

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#11 2005-03-21 19:25:32

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

#12 2005-03-21 19:26:50

Re: [contrib] Please reward the plugin authors with comments on textpattern.org !

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