[wp-hackers] [GSoC] profiles.wordpress.org

[Otto]

On Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 7:51 PM, Stas Sușcov <stas at nerd.ro> wrote:
> Let's take a look at current profiles/.org, the updates are stored as
> activity streams, and though every stream can be of different kind, it
> can't be tied to a taxonomy, so let's say If I want to generate a page
> that shows latest @props from trac, I will have to hack BuddyPress,
> while using post types and custom taxonomy it will be a snap.
>
> Or the karma part, the data will still be stored as user metadatas.

Usermeta can be very tricky on wporg. Remember, we've got 2+ million
registered users here. Reproducing certain things can easily be done,
but the question is often if it's worth the trouble.

If you don't want to use BuddyPress activity streams, then there's no
reason to do so, and frankly I kind of agree with you. The way
profiles works with the streams now is somewhat slapdash. However,
it's better to leverage the existing BuddyPress for parts that are
needed instead of redeveloping them from scratch. It's better to fix
what needs fixing than to throw it away and start again.

And like Jane said, there's other plans for profiles. Things that we
want to add to it which come from existing features and capabilities
in other projects, like BuddyPress or bbPress or whatever. Writing it
from scratch using only-WordPress features is interesting and probably
more fun, but perhaps not the best use of available time or resources.
I mean, I can write a forum plugin that uses only custom post types
and custom taxonomies, or I can install bbPress. Which makes more
sense in terms of actually getting stuff done?

-Otto