Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

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johnboyuk1
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Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by johnboyuk1 »

I just wanted to get any thoughts/opinions on the future of CMSMS specifically in relation to a bunch of important modules that were written by Calguy and no longer seem to be maintained.

I'm invested into using CMSMS for websites that I design as its very simple to learn/use, but I'm worried that a lot of what I consider 'essential' modules may no longer continue to be supported which would severely limit the usefulness of CMSMS: Front End Users, CG Blog, CG Calendar, CG Better Forms being just a few!

I just wondered if any devs had plans to take over/fork/build alternate versions of any of these modules?

Thanks!
cb2004
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by cb2004 »

I had many years of enjoyment from this once great piece of software, and the community. Sadly, the actions of peole can have a long lasting catastrophic impact on anything. CG modules whilst great for the community, just created a massive suite that could not be maintained by a single person. All written differently, all with their own issues, and not enough time in the day to keep on top of everything. Steering the core in the direction of the wants/needs of 1 person has also left everything in a sorry state, hence the status of 2.3. I think the current core team have done well at trying to keep things moving, but I can't see anything happening that would keep anybody here.

We still have sites running with the software with no issues, but we changed what we use before 2.0. You have to look at the bigger picture now with any CMS. The fact nobody has replied to your post I hope makes you realise you should look elsewhere for now, without a community unfortunately any open source software will struggle to survive. Not saying it doesn't have a user base, I am sure it does albeit small.

Thanks to all the people I have met over the years, and thanks to all the team regardless of decisions made. The software still helped me pay my bills, and helped me learn.
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DIGI3
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by DIGI3 »

The lack of reply is actually just while we work out some logistics. I was hoping for a response from Calguy after I reached out to him, but so far I haven't heard anything. Some devs donate their modules to the Foundation or another developer if they no longer wish to work on them, so I wanted to investigate that option before we go all in on forking.

A number of the most-used modules are already in the process of being forked. The Dev Team all use CMSMS for their own businesses, many of us managing dozens or hundreds of sites that often use the modules in question. Some team members are doing the forks themselves, others are sponsoring said forks. Ideally the community will also pitch in.

Stay tuned.
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cb2004
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by cb2004 »

Keep up the great open source work that you do.
pierrepercee
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by pierrepercee »

I think the current team is doing a lot. They are doing what they can. It is not easy to correct a drift that has been observed for years. All the power, in the hands of one. When it was observed, some people were saddened by this...
The absolute urgency, it is only my analysis, is to refocus the debate on the users by offering them new tools...
It is also necessary to assume certain positions: if CMSMS is free as well as the modules, the call for donations is not always well received. We might as well switch to a Wordpress type model with paid modules. This has the merit of establishing a clear, contractual relationship with the developers. One pays, the other has obligations ...
This would attract new developers and allow to find an acceptable offer in modules. A hundred well-maintained modules is today a minimum to play in the big league.
Similarly, a reasonable offer of themes is essential to see users come back.
These are important decisions that commit the future of this CMS, very well born and promising but which for 5 or 6 years was clearly not on the right track...
johnboyuk1
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by johnboyuk1 »

I would hate to see the demise of CMSMS so hopefully we'll see it strengthen in the hands of the current dev team.

As primarily a designer, with a bit of front-end knowledge, CMSMS is the one CMS that clicked with me in terms of building sites ... I find Wordpress a mind-bending mess to use! (and so do most non-technical end-users on the content side!). Not sure what I'd do without CMSMS to be honest, not sure what else there is comparable!
pierrepercee
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by pierrepercee »

I approve! I sometimes tinker with a few lines of code but clearly I am not a developer. I appreciated CMSMS very early on for its simplicity of use with an obvious structure for the end user. Calguy made it evolve prodigiously. On some points (design manager, new installation procedure in 2.0) I was against these evolutions. I must admit, Calguy was right. But whatever the skills and involvement of a developer, CMSMS is too big a machine to be maintained by a single developer. So the almost unilateral decision making has slowed down its development and that's a shame. I can imagine what CMSMS would be today if Calguy had worked with 3 or 4 other talented developers ...
The survival of CMSMS clearly depends on a more democratic decision-making system, which is what the web team is trying to do.
Recruiting a few top-level developers must also be a top priority. Without them...
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by 10010110 »

Am I understanding this correctly that Calguy1000 is no longer part of the dev team? I haven’t been up to date on CMS made simple for a while. I just saw that CGCalendar is marked as stale in my list of updates, which I find very unusual, as this has been a pretty common plugin.
I’d like a little more background info.
johnboyuk1
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by johnboyuk1 »

Yes, i think thats the case. I dont think any of his plugins have been updated in a long time. See further up the post, from DIGI3 who mentions that some other devs are hopefully working on forks of the more popular modules. Fingers crossed.
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by DIGI3 »

Please see https://www.cmsmadesimple.org/module-forking-project for our official statement regarding these modules.
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pierrepercee
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Re: Future of CMSMS and CG modules...

Post by pierrepercee »

Thanks Digi3 for this answer.
I use Lise on many projects and it"s really a great module. it's pretty good news here!
For the CGCalendar module I don't realize how much work is needed to update it. It would be nice if it could be part of the "short list" of modules to be forked first.
It is really convenient to use and still quite difficult to replace by LISE. This type of module is really part of the basic tools.
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