The reason why my confidence in the OpenFTS solution has grown is precisely due to the fact that someone answered my request to pick up this work item and to do an evaluation for us.
This is hardly a magical outcome. As you point out, I posted that the Russian search engine project needed to be evaluated and that I couldn't have any confidence in it until after such an evalutation was completed. If the person doing the evaluation had come back and said "it sucks", this potential solution would've been tossed into the toilet faster than you can say "Gulag Archipelego".
The major basis for my griping at you is the fact that you've made no effort to be part of the OpenACS 4.x team thus far. You're not asking
"what does the OpenACS 4.x project need? How can I help? What's on the critical path? Where can I be useful? Would helping out with the
searching problem be useful?"
Instead you're ... cowboying.
Check with our team members. I think you'll find that in each case I've asked folks "is there anything in particular you'd like to work on?" and have worked hard to assign folks tasks which fit their interests.
If you were to state that you'd like to be part of the OpenACS 4.x team, and that you'd like to help with search indexing solutions, hey, you might just get a positive response.
But I'm not hearing that you want to be part of the team. I think you see yourself as playing a somewhat different role. Perhaps I'm wrong, if I am tell me so.
The only role that's open, though - just so there is no misunderstanding - is that of "team player".
Anything different would be unfair to the folks who have been working hard in that role.
I'll be honest, I resent the energy that is being squandered here. Searching is no longer on our critical path. I'd really like to see our project remain focused on the primary goal: getting our first release out by the end of August. That's about seven weeks, I believe. That's not much time.
Do you really want to help the project where we most need help, or are
you just interested in working on pet projects that happen to strike your fancy at the moment?
If you really want to help the project where we most need help, our most critical need at the moment lies in testing. We have no infrastructure for testing and we need one. We need someone to champion testing, to grab as much as we can from aD (who's been working considerably harder on testing infrastructure issues in the last few months than they ever have before), to organize those volunteers who've offered to help, etc.
Now ... there's a chunk of work that would take a load off my mind. I've been planning to start tackling the issue next week, polling folks looking for someone who'll step up to the plate and take it on.
But since you seem eager to make a positive contribution to the OpenACS 4.x project, I might as well mention this actual need now rather than continue to butt heads with you over your inaccurate perception of what I need.
