With the addition of the .info files for modules, maybe add another field to it for a news/announcement feed. It could then add to the admin pages a special aggregator page for each modules news/announcement feeds. That way, authors could get information straight out to module users, on their site. I know alot of overhead would be involved, like: - Ensuring module authors don't make the feed their personal blog and cat pictures end up on the special admin news page. - Getting module authors setup with a way to do this, either through a new blog or an add-on to the project module (suite) to have releases create a special feed. - Plenty of other implications I'm not thinking of. It's just a thought. I seem to remember some other CMS project doing this (I can't remember which one), and it seems like a good idea to borrow and extend. -- Corey Bordelon On 11/8/06, Maciej Perlinski <maciej.perlinski@meant4.com> wrote:

Well we have developed Google Ajax Search module and i was thinking about different approach, I dont know if you had possibility to use whm, its web host manager based on web front-end. They have a nice feature so people are spread around the world but when they want to notify customers they have a message just after you logged in. So maybe we should think about new/separate module apart from project.module, googleajaxsearch.moduleetc. to communicate with maintainers, if someone has the administrative rights we can show him additional item in the menu see latest notes, comments whatever, and maintainer will go there and see lates topics about all modules he has installed, and can directly email current maintainer... thats just the draft of idea. I was thinking about embedding the contact form inside the setting subpage for google ajax search module but i found it far inappropriate for the moment because that kind of action needs longer discussion and infrastructure behind it.

Well as i have read todo for drupal 5 there supposed to be web based module installer so maybe thats the place for the new tab to check latest news, polls maybe [for the moment we are using poll on our dev site so users can vote what they think about new feature].

-- kindest regards Maciej Perlinski http://www.meant4.com maciej.perlinski@meant4.com -----Original Message----- From: Derek Wright [mailto:drupal@dwwright.net] Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 1:18 AM To: Development Cc: Infrastructure Maintainers Subject: [development] RFC: mailing list/group for users of a given module?

RFC: how can module maintainers try to communicate with users of their modules and attempt to develop a community of active testers, documenters, translators, and developers?

http://drupal.org/node/93733

i think my favorite solution is a new type of group on groups.d.o for "Module users" or something (needs a better name, but you get the idea), and open the floodgates. a few other alternatives discussed.

comments please... http://drupal.org/comment/reply/93733#comment_form

thanks, -derek (dww)

Good idea. Take it a step further: if drupal.org Download sections would read the .info file and get the feed setting, then we can make an additional link about discussing the module (in addition to, or in place of, the home page, and/or support link [which now points to the generic support forum on drupal.org]). On 11/9/06, Moshe Weitzman <weitzman@tejasa.com> wrote:

Brilliant idea. IMO, we don't need to help maintainers right now with providing a place to do feeds. They can use any old blog for this, or a group on groups.drupal.org

Corey Bordelon wrote:

...

With the addition of the .info files for modules, maybe add another field to it for a news/announcement feed. It could then add to the admin pages a special aggregator page for each modules news/announcement feeds. That way, authors could get information straight out to module users, on their site.

I know alot of overhead would be involved, like:

- Ensuring module authors don't make the feed their personal blog and cat pictures end up on the special admin news page. - Getting module authors setup with a way to do this, either through a new blog or an add-on to the project module (suite) to have releases create a special feed. - Plenty of other implications I'm not thinking of.

It's just a thought. I seem to remember some other CMS project doing this (I can't remember which one), and it seems like a good idea to borrow and extend.

-- Corey Bordelon

On 11/8/06, Maciej Perlinski <maciej.perlinski@meant4.com> wrote:

...

Well we have developed Google Ajax Search module and i was thinking about different approach, I dont know if you had possibility to use whm, its web host manager based on web front-end. They have a nice feature so people are spread around the world but when they want to notify customers they have a message just after you logged in. So maybe we should think about new/separate module apart from project.module, googleajaxsearch.moduleetc. to communicate with maintainers, if someone has the administrative rights we can show him additional item in the menu see latest notes, comments whatever, and maintainer will go there and see lates topics about all modules he has installed, and can directly email current maintainer... thats just the draft of idea. I was thinking about embedding the contact form inside the setting subpage for google ajax search module but i found it far inappropriate for the moment because that kind of action needs longer discussion and infrastructure behind it.

Well as i have read todo for drupal 5 there supposed to be web based module installer so maybe thats the place for the new tab to check latest news, polls maybe [for the moment we are using poll on our dev site so users can vote what they think about new feature].

-- kindest regards Maciej Perlinski http://www.meant4.com maciej.perlinski@meant4.com -----Original Message----- From: Derek Wright [mailto:drupal@dwwright.net] Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 1:18 AM To: Development Cc: Infrastructure Maintainers Subject: [development] RFC: mailing list/group for users of a given module?

RFC: how can module maintainers try to communicate with users of their modules and attempt to develop a community of active testers, documenters, translators, and developers?

http://drupal.org/node/93733

i think my favorite solution is a new type of group on groups.d.o for "Module users" or something (needs a better name, but you get the idea), and open the floodgates. a few other alternatives discussed.

comments please... http://drupal.org/comment/reply/93733#comment_form

thanks, -derek (dww)

After thinking a bit more about it, this idea could supplement some sort of mailing list. I had a scenario come up that would still not allow me to see it: One of the sites I created has it's own hosting instance just for the site. It is for an amateur photographer that prefers not to have all of the admin information clutter up her view. This site has modules that I don't use on other sites. So she wouldn't see the special module page. I only login to her site when she has a problem or when I upgrade a module for all the sites I maintain. (Don't scold me for not setting up multi-site instances, I plan on migrating her and my other client to multi-sites when their next hosting bill will be due.) Another idea would be very similar to the special groups.d.o idea is to add to the normal d.o user profiles the options of saying "I am a user of xx module", then automagically add them to something like a simplenews newsletter for it. An add-on module for project module could be to create (and let the project maintainer control) a simplenews newsletter. I use simplenews module only as an example since I'm familiar with it. Substitute it for the most update, capable module. I know that newsletter-like modules are in abundance, at least for the previous drupal versions. -cb On 11/9/06, Maciej Perlinski <maciej.perlinski@meant4.com> wrote:

Well that was my proposition to make the support link and latest info directly in drupal administration section.

regards Maciej Perlinski maciej.perlinski@meant4.com http://www.meant4.pl -----Original Message----- From: Khalid B [mailto:kb@2bits.com] Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 6:09 PM To: development@drupal.org Subject: Re: [development] RFC: mailing list/group for users of a givenmodule?

Good idea.

Take it a step further: if drupal.org Download sections would read the .info file and get the feed setting, then we can make an additional link about discussing the module (in addition to, or in place of, the home page, and/or support link [which now points to the generic support forum on drupal.org ]).

On 11/9/06, Moshe Weitzman <weitzman@tejasa.com> wrote:

...

Brilliant idea. IMO, we don't need to help maintainers right now with providing a place to do feeds. They can use any old blog for this, or a group on groups.drupal.org

Corey Bordelon wrote:

...

With the addition of the .info files for modules, maybe add another field to it for a news/announcement feed. It could then add to the admin pages a special aggregator page for each modules news/announcement feeds. That way, authors could get information straight out to module users, on their site.

I know alot of overhead would be involved, like:

- Ensuring module authors don't make the feed their personal blog and cat pictures end up on the special admin news page. - Getting module authors setup with a way to do this, either through a new blog or an add-on to the project module (suite) to have releases create a special feed. - Plenty of other implications I'm not thinking of.

It's just a thought. I seem to remember some other CMS project doing this (I can't remember which one), and it seems like a good idea to borrow and extend.

-- Corey Bordelon

On 11/8/06, Maciej Perlinski <maciej.perlinski@meant4.com> wrote:

...

Well we have developed Google Ajax Search module and i was thinking about different approach, I dont know if you had possibility to use whm, its web host manager based on web front-end. They have a nice feature so people are spread around the world but when they want to notify customers they have a message just after you logged in. So maybe we should think about new/separate module apart from project.module, googleajaxsearch.moduleetc. to communicate with maintainers, if someone has the administrative rights we can show him additional item in the menu see latest notes, comments whatever, and maintainer will go there and see lates topics about all modules he has installed, and can directly email current maintainer... thats just the draft of idea. I was thinking about embedding the contact form inside the setting subpage for google ajax search module but i found it far inappropriate for the moment because that kind of action needs longer discussion and infrastructure behind it.

Well as i have read todo for drupal 5 there supposed to be web based module installer so maybe thats the place for the new tab to check latest news, polls maybe [for the moment we are using poll on our dev site so users can vote what they think about new feature].

-- kindest regards Maciej Perlinski http://www.meant4.com maciej.perlinski@meant4.com -----Original Message----- From: Derek Wright [mailto:drupal@dwwright.net] Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 1:18 AM To: Development Cc: Infrastructure Maintainers Subject: [development] RFC: mailing list/group for users of a given module?

RFC: how can module maintainers try to communicate with users of their modules and attempt to develop a community of active testers, documenters, translators, and developers?

http://drupal.org/node/93733

i think my favorite solution is a new type of group on groups.d.o for "Module users" or something (needs a better name, but you get the idea), and open the floodgates. a few other alternatives discussed.

comments please... http://drupal.org/comment/reply/93733#comment_form

thanks, -derek (dww)