Wedge

One thing I want to add. I have been advised that the stated intent of the forks board and the wording of the rules posts was not to wind us up, but that it was an honest attempt to encourage open source work.

I have been advised this by someone who is currently on the team, who is not involved in the public discussions on either side and who has shown me more willing to listen to my concerns and actually see where I'm coming from, even if they do not agree, they at least take the time to see it from my point of view.

Now, this person assures me that it was done in good faith to encourage open source, and I believe them. Said person has expressed a distinct interest for the mudslinging to end - on both sides, not just from us - and made sure as best they can that this is the purpose in which this was carried out, and I respect that.


So, I'm calling for a line to be drawn in the sand on this point. I recognise that the team have made an honest attempt for them to actually accept forks as not being competition in the original sense of the word, but as stablemates from which they can learn things, and that the forks can learn something from it. We've learned a great deal about SMF in this process, some of it rather good when you think about it.

I recognise that the way it came about wasn't intended as a dig at us, but that it came across that way because we're biased. I also recognise the fact that they have been civil towards us, if not entirely respectful in appearance, and I would urge any members thinking of posting to consider very carefully what your motives are in doing so.

As has been noticed, this is a step forwards for SMF. It's not a huge step, it's not as big as I would have liked, but it IS a step forward, even if it was a bit of a stumble. Please don't try and undo their work on this, because it does have the potential to go somewhere.

The team do not understand why we are so reticent at giving back. I doubt they ever will understand, but that's not our problem. I also doubt we fully understand their view, I am advised that the general view is that they did nothing wrong to deserve being forked - but that view IS changing, and for the better. It must be, since they're not treating forks like dissidents. We are being singled out but not because it's us - it's because we have taken the bold step of stepping back on the licence, and like it or not, the old SMF licence isn't open source - and they're honestly trying to encourage actually open licensed creations.

I am given to understand that when we become BSD or similar, we will be treated equally, and I want to believe, but for all the crap going on about it, I would ask the people concerned to take a moment to understand why we don't want to give back. We feel we already paid any 'debt' in advance, and now you're asking us to pay again. We will give back to anyone who wants what we've done, but only when we're ready to do so.

Revision: 939
Author: arantor
Date: 14:25:54, 17 August 2011
Message:
! Removal of the last vestiges of 'do not show contact details to guests, they're just not shown to guests now. (ManageSettings.php, Security.php, SendTopic.php, Help and ManageSettings language files)

! Custom fields now have an option for visible to guests (only when the field would otherwise be available to regular users), which means the profile fields that are used for things like AIM can be hidden from guests, which was the remaining thing controlled by the above setting. (install.sql, Load.php, ManageMemberOptions.php, Admin.template.php, ManageSettings language file)
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Modified : /trunk/Sources/Load.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/ManageMemberOptions.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/ManageSettings.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/Security.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/SendTopic.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/Admin.template.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/Help.english.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/Help.french.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/ManageSettings.english.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/ManageSettings.french.php
Modified : /trunk/other/install.sql


Revision: 940
Author: arantor
Date: 14:29:30, 17 August 2011
Message:
! Admin / Members / Member Options had the wrong default function, should have used the first tab not the last. (ManageMemberOptions.php)
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Modified : /trunk/Sources/ManageMemberOptions.php

I was musing about going CC instead of BSD. But as I have said more than once here, we will go BSD (or possibly CC) once we are ready.

There's never been any question that we're going to go to a true open source licence at some point, as has been said REPEATEDLY.[1]

In other words, we'll go BSD when we're ready and when it means that the team can't just ransack all our ideas and effort like they have done so many times before.

After all, this is the same team that wanted to take the SimpleDesk project over without even actually asking me first, how do you think I feel about that, exactly? Given that SD now equates to something 1/5 the size of SMF, that's an awful lot of code ownership I'd be giving up for their benefit.[2]

1.	Small wonder I'm really fucking pissed off because it seems that more than one person in the team seems to have selective reading difficulties because they can only read what they want to see, not what's actually written.
2.	The fact that I made it clear that they're welcome to do with SD as we did with Wedge was curiously overlooked, especially given the fact that otherwise it would actually pretty much compel me to become an NPO member if I wanted any say in how what I'd spent 6 months, often dawn till dusk, working on. Somehow I don't think so.

More admin panel stuff. Yes, the typo is there in the original log entry too :P


Revision: 938
Author: arantor
Date: 13:26:47, 17 August 2011
Message:
! Convert the 'Log Pruning' page into a more general 'Log Settings' page, and move a couple of items to it, for controlling the error log. (Admin.php, ManageSearchEngines.php, ManageSettings.php, Admin and ManageSettinsg language files, old unit test)

! Template eval is now disabled by default. (install.sql)

! Default password strength is medium, not low, by default. Means 8 character password, no reusing username, instead of 4 character minimum. (install.sql)

! Made 'Registration' into 'Registration and Login' since some of the settings apply to both login and registration instead of some random area of the admin panel, and moved a couple of settings into it. (ManageRegistration.php, ManageSettings.php)
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Modified : /trunk/Sources/Admin.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/ManageRegistration.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/ManageSearchEngines.php
Modified : /trunk/Sources/ManageSettings.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/Admin.english.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/Admin.french.php
Modified : /trunk/Themes/default/languages/ManageSettings.english.php
Modified : /trunk/other/install.sql
Modified : /trunk/other/unittest/tests/Class-UnitTest_tidyhtml.php

I missed a few but by and large I do remove them as I go, I try to make sure I check at least. Some of the strings you've pulled out lately aren't properly used in SMF either...Bad idea. Quite a few strings are identified programmatically, never directly, such as most of the errors in the Errors language file that have error_ as a prefix, or compound ones like we use in the newer numeric context function. We'd probably end up spending more time hunting down false positives at present.

Apparently being rude to people is either what problem SMF have with us, or more broadly the same problem that SMF has itself. It isn't clear which it is.

FWIW, the commentary was meant sincerely rather than rudely.

I didn't say there was. I just said that from where I'm standing, it does feel like it - even if there actually isn't and it is totally unbiased and sticking totally to the facts, though that statement about a cordial invitation felt rather loaded...

OK, here's a thought.

Do you, AngelinaBelle, personally and without any representation on behalf of the SMF team, understand why it is that we're so upset generally as to work on Wedge, and why we are so against using BSD at this time?

(And no, the Wedge licence is not "unclear". It is the original SMF licence, with the names changed. Oh, and a clause to prevent two specific jackasses from using the software, because they have demonstrated admirably that they are unpleasant to ever deal with.)