Re: [Phpwebsite-developers] phpWebSite-comm

[Mike N. <mh...@us...>]

On Sat, 2003-10-18 at 11:17, Wendall Cada wrote:
> Upon forming the community site, it was decided by the Sourceforge staff
> that we couldn't have binary content in cvs because of the potential
> abuse with graphics. The compromise was that we use SVG format.

Wendall,
Not entirely true. Binaries are allowed, but only on import. see

1.1 CVS Repository
https://sourceforge.net/docman/display_doc.php?docid=17109&group_id=81360

> I feel that this compromise needs to be revisited with the SF.net staff
> as it has badly hurt the -comm project. I'll go into some details.
> 
> After Don, Mike, Adam and I did a lot of looking into SVG, it appears
> that there is not a proper CL conversion tool to do releases with. Don
> and I tested several, and they just make the graphics look like crap.
> Another thing was that the total file sizes of the SVG graphics were
> rediculously large and unnecessary for icons. If SVG could be used by
> web browsers, it would be great, but alas, they cannot and this renders
> the use of them worthless.

I thought the size was only a problem with converted raster binaries. Am
I misinformed? I agree that command line conversion from SVG to a raster
format isn't very good. :-(

> Enforcing the SVG rule has limited the amount of development for themes
> to practically nothing. Don won't use the site. I was planning on
> releasing rssfeeds, but cannot because I can't distribute with my icon.
> The icons are a part of the look and feel of phpWebSite and not
> distributing with one is just plain goofy. Sure, I could do my release
> off site and attatch it to a tracker and have it manually done by the
> SF.net staff with my icon included, but that makes the tools available
> worthless and is alot of work to just do a release. I've concluded after
> all this that it would be faster to submit a new project to SF.net
> staff, get approval and release it from there than wait on silly
> politics.

That is the course Don decided on, and it's a valid option. Be aware
that you could include your raster icons in the release tarball, or you
could import them to CVS.

> SF.net staff needs to understand how they are hurting the -comm project
> and hurting one of the largest projects on SF.net by being resistant to
> the growth of a project.
> 
> I propose we approach the SF.net staff and have them lift the black
> cloud from the -comm project. Or alternately, find another cvs to use in
> its place as the main project has. I would be willing to host the cvs
> repository if App State cannot.

You would need to talk with Moorman on irc.slashnet.org #sourceforge
about the proposed change. Adam was the main contact for -comm with
Moorman. He is the one that negotiated most of this. I helped in a minor
way.

> Mike Noyes has put alot of work into the -comm site and several other
> mod developers have put some great mods out there. There are a few
> themes, but these have been submitted as tarballs. This doesn't appear
> to be a restriction for themes people, but it would be nice to have
> these themes in cvs so they can be updated with changes in the core
> releases.

The only ones that aren't in CVS are the ones contributed to -comm by
people who didn't wish to join. Therefore they were unwilling to
maintain them. Any -comm member is welcome to take up maintenance of the
contributed themes.

> I would like to see the -comm site succeed. No binary content is goofy.
> phpWebSite is a mature project that takes care of itself. Any abuses
> would be immediately dealt with. I find it hard to believe that the
> SF.net staff aren't clued into this. If they aren't, they should be.

In my experience, the SF.net staff are most accommodating. You need to
have a plan that works for them as well as the project though. They have
had many cases of abuse in the past, so they have valid reasons for
being cautious.

-- 
Mike Noyes <mhnoyes at users.sourceforge.net>
http://sourceforge.net/users/mhnoyes/
SF.net Projects: ffl, leaf, phpwebsite, phpwebsite-comm, sitedocs