Forum Subject: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/19/11 03:37am
By: ::Ben

As Dirk say on the geeklog-devel list[*1]

So, it is time for brainstorming, feature requests and volunteers.

::Ben

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/19/11 09:53am
By: Laugh

The forum is also listed in the Geeklog Bugtracker (look under projects). I have added a few bugs there.

What I would like to see is the forum to use the Geeklog Configuration and have the configuration options stored in the db. (of course this would mean that the plugin would require Geeklog 1.8.0)

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/19/11 10:11am
By: ::Ben

Is it an issue if forum plugin use his own config system (and it does) ? What is the benefit of having a centralized config system?

::Ben

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/19/11 10:19am
By: Dirk

Consistency.

Btw, the current Configuration system was introduced in Geeklog 1.5.0. Making that the minimum required version for the Forum plugin wouldn't be unreasonable, IMHO.

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/19/11 10:30am
By: Laugh

It would also mean I do not have to worry about overwriting the config file when I do upgrades as everything would be stored in the db.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/19/11 01:48pm
By: ::Ben

+1 for the consistency and the abandon of the old config file.

::Ben

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/20/11 04:48pm
By: jmucchiello

Enter the config issue as a feature request so if someone decides to tackle it, there's a place to put the patch.

My problem with the forum is does things all wrong. Threads should be objects that use the comment system for followups. Improvements to the "forum" would create improvements in the comment system. The forum currently uses its own tables to store permissions. If lightweight groups had existed at the time, I'm pretty sure it would have used the "existing" core groups instead.

I'd rather see the smileys and file upload support moved to the core comment system and then create a forum engine based on that. Converting it shouldn't be too hard once the comment system is as good as the forum response system. Doing it that way would also make it easy to create a "forum comment submission" queue for new users.

But that's a pie in the sky request.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/21/11 12:49am
By: dengen

Hi, all

Geeklog Japanese team is doing maintenance of Forum plugin on their own.
We have been already made significant improvements and fixes.
Corect HTML,
Supporting XHTML,
Using COM_output function,
Supporting new core search engine,
Supporting XMLSitemap
Supporting auto install feature
Dropping lib-portalparts.php,
and more...

See Google Code - geeklog-jp
http://code.google.com/p/geeklog-jp/source/browse/#svn%2Ftrunk%2Fgeeklog-jp%2Fplugins-jp%2Fforum[*2]

We are in trouble because there is no place to commit these improvements and fixes.
We hope to find a new maintainer.

dengen

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/21/11 08:40am
By: Laugh

Thanks Dengen,

That certainly will give Cordiste (and his team) a head start.

Did the last security fix make it into your version?

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/21/11 12:57pm
By: ::Ben

This will not be my team. I want to participate to the forum plugin but I don't want to be the leader.
Would you be willing to assume this role Dengen?

Ben

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/21/11 02:23pm
By: Laugh

Sorry Cordiste,

I didn't mean to insinuate that you where the leader, I just meant you and your fellow participants.

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/21/11 06:46pm
By: dengen

Yes. We did all the security fixes.


Because we have users in Japan will continue to maintain.
But I do not have the qualities to become a leader. First, the language problem is large.

dengen

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/24/11 08:24pm
By: Laugh

Dengen
Do you plan to add any new features or just update the forum if a security problem arises?

Also what is the complete list of features you (or others) have added?


All
I hate to see 2 versions of the same plugin, what if the next version of the forum plugin we take the jp changes and then add the small tooltip change along with Joe's Patch?

I also hate to see 2 code repositories for the forum. Do you think we can all work together and just use one or is the language barrier to great? I guess if we do this for whatever repository we choose the other team will have to give commit access to it. I would also suggest we discuss any new features before someone goes ahead and works on one.


Dirk
I notice the jp forum says you need a min of Geeklog version 1.6.0. Is that okay with you? (if this all works out)


Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/24/11 08:35pm
By: suprsidr

I propose hosting on GIT.
This way we could have forks for differences like RTL languages, but the main branch could pull common features into the main release.

Makes for greater diversity and development.

I'd actually like to see the whole geeklog project migrate to GIT.
I mean who has ever heard of and/or uses Mercurial? On this side of the pond anyways

-s

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/24/11 08:53pm
By: Roccivic

I agree. With free hosting on github or similar, this could be set up in minutes.
Anyone with an account for such a service can fork your repo for free. xD

Rouslan

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 02:57am
By: Dirk

Since we're using Mercurial as our version control system, https://bitbucket.org/[*3] would be more appropriate.



And the advantage would be what exactly?

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 07:28am
By: Dirk

Sounds reasonable. I'm curious to learn which exact features in 1.6.0 the plugin requires, though.

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 08:06am
By: suprsidr

git allows for users to easily create their own fork -> make changes/improvements -> have the main branch pull in as much of these changes as seen fit.

Before you moved geeklog to Mercurial I had never heard of it, at a time when all other projects were moving from a SVN system to git it made me wonder.

git is free!

-s

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 08:31am
By: Dirk

Guess what? You can do exactly the same with Mercurial.

In fact, a lot of the patches we got recently where produced that way (well, via hg export/import - a bit more like cherrypicking in git). Which is great, since now people who send patches can actually get their names in the commit history (instead of the person applying the patch).

Also see the wiki article: http://wiki.geeklog.net/index.php/Submitting_Patches[*4]



Mercurial is also free, GPL and all. It may be less popular than git but it is - IMO - easier to use.

My strictly personal opinion is that we're seeing a lot of projects use git simple because they think "Linus wrote it, so it must be good".

Hmm, I guess this thread will now turn into a heated "which DVCS is better" debate. I'll better get some popcorn

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 10:27am
By: dengen

There is no particular plan. Of course, we have to adapt Geeklog-1.8.


Corect HTML (passed W3C Markup Validation.),
Supporting XHTML,
Using COM_output function,
Supporting new core search engine,
Supporting XMLSitemap,
Supporting auto install feature,
Supporting site migration feature,
Improved printable page view,
Dropping lib-portalparts.php,
Moved public_html/forum/include under system/plugins/forum (for more secure),
Moved templates directory under public_html/forum (templates under the theme directory is no more necessary.),
and more... :wink:

The product spoke for itself. Could you actually try?

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 11:26am
By: Laugh

First of all let me say I know very little about the different version control systems :wink:

I was thinking either Mercurial or Google Code since that is what the 2 communities use. IMO I wouldn't really want to add a third option.

I did do a bit of research and it looks like Google did choose to go ahead and add Mercurial to Google Code

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/04/google-code-adds-mercurial-version-control-system.ars

http://code.google.com/p/support/wiki/MercurialFAQ

Dengen
I have downloaded it and will be trying it out.

Would you be willing to move your updated forum to our repository and use our repository instead of our own when adding features/fixes or whould you rather us use your repository?

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 11:34am
By: Dirk

For this to be a community effort, it should be hosted somewhere else really. We don't have the infrastructure to give people access to the repositories on our server that would be required for such an effort.

I only mentioned bitbucket above in response to the suggestion to move to github. It's for the maintainers of the plugin to decide where and how they want to host it.

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 12:17pm
By: dengen

Exactly. We are therefore in need of.
But the problem is not that there is no repository. The problem is that the absence of the main maintainer.
We are willing to commit immediately to the main maintainer.

dengen

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 12:36pm
By: dengen

I tried to install Forum plugin Ver2.7.4.JPr1 to Geeklog 1.8.0hg (changeset 8195).
Seemed to work fine.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 01:04pm
By: Laugh

>>For this to be a community effort, it should be hosted somewhere else really. We don't have the infrastructure to give people access to the repositories on our server that would be required for such an effort.

Okay then, so the question becomes what VCS and where do we want to host? I still vote for Mercurial as it is the one used by Geeklog (and easier for me :wink and we could host either on bitbucket or Google Code. We would be using this for the forum currently but I do see it expanding to other plugins that have lost their maintainers. I know Git has been mentioned, I have never used it but am open to try it if enough people feel we should use it.

It looks like as of yet that we do not have a "main maintainer" but have a few people willing to work on it. Let's move forward and see how it works out and if/when someone wants to become the main maintainer we can give them control.

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 01:47pm
By: Dirk

Which makes it even more important to have this in a public place where it's easy to add new contributors.


Exactly. Go, go, go :shakehands:

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/25/11 08:17pm
By: dengen

Thanks. We are willing to cooperate.


Agree. In addition to Forum plugin, Geeklog Japanese team is maintaining Filemgmt plugin.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 07:58am
By: Roccivic

I had a quick go at installing geeklog.jp's forum and it seems to be infested with E_ALL errors.

For example, in functions.inc:should be:

and, even better, all those defines with if statements could just be trimmed down to:

and in config.php:should be:
:twocents:

Rouslan

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 09:02am
By: dengen

Thank you for suggestions.

dengen

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 10:00am
By: Roccivic

How about getting the filemgmt plugin to provide it's file upload functionality to the forum and comments, etc?

Rouslan

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 11:44am
By: Laugh

So is the orginal forum.

We should add this to the forum bugtracker.


Okay, unless anyone else has suggestions I plan to set up a Mercurial repository in Google Code for the forum plugin. I will use the latest version form Geeklog JP and add in the few tooltip items I need too and increase the version number to 2.7.5 that still supports Geeklog 1.6.0

Does this sound good Cordiste? (you did express an interest in helping code a few new features for the forum)

Anyone from the Geeklog Commuity with some development experience who wants commit access to the new repository (like our friends from Geeklog JP) would just have to ask. For people who want to code new features in the forum plugin all I would suggest is that we discuss it in this forum topic first before starting work.

The idea would be also to include other plugins people would like to work on who have lost their maintainer.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 12:44pm
By: dengen

Just now, I committed version 2.7.5.JPr1 to our Google Code repository.
This version is merged original version 2.7.5.
Therefore, supports tooltip, and still supports Geeklog 1.6.0.

http://code.google.com/p/geeklog-jp/source/detail?r=2922[*5]

dengen

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 01:49pm
By: Laugh

I was just about to start working on making the tooltip stuff backwards compatible, thanks.

In your upgrade procedure you probably should add the regular forum versions to the case statement as well (2.7.3 and 2.7.4)
i.e.



I also notice in some of the diffs that code like




has been deleted (see /trunk/geeklog-jp/plugins-jp/forum/include/gf_format.php for example). I am not sure if that was your intention...


Also do you want us to create a new repository or should we just work from yours?

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 02:06pm
By: ::Ben

Yes tell me what I need to do to have commit access to the new repository.

I would like to work on:
Attachments - Allow users to upload files (texts, images)
Improve BBCode

Ben

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/26/11 09:54pm
By: dengen

Yes. And, JPr version may be deleted.


This code was unnecessary on Geeklog version 1.6.0 or later.


I think we should create a new repository sensible.
We will need to fix on the new repository.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/27/11 09:08am
By: Laugh

Okay I will set one up today then and let you guys know the details.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/27/11 11:40am
By: Laugh

Okay,

I wasn’t sure of the best way to approach this.

We can either create one project and have many repositories under it or create a project for each plugin as needed.

I decided to go with one project with multiple repositories. I figured it would be easy to maintain this way but I do not think we can specify committers based on just the repository. It is project specific so this means committers has access to all repositories in the project.


I have created a Geeklog Code project here:

http://code.google.com/p/geeklog/[*6]

I haven't used Google Code before so I hope I have done the initial setup correctly. Dengen if there is a better way let me know or you can do the changes yourself (I have given you Admin privileges). I have created a new repository under this project for the forum here:

https://forum.geeklog.googlecode.com/hg/[*7]

Dengen do you want to upload the initial files for the forum?

Cordiste I have given you Admin privileges as well (let me know if I used the right email account for you or if I need to change it).

I figure the 3 of us is enough Admins for now. Anyone else who wants to contribute can be added in as Project committers.

Sound good?

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/27/11 04:09pm
By: dengen

Thank you for your hard work and perseverance.


I'm not have much experience about project management. Let's go forward step by step.


I'll try.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/27/11 05:07pm
By: dengen

Upload finished. I wondered whether the original version or the Japanese version. After all, based on the Japanese version.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/27/11 05:34pm
By: Laugh

Thanks.



Not sure what you mean here... If you are asking what we should use for the version number 2.7.5.JPr1 or 2.7.5

I would say 2.7.5 since this version is for everybody.

I will do some testing and update some of the readme files to include the latest list of changes. Better yet I will just combine all the files as one and list it similar to the Geeklog history file.

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/30/11 08:51am
By: Laugh

FYI,

I have added the Geeklog Forum Project to Ohloh.

I can't give the url since it is seen as spam but the project id is geeklog-forum-plugin


Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/30/11 08:56am
By: Dirk

Nice one

http://www.ohloh.net/p/geeklog-forum-plugin/[*8]

(added www.ohloh.net to the whitelist & gave the Core team group spamx.skip permissions)

bye, Dirk

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 03/31/11 09:40am
By: Laugh

Okay,

So I plan on changing the forum version to just 2.7.5

What should the homepage be? I figure we just keep it the same for now (geeklog.gp) unless someone has a different idea.

Besides me updating the english readme files is there anything else we want to get into this version? I would like to get this version out the same time as Geeklog 1.8.0 ships (April sometime).

The one other thing I plan on fixing is the white text page number problem when you view a forum topic that has multiple pages.

Joe do you plan on adding your template patch? What email address do you want me to use to add you to the list of committers? (remember we are keeping this compatible with Geeklog 1.6.0)

Does this sound good to everyone or does someone have something to add or change?

Thanks

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 04/01/11 11:10am
By: Laugh

I have moved over the few bugs and features found in the old forum bug tracker to the issue tracker in Google Code.

I guess I can now ask Dirk to remove the old tracker.

When adding new issues/features to the tracker make sure to add a label called Forum so in the future if more plugins get added we can see which issue is for which plugin.

Also if you do start working on a new feature for the plugin make sure to add a corresponding item in the tracker if there is not one.

Tom

Re: Future of the Forum plugin

Posted on: 04/10/11 07:57pm
By: Laugh

Just a note:

I have created a Google Groups mailing list for the forum plugin. The link for it can be found in the links section at http://code.google.com/p/geeklog/[*6] . We will be keeping most of the development conversation there and will only use these forums for announcements and feedback from the community.

I sent out a few invitations to the group. If you would like to join just drop me an email.

Before I forget, Joe where you still planning to add that template patch for the forum? Just give me a rough ETA so we can plan the next release.

Thanks

Tom