[wp-hackers] StackOverflow for WordPress

[Jacob Santos]

I don't know why I'm replying, but I think I have a really good quote:

"...Because NIH (Not Invented Here) has no business in an open source 
community where the foundation of such a product would have to be open 
and supported by people who might be fragmented away from other tasks."

Leveraging great products where the community may easily join and 
participate verses spending years or more, for example the time between 
the closure of the WordPress theme gallery to it opening again and the 
sort of mess that caused. I do agree that the newer theme gallery is 
fantastic, but it probably would have been better if it was more, I 
don't know, open? Maybe. Not sure.

Of course, you work for a company that supports and maintains the 
platform, so I guess it is a gray area. On one hand the company would 
have to hire someone to spend a great deal of time on a product that has 
no real benefit towards the company [1]. I do think it is great that 
Automattic is supporting BuddyPress and bbPress, among other projects 
that benefit the community. In that, I find that Automattic stands bar 
none above other companies that profit from WordPress and yet do not 
"give back." I'm, of course, speaking of no company in particular and 
I'll deny any allegations to the contrary.

I mean, if anything, I think another really good example as to why the 
service shouldn't be produced "in-house" is to look no further than 
bbPress itself. Here you have a forum project that could have stood up 
with the rest, but somehow falls flat up against the others. I don't 
think Automattic or anyone else could have done anything differently to 
make it more than what it was. WordPress filled a niche and has since 
grown to be something a lot of people enjoy working with. Quite frankly, 
I'm not sure WTF bbPress is, but it sure isn't a forum and sure isn't 
one I would even touch with 8 foot pole. I think it is great that it has 
its own community, however small and loyal it is, but how about making 
WordPress stand up on its own as a platform for not just CMS and 
blogging, but for anything and everything.

I think the best things Automattic has done are things that the 
community probably wouldn't have even given the tools to do so. That 
said, I don't believe wordpress.org is open to the public. I haven't 
really been around, but may I see the source? May I contribute to the 
wordpress.org web site? I know it is bbPress, but I think it would be 
fine if I'd know that my contribution would be going towards something 
worth my time. I'm probably never going to use bbPress in any other 
avenue, but it it was simple and easy to "improve" the WordPress site 
and support services, I might step up and take notice.

I should probably end by saying that I don't really care about this 
topic, only that your questions sparked the quote. I think there is a 
disconnect with the community at times, which is damn ironic since Jane, 
you are most likely the closest and beloved by the community. Not to 
mention brought in to connect closer to the community. To that end, I 
think I've probably misunderstood.

Good day.

Jacob Santos

[1] I do wish to thank Automattic for the WordPress Tests repository, 
but I do think it stands also as another open" platform that I have 
found to be extremely difficult to contribute to and receive feedback 
on, so much so that I gave up on it. As well as the DocBook XML project, 
which I wish I had more time, energy, motivation, and was simple enough 
that I could do an "article" here and there.



On 5/10/2010 7:08 PM, Jane Wells wrote:
> <snip>
>>> further fragment and then reconsolidate the WP community to their own
>>> advantage. That said, WTH does StackExchchange have to do with hacking
>>> WP ?
> </snip>
>
> Is there a reason we'd put any official Q&A on some other service 
> instead improving our own resources at WordPress.org? Why not put our 
> energies into improving our own site and support services?
> Jane
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