Textpattern - Where's Alex? · 2007-09-17 19:14
Anyone who follows Textpattern, knows by now that Alex Shiels, the lead developer, left to work for Wordpress. But, the Alex that I’m wondering about is Alexandra Labudda of TXP Magazine fame.
I started following TxP in November of 2005, I had just come off another project where I had hit a wall, so I was careful not to get too involved, I just wanted software to run my sites. But, I didn’t follow my own advice: TxPlanet, TxPun and TxP IDE were all launched by me.
Let’s just say I was enthusiastic in the face of adversity. Like asking what the future held for TxP on the dev list and being told that the developers work on stuff when they have a chance and there is no roadmap (which translated to Alex only works on stuff that generates monies for his pocket).
Yet, I hung in there, building sites, moderating the support forum and touting the virtues of a small code base to any and all who would listen. But like Alex, of TxP Mag, you reach a limit, a stage where you feel that what you’re doing is making no difference. You speak and there’s no one listening, they’re all too busy wondering how to make money and a community project is dieing in the process.
There has been hope of late, Ruud van Melick has been very active on SVN and has a nice demeanor on the forums. Along with Ruud, there’s Mary and Wet in the developer spots. What does the future hold for TxP? I don’t know, I dare not ask and I don’t really care at this point.
My advice to Ruud, put a fork in it.
Bert, given the fact that all of us can add almost any code to the trunk: What would the purpose of a fork then be?
— Robert Wetzlmayr · Sep 18, 01:00 AM · #
Hi Robert,
So, where’s Alex?
Oh, how’s the Wiki these days?
In short, anybody who cared has left the building and the hospitality of Textdrive has been outlived.
Time for a fresh start, with a roadmap.
— Bert · Sep 18, 06:17 AM · #
I think TxP has a very strong base and the potential to be Great Software. I would avoid forking as long as possible, maybe what would help first is some more direct communication between the core people, like an IRC meetup or conference call.
— Matt · Sep 18, 07:53 PM · #
Well, the last time I talked with Alex from TxpMag she was readying a project based on Joomla, per client request.
At the same time, we co-authored an essay about Textpattern for a German OSS mag, and then she kind of vanished.
The state of the Wiki leaves room for improvement, but I wouldn’t expect that this is a major challenge for Joyent/TextDrive once they find the time to dig into the causes of the hiccup.
The one thing which really affects the current development is that zem has left while a greater portion of the juggling balls which will once turn into Textpattern 4.1 where still in the air. So at least the newer members of the team (Ruud and me) still have a thing or two in the new code to get acquainted to. I personally do care about Textpattern, haven’t left the building, and will work on its progress. As Matt said, Textpattern is a very reasonable light CMS.
I’d like to add one tiny piece of heresy: Maybe the only thing the project really lacks is the notorious “benevolent dictator” that almost any other open source project sports. This is a vacant position since Dean left.
— Robert Wetzlmayr · Sep 19, 02:35 AM · #
Hi Matt,
TxP is Great Software as it stands, all it needs is user friendliness tweaks to attract more TxPersons :)
— Bert · Sep 19, 04:01 PM · #
Wet,
If you can’t find a benevolent dictator, at least find a spokesman who can convey to the user base what is going on at present and what the future holds in store.
I love the TxP code base, but I can’t stand the darkness at the end of the tunnel.
— Bert · Sep 19, 04:16 PM · #
Bert, I can’t figure out what you mean by this:
PS. Why fork when you can contribute directly?
PPS. There’s something wrong with the error reporting here in the comments: try submitting without email address.
— Ruud van Melick · Sep 19, 05:58 PM · #
Ruud,
This site always runs the latest SVN code:
Textpattern version: 4.0.5 (r2647)
So the error must be in the latest code base.
As for what I meant, over the last year all these initiatives were started:
a) Team Textpattern
b) Textpattern Pro
c) Bannister
d) Membership dues
e) And a few more…
Basically the developers were trying to figure a way to make money, while the user base was left scratching it’s collective head.
As for the forking recommendation, I just feel that a wall has been met. I've been there before, I also spent time trying to resurrect a project after the original creator decided he had had enough. What followed was a year and a half of wheel spinning, to this day people are contributing to Nucleus, heck there's a version 3.3 sitting in the wings, and Wouter is supposedly on vacation and no one can update the front page.
Anyway, just a gut feeling, if you feel that the lack of a Dean figure is no problem and what you're doing will make a difference in the end, then good luck.
— Bert · Sep 19, 08:46 PM · #
it’s because of textpattern that i’m fervently trying to learn as much php/mysql as possible. i want to contribute in a meaningful way thats beyond the usual cheering from the sidelines.
i’ve only been using textpattern for 3-4 months and i just hope i didnt jump in at the wrong time. i must admit the reasons i chose textpattern was due to many articles/blog entries/etc etc recommending it as a solid solution to blog/cms issues, but they were also dated at least a year or two ago. nowadays you don’t see many people recommending it as strongly as say, expression engine or the alex-stealing wordpress :) though i’ve used both and i still prefer textpattern.
i just think its a bad sign that crockery has, to my knowledge, been in the works for a couple of years now and is still considered ‘experimental’. i fear that when its actually released, it will already be out of date.
— steve lam · Nov 6, 07:31 PM · #
Hi Steve,
I’ve been a tester/contributor of CMS/Blog systems for many, many years now. I was there when Drupal was open sourced in 2001, seen a lot of projects come and go since then.
I’m a bit saddened by what I’m seeing in Open Source land. Too many projects hoping for a YouTube happy ending, losing focus of why they GPLed their code in the first place.
I’ve also reached a point where it’s time to roll up my sleeves and start coding.
I don’t think you’re late to the TxP party, I’m over by the pool taking shots of Jack ;)
— Bert · Nov 7, 10:10 AM · #