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Archiving White Papers Forum

This is just a short note to say that we've asked the arena Admins to archive the White Papers forum while the Production Leadership reprezentacja narodowa works on a replacement in conjunction with the rebooting of developer.joomla.org and the commencement of new development initiatives this year.  The content will be kept for some time as there is good material in there to work off.  More information about a replacement process will be forthcoming as soon as we can make it available to you.

With Joomla 1.6 nearing completion the thoughts of many have been turning to "the next step":

• What features would you like to see in the next version?
• Where do you see Joomla heading over the next release cycle and beyond?
• What do you think Joomla should look like over the next several iterations? And so on.

There are two extremes on the scale of viewpoints about how open source projects should be run. At one extreme, we have the "benevolent dictator" approach where a single leader decides, in isolation, what will be incorporated into the codebase and what will not. At the opposite extreme, we have a project where all decisions are taken in the democratic tradition of a majority vote.

Of course, Joomla has never been, nor should it ever be, at either of these extremes. But it's fair to say that the gradual evolution of the project has seen us move further from the dictatorial towards the democratic end of the spectrum. We have always sought to be a community-led project; our leadership teams are drawn from the community and as leaders, we manage the project on behalf of the community. There is no large corporation or individual dictator with an overwhelming influence on us and the commercial prosperity of the Joomla ecosystem is in large part due to the decentralised, non-profit nature of the organisation.

So how should we steer the future development of the software that we create? Over the 5 years or so since the project's inception, we have been systematically lowering barriers to participation and today we are launching a new process for gathering suggestions for future versions of Joomla that will make it even easier for members of our global community to help shape the future development of the software. This new process comes in two parts, the first of which is aimed at collecting ideas for new features and assessing their popularity through a voting system, while the second is a formal procedure for monitoring and tracking feature suggestions.

New ideas come from many places and can come from anyone in the community. We like to use the Google Group mailing lists for the CMS since it's a great place to brainstorm, but the Joomla People site also works well; or indeed anywhere Joomla folks congregate. The Joomla Idea Pool (JIP), which is based on UserVoice, is a way for anyone in the community to make their voice heard and help set priorities. Each user has ten votes to cast on the various ideas, which will help make clear what future features the community really wants.

It is important to understand that not all features will be added to Joomla. This may happen for a number of reasons. For example, there may be a great feature proposed but either nobody volunteers to take it on, or the PLT decides it is better implemented as a separate extension rather than part of the core CMS or Platform. Our hope is that many or all of the most popular features on the JIP will have a strong chance of attracting energetic development zdolność to complete them. Once a feature has moved to the implementation stage, it starts its journey along the second part of our new process by getting added to the Joomla Feature Tracker.

The Joomla Feature Tracker (JFT) is the team's way of tracking the progress of a feature and encouraging more collaboration during development. Once an propozycja has reached the point where it has some level of support and is ready for more serious discussion, or even coding, then it can and should be added to the JFT. This allows it to be tracked more easily and acts as a focal point for activity regarding a new feature. There is more detailed explanation of how items will be moved through the JFT process on the Joomla Developer Network site.

To get this new process started the PLT has seeded the JIP with the feature suggestions that we discussed at the San Jose Summit and which together comprise our vision for the next Joomla release. You can read our vision statement in an announcement on the main joomla.org site.

So, for those asking the question "where next for Joomla development?", we say remember what Alan Kay famously said:

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."

So get on over to the Joomla myśl Pool now and help us invent the future of Joomla.

Joomlashack's annual holiday charitable campaign is back with a new twist: We'll match your donations!

For the fourth year, Joomlashack is rallying our community to support a worthy charity during the holiday season.

This year we're supporting the important humanitarian efforts of Doctors without Borders (aka MÊdecins Sans Frontières, or MSF.)

For every dollar contributed by our community, Joomlashack will match up to a total of $1,000. Other partners may match even more!

What is MÊdecins Sans Frontières?

Seedling's distribution of Joomla is fully supported.

Our distribution of Joomla comes pre-configured with a suite of excellent extensions and a custom theme; its a complete website in a box and comes with peace of mind; we now offer 2 support options! 

 

Basic Support: $49

• Full Seedling package download
• Community support forum access
• No Help-desk access
• No emergency support

Buy it / download now Âť

Our basic package is best suited for individuals or organisations who are familiar with Joomla and/or don't mind solely relying on our community forums for support.

Professional Support: $349 (1 year)

• Full Seedling package download
• Community support forum access
• 1 year of help-desk access with email and web support tickets
• Emergency support tickets between office hours

Buy it / download now Âť

Implement Joomla with confidence; our professional package includes help-desk support tickets so you can get top-notch support from our staff for an entire year.

Joomla 1.5.11 has been released, and it includes security patches, so its important to update. But getting your Joomla site upgraded to the new version can be tricky, especially if you are using FTP.

Fortunately, there is an easier way, check out Joomlashack's tutorial How to Update Joomla 1.5 Versions.

You'll need SSH access, and remember to back up first!

Of course, if you want to never have to bother with updating Joomla or your extensions ever again, you can try [...]

 

About Joomla! and the GPL

The Joomla Project is a GPL community, which means not just that a particular Free and Open Source license is used for Joomla software, but also that we believe in the mission and values behind that license. These include collaboration, community, and freedom. The GPL license embodies these values.

The Joomla Extensions Directory  and the GPL

The Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) is important for many reasons: it makes it easier for users to find extensions, and it helps support the development of a vibrant and healthy commercial and non-commercial development community around Joomla. However, it may also be unintentionally undermining our support of the GPL by including extensions and other applications that run counter to it.

After careful thought and reflection, the Joomla Project has determined that the Joomla! Extensions Directory should be a community resource that fully embodies the project's values.

What Change Are We Making?

Starting on 1 March 2009 only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be accepted into the JED.  After another three months, from 1 July 2009, such extensions will no longer be listed in the JED.  Under the same schedule, all encrypted or encoded extensions, whether or not they are GPL licensed, will also be excluded. Third bibka developers are a valued part of our community and in order to make this transition as easy as possible for them we selected a long notification period. This change is designed to strengthen the project's active commitment to its core mission, vision and values as articulated in September 2008.

Timeline

• June 15th 2007: Joomla! confirmed that both Joomla! 1.0 and Joomla! 1.5 are released under the pure GNU GPL.
• March 1st 2009: Only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be accepted into the JED.
• July 1st: 2009: Only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be listed in the JED.

Why Wait Six Months?

We understand this will be a difficult process for some developers, and we feel a responsibility to give ample notice. We want to make sure our developers have enough time to make adjustments to their product marketing and business structure, if necessary, in odznaczenie to maintain their listing in the directory.

The GPL and Commercial Developers

Does this mean there will be no more commercial extensions in the JED? No.

Prohibiting commercial distribution would violate the GNU GPL and the Joomla community values of equality and freedom. Commercial extensions with the GNU GPL license and that are not encrypted are welcomed and encouraged in the JED. Today 17% of the extensions in the JED (22% of 1.5 Native extensions) are commercial, and many of those are already licensed using the GNU GPL. Among 1.5 native commercial extensions 35% are licensed using GNU GPL.

The JED Supports Developers

The Joomla ekipa is strongly committed to supporting both commercial and non-commercial Joomla developers. We have implemented some policy changes to enhance our support for developers. We think that the best place to get an extension is from the original developer of that extension.  Therefore we will not link to collections of GPL extensions that are not submitted by the original developer. These are not requirements of the GPL license but rather fall in line with our "forking" guidelines that no direct copies or minor-changed copies of JED-listed projects will be listed.  We support the original project developer whenever possible to maintain the integrity of the listings and support developers who are building and innovating on the Joomla platform.

To have a forked project listed in the JED it must meet our requirements:

• Significant change

  Forked project must represent a significant code improvement, either in features or security and structure.

• Intent to develop and support

  Forked project must exhibit an intent to develop and support the new product.

• Unique name

  We do not allow forked projects by new developers to build on the name of the original developer without permission.

• Unique version structure

  Version numbering must clearly indicate a new project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Options Do Developers Have?

The project supports developers who are building and innovating on the Joomla platform. We are committed to providing the information and help that developers need in medal to relicense (or to license for the first time, if there is no current license). The JED editors and members of the Core reprezentacja narodowa and Open Source Matters board are ready to advise or assist any developer who would like this help.If you have any questions about licensing or want help, then you can contact OSM with the following email address license@opensourcematters.org or the JED editors at team@extensions.joomla.org. Developers not currently using the GNU GPL may choose to switch from their current licensing to the GNU GPL or to no longer participate in the JED.

What if I have some GPL and some non-GPL extensions?

This policy refers only to those extensions listed in the JED. Your GPL extensions are permitted to be listed on the JED but your non-GPL extensions are not.

Where can I get information about how to license my product using the GNU GPL?

Every copy of Joomla includes a copy of the GNU GPL with instructions for licensing in the license.php file. Instructions are also available from the Free Software Foundation.

All you need to do is add two elements to each source file of your program: a copyright notice (such as “Copyright 1999 Terry Jones”), and a statement of copying permission, saying that the program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. (Free Software Foundation)

Can I use GPL v3 to license my extension?

Yes. In particular, you may need to use GPLv3 if you rely on certain third biba libraries or APIs for your extension.

What GPL version is Joomla! licensed under?

Joomla! is licensed under GPL version 2 or later.

What does this mean for enforcement of the Joomla! license more generally?

Enforcement of the Joomla! license is a separate issue from the policies of the JED.

Isn't the JED itself built on a non-GPL extension?

The current version of the JED built on Joomla 1.5 uses a GNU GPL extension, Mosets Tree for Joomla! 1.5.

What if I think my extension doesn't violate the Joomla! license?

This is a policy in favor of software freedom and the mission, vision and values of the Joomla! Project, not one about technical issues in licensing.

Can I use a GPL compatible license?

The JED will only list extensions licensed using the GNU GPL.

Why are only GNU GPL licensed extensions being listed?

The simple answer is, making the JED a GPL only resource is the easiest and most practical solution. It frees the JED ekipa from having to investigate or worry about licensing issues. It frees OSM from having to create and maintain a list of one or more acceptable licenses. When you break it down, other licenses were created because they opposed one or more parts of the GPL. The only license that truly embodies the spirit of the GPL is the GPL. Throughout the Open Source world, there is plenty of disagreement over what that spirit is and there is even more disagreement over what licenses are compatible and incompatible. In the end, our list of compatible licenses might be very different from yours. Our list of licenses that share the spirit of the GPL will most certainly be different than yours. So, we could waste months of time researching a list and debating which licenses should be included and excluded or we can make it simple and easy to understand for the community, the developers, and the JED ekipa so that we can use those precious months to focus on the real point of this project: making great software.

Can I use libraries in my GPL extension that are GPL compatible?

Yes.

___

Update 29-Dec-08 22:00 CET - We have added 2 new questions to the FAQ and simplified the answer for "Can I use a GPL compatible license?", this since we follow up this answer with new questions.

 

One of the blogging philosophies I tried to keep to is to use this site is to use it as a test case for Joomla. I figure, at the very least I can provide information with real world examples of different ways you can screw up running a blog, and things you should avoid!

My day to day is spent over at Joomlashack, and sometimes this site doesn't get the care and attention it needs, so last week I gave it some love and attention. What I found was how much is to what extent your host can effect your "SEO"

Recently, Barrie received an email asking questions about Joomla versions and upgrades, and how the architektura will work going forward. We are happy to take requests from our readers and address them here in our newsletter!

After three long days at the Joomla Leadership Summit, a team of eleven Open Source Matters members from four continents met in San Jose, California for our annual summit. Yes, much pizza was eaten. No, we didn’t spend too much time swimming in the hotel pool. Instead, we worked hard through seven sessions to pack as much Joomla goodness into two days as possible. We recognized that we couldn’t solve all our challenges in this short period, so we created small groups and focused on action items to help build momentum and progress.

Your OSM team, from left-to-right: Akarawuth Tamrareang, Thomas Hampton, Marijke Stuivenberg, Ryan Ozimek, Altansukh Tumenjargal, Robert Deutz, Alice Grevet, Jacques Rentzke, Sandy Ordonez, Paul Orwig, Dianne Henning

Now, for your viewing pleasure, here’s our report-back to the community.

Joomla 1.7.3 and Joomla 1.5.25 were released today, as a result of a zero-day security issue. Because of the security issue, it's recommended that you update your sites immediately. Joomla 1.7.3 fixed 77 CMS bugs as well as the two security issues. One of the big new features in Joomla 1.7.3 has to do with multi-language improvements, which are summarized in this blog post.

As part of my new Joomla 1.6 book, I have two free Joomla 1.6 templates you can download. They are Fresh and Optimus, originally developed at Joomalshack and ported by me to Joomla 1.6. Fresh was used in the chapter about using Joomla 1.6 to develop school websites. Optimus was used in the chapter about using Joomla 1.6 to develop blog websites.

If you haven't visited the Joomla Site Showcase yet, you're missing a collection of some of the best Joomla sites out there. We've just broken 1000 sites (congratulations to our 1000th site, the Junction Motel in Australia), many of which are great examples of sites in over 100 different categories. Check it out here:

http://community.joomla.org/showcase

We're looking for new community members to join this team. What's expected of ekipa members? A few simple things:

1) Spend a small amount of time each week verifying site submissions. The process is quite simple and you'd need to verify such things as whether or not a site is really running Joomla and if the owner properly submitted their site information.

2) Decide what the Site of the Month will be. Each month, the kadra narodowa discusses what the best site is for the month. Past winners are here: http://community.joomla.org/showcase/sites-of-the-month.html

3) Familiarize yourself with the Showcase Guidelines. All submissions need to adhere strictly to them.

4) Occasionally, answer community questions on the Joomla Discussion Forum about the showcase or problems with submissions.

That's it. We communicate via Skype so you'll need to be on it to share information. If you're interested in joining the team, email us at showcase@community.joomla.org.

In Celebration of the 4th of July, Joomlashack is offering 15%-OFF EVERYTHING at Joomlashack.com today!  Save 15% on: Joomla 1.5 and 1.6 Templates, Joomla 1.5 and 1.6 Extensions,  Joomla Training, and Developer Clubs.

Hi Paul,

Congratulations! You’ve been elected to a key leadership role in one of the world’s most successful open source projects. This is going to be a fun ride, I promise. Okay, it might not always be “fun”, but I can promise you that it will be one of the most memorable jobs you’ll ever take. And yes, I did label it a “job”.

As you get started, I thought I’d share some lessons I’ve learned from my two years as President, and five years as an OSM board member. Take the advice as you see fit. Ignore some of it, absorb some of it. Heck, many times, I didn’t follow my own advice, and I can assure you that it often lead to less-than-successful conclusions. Don’t be me. Be better than me by learning from my challenges.

Just know that each of these morsels of advice has an hour-long background story to it, so if you’re looking for more details, grab me a drink and we can chat. I’ll take a Pacifico, if you’re asking.

• This leads me to my first point, and a critical one at that for any OSM President: be prepared to drink quite a bit. As you know, the Joomla community likes to have a good time, and when they’re having a good time, they’d like to sit down and share ideas with you. This is awesome. I remember going to the first J and Beyond and running a marathon of meetings. Of course, this also means they’ll likely want to grab a drink with you. This will continue many times during each Joomla event you attend, so początek training now.
• While it’s not appropriate to sleep during a presentation at an event, it’s perfectly reasonable to sleep between sessions, outside on lawns, in taxis, and anywhere else you can get some shut-eye between chats. I’ve found using empty plastic water bottles can make exceptional pillows. Feel free to ask me for more travel advice as needed.
• After taking in all the information you think is appropriate to make a decision, do what you believe is right and move forward. You’ve been selected for this position by your peers to lead them, and more often than not, you’ll be walking into new or unknown territory. It’s okay if not everyone is happy with your decision, but making a decision is more important than making everyone happy.
• Support the continued internationalization of the project, in every way possible.
• Delegate as much as possible by empowering those around you, but when you do, make sure to ask the delegates if they have time for the role. Nothing is worse than the fun of reading an email from someone you just volunteered for a position they didn’t want.
• The clearer the role, the more likely its outputs will meet your goals and lead to higher levels of satisfaction by volunteers. More satisfied volunteers mean a more productive project. A more productive project means you’ve accomplished a slice of your job. Quickly smile to yourself, and move on to your hundred other things to tackle.
• Setting measurements and metrics before assigning responsibilities and tasks are critical components to volunteers’ success. Remembering that everyone supporting Joomla is doing so voluntarily will help you in setting appropriate measures of success.
• There’s only so far we’re going to be able to take OSM and Joomla leadership without hiring staff. I think we’re actually already beyond a point of volunteer comfort for some roles office roles within OSM. Push forward a discussion on deciding the best route forward for OSM and Joomla that recognizes the limits of a purely volunteer ekipa and balancing that against a focus on effectiveness. I believe Joomla’s leadership can be more effective if certain office roles have paid-staff to support them.
• Remember that all of this is supposed to be fun. If you’re not having fun, find ways to make it fun. Start by realizing your predecessor took the stage at every Joomla event with a three-foot tall inflatable penguin. The bar has been set very low, so I suspect you’ll have no przeciwność bringing your own sense of fun to keep everyone on their toes.
• Within your first few weeks, have a one-on-one voice conversation with every member of the Leadership Team. Spend the time listening to their ideas and opinions, and open a line of communication. Their views on the project’s next steps should help you craft your own direction for OSM. Plus, they all have great personal stories that will give you insight on the pure awesome opportunity we have to bring all these talents together to better the community.
• The President serves the community. This role is different than other volunteer opportunities within the project. You’re both a leader and a servant of the greatest open source community. Be vigilant of the needs of the community, while recognizing you serve at the pleasure of the COC.
• Spend the majority of your communication time listening. Go out of your way at Joomla events to have as many one-on-one discussions as possible, and while there, ask as many questions as possible. Not only will this enable you to make more informed leadership decisions, but it will also save your voice.
• During OSM board meetings, lead by getting out of the way. Consider your opinion to be the least important during discussions. Start discussions by encouraging others to share their thoughts before sharing yours.
• Set the level of decorum you wish to maintain in meetings early. It will serve you well when times are tough, especially during passionate and difficult conversations.
• We’ve spent the last two years saving money and building a strong reserve. Now it’s time to spend it wisely. Gain ugoda and move forward building the next generation of leadership structures.
• Fill roles that are well-defined. Don’t create positions just so people can have titles. Aim to build task lists not teams. All the above will help avoid the politics that too often troubles open source projects.
• Push forward the discussion on the critical leadership changes needed for the project to reach its next level of success. See it through to either success or failure, but don’t let the discussion end without aiming for a decisive decision.
• Burritos. Eat lots of burritos. That’s obvious.
• Have the kadra narodowa start working on next year’s budget now (February). While you’re at it, start working on the following year’s budget now too. It’s going to take a while, trust me. Wait, you already know that.
• Support an increased of investment in Joomla events, especially in countries that have not already hosted a Joomla!Day.
• Aim to increase regional diversity on the OSM board by including a member of the board from South America. Aim to increase gender diversity on the OSM board and encourage more women to apply for board positions. Both efforts can help the board better reflect the needs of the community.
• Lead the effort to continue making it easier for the community to leverage our brand to spread the word about this terrific project.
• Keep legal costs as low as possible, but not at the determent of the project’s assets. We have terrific lawyers that provide great advice, but at the end of the day, OSM’s mandate is to make the appropriate legal decisions taking in a number of factors. A balanced approach is useful.
• Use legal tools as necessary, but aim to use diplomatic channels before legal routes. Every dollar spent on legal procedures is a dollar that could have otherwise be spent on a community event, evangelism, etc. Keep the opportunity cost in mind.
• The Joomla project has a few very valuable assets. One of those is the trademark. Protect it. Like legal advice, however, there is a realm of diminishing returns on investment and opportunity cost. Keep both in mind when deciding where to invest the project’s money.
• As tempting (and fun) as they might be, drop your other Joomla responsibilities. Being OSM President is going to take focus, and buckets of it. You won’t be able to achieve all that you want as President without giving it all your energy.
• Set your term’s vision and values early, and be as consistent as possible in communicating it to the community and the Leadership Team. Simpler the better. You get to lead in setting the tone for OSM, so do so wisely and clearly.
• Talking about communicating your values, I still think a focus on transparency, empowerment, and accountability are key items that can use improvement across OSM. It’s a never-ending job, so I’d appreciate it if you kept pushing that forward.
• If re-elected, serve only two years. Always keep your eyes opened for potential successors, and be inclusive in your decision making processes to help spread the knowledge for the next potential President.
• People outside the community will try to force you into taking opinions about how Joomla stacks up against other open source projects in an effort to have you say something derogatory about another project. Don’t fall for the trap. Take the high road.
• Attend as many Joomla events as possible, but don’t believe that you need to be a road warrior to make an impact.
• Don’t sacrifice your personal and work life for Joomla.
• Don’t try to fill anyone else’s shoes, especially mine. They’re size 12.5 narrow, they stink, and they’re likely not going to fit you anyway. Fill your own shoes and lead with your own style.
• Work to build stronger relationships with our Joomla communities in Africa and Asia. Amazing work is being done in these regions, and their involvement in our community is critical to our success moving forward.
• Take a lesson from tai chi: deflect negative energy, don’t fight it head on. The people sending you negative energy likely have more time on their hands than you, so you’ll never get ahead...and likely never please them. Take the morsels of lessons learned from the criticism and move on. Sending positive energy is what you’re all about now.
• That said, don’t ignore constructive criticism. Don't let it get personal.  Every critical comment on your work is free focus group feedback. Consider it an opportunity for you to set the bar higher.
• Family, friends, and work all come before Joomla. Repeat that over and over in your head.
• When you’re having a tough day, remember this: you’re serving one the greatest open source projects ever created.  You’re an integral part of the best success story for collaborative leadership in the software world...possibly the technology world as a whole. Your work is making Joomla a better community.
• I’m here to help whenever you need it. Put me on your speed-dial. Sometimes it might feel lonley, but you're not alone.

You’re going to do a great job. The community and your teammates are here to help you be successful.  Blaze a new trail!  I've got your back.

In Joomla! we rock,
Ryan Ozimek
OSM President, 2010-2012

I've had my eye on Dioscouri for a little while - they're the Joomla services guys that released JUGA, or Joomla User Group Access - an extension which gives you control over registered user groups and the power to define content access per group & category/section.

Well, they've obviously given a lot of thought to this whole przedsięwzięcie of ACL and I like the most recent little extension they've released; called Hider .  As you might imagine, it lets you simply hide certain areas of content from public site viewers.

Ultimately, this might get messy if you have a lot of content with embedded tags all over the place to display certain info to certain user types, but for simple uses I could really see it being handy.

Want to know how to do something in Joomla?

This summer I am starting a new project - a "Tutorial Request" program. Each week I'll be tackling an issue that trips Joomla users up and writing a detailed tutorial how to solve it.