On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:33:38 +0100, Bèr Kessels <berdrupal@tiscali.be> wrote:
We have a security issue wiith CVS commits We have a problem with developers duplicating fatr too many code and making incompatible, somteimes even plain crappy modules. We have a problem with people not being able to find modules.
Like some I don't think that having people submit redundant or even buggy modules is a problem. I think it is harmful to the project to limit 'playing around with the code'. However, thing that I think we all agree is a problem is that it is difficult to easily determine which modules are quality tested and which are experimental. I think a rating system, along with some other optional measures, could solve this problem. Furthermore, an automated method is more likely to succeed than a manual and bureaucratic one if it is implemented thoughtfully. In order for a rating system to be meaningful the ratings must be trustworthy as has been suggested. There are different ways to ensure that the ratings are trustworthy. It has been suggested to give each reviewer "reputation points" but I'm not convinced that it is possible to do this fairly. Rather, I like the idea of making module reviews moderatable. Also, reviewers should be able to comment on the module in addition to giving it a rating. Another optional that could be used, since we have the advantage of bug tracking for each module, is to use the number of bugs as an additional metric. This is another way of automating the rating system and create a competitive environment for module developers. If they want their module to show up at the top or have a good rating then they'll pay attention to bugs and reviewer comments. In conclusion, -1 for suggestions that promote bureaucratic process and user intervention and +1 for tools that automate. As far as bundles, I see this as a nice option for some groups of modules but not if it means losing the individual modules. Building modules which "require" other modules seems to go against the principle of Drupal (any module can be added but is not required) and should probably be avoided when possible. For this reason, having things like image handling in the core is a great bonus.