Forum OpenACS Development: Response to OpenACS 4 Search Integration, what should it look like?

Search is no longer on the OpenACS 4.x critical path because we have a solution in hand.  It is no secret that is was on my critical path earlier, nor is it no secret as to why it is no longer listed as such for OpenACS 4.x

Anyone reading the status report regularly would be aware of the above facts.  If the status report isn't clear to you, you are more than welcome to e-mail me directly for more details.

As far as your work with Swish and htdig, if you'd made any effort to coordinate your work with me, gee, maybe I wouldn't say you're working outside the project framework?

Do you need my permission to participate in the OpenACS 4.x project?  Well ... you need my (or Ben's) permission to commit to our tree.  'Nuff said?  I don't believe in anarchy, sorry.  You can do whatever you want on your own, even start your own JerryACS.org project and take all our users and implementors away from openacs.org, but if you're going to be part of this project then, yes, you're going to have to recognize that this project has leaders who do make decisions.

Read your last post carefully.  It is a perfect description of someone
working solo on issues that interest them without making any effort to
coordinate with either the OpenACS 3.2.x project or 4.x project managers.  This is "cowboying", without doubt.  Yes, you make your stuff available to others, you connect with individuals, some who are involved in the projects, some who aren't, but fundamentally you are working on your own and at best making an effort to interface with the community and with our code.

This is not the same as being a member of the project(s) team(s).  You're not helping us pull our cart, you're pulling your own.  That's fine, but, please, be straight about it.

I'm curious about the playground project.  Was there a plan, or did you all just grab shovels and start shoveling randomly without any overall direction?  I believe in plans, myself, and frankly imagine that this playground project had plans, coordinators, and provided direction to volunteers.

If your interest was in cutting all the handles off the project's shovels and burning the lumber used to build playground fixtures, would
the project leadership have suggested you do something different, or would they hand you a pile of shovels, a can of gasoline, a box of matches and encourage you to follow your muse, while holding you up as an example of a good team member?

Naw...I humbly suggest that they required that you volunteers work within the project framework.

And I ask for the same level of cooperation here.

Interestingly, a couple of times now in this thread I've suggested that there's needed work going begging and have asked if you might be interested in actually pitching in on stuff that is on the critical path.  No response on your part.  We do have volunteers who are part of this project who first and foremost want to see OpenACS 4.x roll out the door in a few weeks.

I like those volunteers a lot.

If people can't work with me, then I should step down as project manager.  Actually ... if folks insist on an anarchist approach where the project manager is to be ignored, where people do what they please with no overall project planing, etc, well, I *will* step down and to be honest step away from the project entirely.

I'm just not interested in participating in a project where people hammer, saw, paint, and dig at random with no framework or direction.

That doesn't mean I need to be the person providing that direction, but by God this project needs direction if I'm going to be part of it.

From this discussion and from a previous discussion in which the issue
of a steering committee was raised, I get the impression that you, Jerry, would like more control over the project.

Or at least want the freedom to do whatever you please while claiming to be part of the project, I'm not entirely clear as to what you want.
I'm guessing you want either personal control or total anarchy, but I have no real notion as to which.

So, why not just tell us what you want, Jerry?  Do you want to take over?  Do you want us to adopt a free-for-all approach with no rules?
Is it just personal, is it just Ben and Don that need to go away?  Just Don?

Exactly what do you want?