Scott,
The upgrade being just around the corner has been the mantra for a year on this specific upgrade. The team decided to ignore a major bug fix(broken thread notifications) and instead of just realeasing a point upgrade that fixes that issue (would have stopped 95% of the complaining for an upgraded version) they decided to work over a year adding new features. Back in October they announced that the new version would be in the release tracker by Sunday, that didnt happen and not another word has come out. Why not just take the current released code, fix the notification bug and release tomorrow? It cant be more than a days worth of work to fix that bug. Then they can add new features, etc.
There must be a priority on stabilization before concentrating on new features. The notification bug was found a day after the current version was released and here we are 15 months later without fixing that simple bug. This is like if the DNN core team decided that instead of fixing the issue in DNN 5.0.0 they would work for the next year on the 6.0 version.
I made suggestions in the past of having a maintenance code branch and development branch so someone will be in charge of implementing the bug fixes while the team leader can be focusing on the future of the module. How about that? They do it in Linux, Microsoft, etc. Its pretty standard to release security updates, bug fixes on current code while a major release has a new team working on it... heck isnt something similar happening with the DNN 4.9.1 and DNN 5? You are maintaining the existing code base for stabilization while the new codebase is the future.
Scott Willhite wrote
Albas wrote
I think it is time to do something with this module. The last update was on October 16 2007. There is no chance to get an updated version in the near future. There are tons of voluntaries out there.
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There are a number of challenges in OS development, but among two of the largest are (1) communication and (2) volunteer management. I'd first say that your frustration is well understood, nobody would slight you for wanting an updated version of forums. As the person most responsible for management of these forums... I wholeheartedly agree! However, what may not be apparent is how hard Chris (and a few dedicated volunteers) have been working. There is a MAJOR forums upgrade just around the corner. However, unless you read the right posts or know the right folks it's not always easy to know what's going on. Second, of all of our teams... Chris is one of those guys who has worked the hardest to gather and utilize a larger team. Although that may not be easy to see right now, I know this from working with him over this time period. He has been through many, many alpha and beta releases with testing volunteers and skinning help. But I also know how really hard it is to actually harness the bits of time & effort to coordinate real product development. All this just to say that "there is no chance to get an updated version in the near future" is not quite accurate... and that "tons of volunteers out there" may be true, but is not easily managed.
In 2009 I am personally responsible to ensure that our projects teams / progress improve. This means increased visibility, activity and participation.
In the meantime... I'm bugging Chris on a daily basis on everyone's behalf *grin*
| Michael Washington wrote
Legally there is nothing stopping anyone from posting their own version of the Forum module on CodePlex.com as long as they keep the DNN copyright in the source code and not violate the DotNetNuke Trademark Policy.
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Although this is "technically" true... we would really appreciate that folks work with DotNetNuke, rather than in "opposition" to it (which is what "fork" implies). If someone wants to build a module that is substantially different (going in a different direction) that's one thing, but simply trying to push an existing project in this way would really hurt people rather than be helpful in any way. And in that regard, associating it with the DotNetNuke trademark is not permitted ("creates confusion").
In February, I'll be publishing more information about how folk in the community can increase their involvement & contribution. If you're volunteering to do some testing, please email me directly (my email is on my profile) and perhaps we include you on the next beta release.
Cheers