[wp-hackers] Proposing WP Flavours (various WordPress forks)

[Jeremy Clarke]

-1 to this idea.

If you can't do it with a plugin then work harder to work out a plugin
solution by writing a core patch that adds the hooks you need instead
of demanding the whole thing be in core.

If the core commit team tries to block you from being able to do it
with a plugin and you aren't being crazy then come around here and ask
about it. We will either help you figure out how to do it with a
plugin/plugin-enabling patch or we'll get all huffy until a patch gets
worked out so you can write a plugin.

Chances are if you think its not possible with a plugin you're just
not trying hard enough or being smart enough, in which case you are
UNQUALIFIED to manage a fork/branch/whatever of WordPress.

If you think that for some reason maintaining a branch/fork of
WordPress via community development will be easier or smoother than
maintaining a plugin then I think you are probably not thinking that
through very well. Both have essentially the same challenges and
pitfalls, both would require some conscious choice by users to use the
modifications. The main difference is that one is already existent and
very effective while the other is a fantasy that is also likely to
cause a lot of confusion and headaches and community splintering.

> * Allowing people to easily implement and publicise their own pet
> features and ideas.
> * Allow others to easily try out these implementations.
> * Doesn't require maintaining sets of patches Callum proposed.
> * Allows the "primary project branch" to easily pull in important,
> useful and cool changes from these offshoots.

<sarcasm>Wow, if only there was some way that people could do this...
Such a challenging list, it would probably require thousands of lines
of code and years of work to develop a system capable and mature
enough to enable this kind of extensibility and variety within
WordPress.</sarcasm>

WP Flavors exist already, they are super awesome and free.

-- 
Jeremy Clarke | http://jeremyclarke.org
Code and Design | http://globalvoicesonline.org