Torben,
Thanks. I should amplify my comment about ROR.
1. A couple of years ago I heard a talk by PHP Founder Rasmus Lerdorf. During the Q&A someone asked him to comment on PHP's meteoric success. Lerdorf kept emphasizing the importance of documentation, particularly in winning new converts. That comment made a deep impression on me.
2. If one studies Microsoft and gets past the ideology, I would argue that they do a brilliant job their technology always to the average programmer instead of to the cognoscenti. They truly believe in the unwashed masses.
OpenACS is phenomenonal technology and I ask myself what we need to get more recognition and adoption. My conclusion is that we have to make it as easy possible for the newbie and the average programmer to get started and stay involved in the community. ROR is taking off like a rocket and very much like PHP they realize that it's important to have excellent documentation, good installers, and an open and inviting culture to the newbie. ROR can serve as a good benchmark for us.
I have never taken the time to learn OpenACS. I plan to do so now using the available documentation. Since my technical skills are below average, I can serve as a useful guinea pig. And what I can learn I can apply it towards improving the documentation.
