[wp-docs] trying again

[Podz]

The purpose of my mail was not to stop people discussing the features 
that will arrive (or not) in 1.6. It was not to stop people using 1.6 if 
they are happy to take those risks and also keep quiet if things go bad. 
I know WP has to develop and I know that the better the testbase the 
better the code should turn out to be.

But, the forums are - for want of a better word - staffed by few 
compared to the number of people seeking help. When earlier versions 
were in development, despite the fact that there was a Beta forum, 
people chose not to use it. Despite the fact they were using development 
code, they still complained when things went wrong for them. That period 
of time was one of massive frustration for Craig and myself as every 
other question was about code that we may not have been using and as 
things went, code that changed hugely.

As soon as 1.6 becomes available in an easily got to download, there 
will be a buildup of pressure.
Plugin authors will get pressured (for instance: spam plugin that works 
with 1.6 ?)
There will be the inevitable speculation about templates / themes and 
all that subject encompasses
People will stretch that code and look for answers everywhere they can 
and even if we had a dedicated forum it would go the way of the Beta forum.
And in the meantime there will be people still asking for help with 
their officially released code. We cannot tell people to upgrade to the 
latest code - that is not feasible. But those asking for help for 
official code must not have their needs swamped by the vocal few who 
have tried the cutting edge and found it hurt them.

I don't know about the wider OSS community, but I know the release 
history and forum effects. We ought to run a book on the first time we 
have to say "When it's ready".

P.