[wp-forums] Installing for free && RE: [wp-forums] New Forum

[Christopher J. Hradil]

ditto, I'd also like to add the following thoughts, if you really read my
post here yesterday, you should understand that I wasn't trying to be
critical of those of you involved in the install4free project, merely point
out the fact that it's really important that anything that any of us do
regarding WP needs to be marketed and presented properly. We don't (or at
least I don't) want to see the WP project become controversial in any way as
far as "market" or "consumer" perception, as new users come along, the first
and clearest message they should get about any WP activity is "best of
breed". In the long run, whether our personal objectives be financial or
otherwise, it's that perception of the WP product and community that's going
to have the greatest impact on long term success. 

For well over a year now, I've been pushing all of my personal clients with
"blog" or lite CMS needs to WP. Some had/have previous relationships with
MT/TP and have been very resistant to change. I've tried to explain to many
of them that one of the major differences between something like MT/TP and
WP is that since it's a community developed and supported project, and since
the support and development communities are so dedicated, active and strong,
WP is a sound environment or platform to build on, and that something like
MT because it's a commercial product is completely unpredictable in terms of
what direction things could take at any moment. -- did you all see this
today: http://wisdump.com/business/sixapart-abandons-their-last-fans/

Just one more illustration of the fact that there's a tremendous opportunity
for WP to gain even more widespread acceptance based on the strength of it's
community and quality of the product. So once again I'll state -- the more
WP blogs/forums/support sites the better. The success of each individual's
efforts outside the WP forums or codex or dev communities will depend on the
quality of the content they provide or can add to the community and nothing
else.

Let's all keep our focus on doing what we can to improve or contribute to
the success and adoption of WP instead of worrying about who set up what
site, etc. 

BTW, I thought that Adminstry/DP was banned a while back ? 


/**************************************
Christopher J. Hradil
chradil at comcast.net
http://www.hradil.us
973-809-4606
**************************************/


-----Original Message-----
From: wp-forums-bounces at lists.automattic.com
[mailto:wp-forums-bounces at lists.automattic.com] On Behalf Of Craig
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 1:58 PM
To: wp-forums at lists.automattic.com
Subject: Re: [wp-forums] Installing for free

First of all, you folks involved with the install4free effort are to be
commended. I lurked through the discussions and the exchanges and, knowing
many of you, I fully understand how your intent was/is laudible. You put a
lot of yourselves into the project, and your goal was simply to provide a
service to some in the community who need it.
This is a demonstration of the power of community spirit.

The reaction to all of this is obviously frustrating. Given the amount of
work put into this, it's natural to take this "rejection" or "distrust"
personally. I am guilty of that myself, as a past moderator in the forums.
However, I urge you all to step back for a bit, and not let this get to you.
This effort is NOT in vain, and your time was not wasted. Keep plugging away
at it. There are always lessons to be learned, so all you can do is pause,
take a deep breath, and jump back into the foray.

I applaud you all; you are all fine examples of what open source is meant to
be, so I encourage you to see this only as an interuption, and not a
cessation of the initiative.

WordPress owes its success to the support forums. It's the dirtiest job, and
the one that is given the least amount of respect. It's not sexy like
coding, it's simply roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-at-it kind of work.

Thank you, mods and forum supporters for your continued work.

Craig.
Nuclear Moose.
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