[consulting] Costs of forking

[Boris Mann]

On 22-Feb-06, at 1:12 PM, JasonN wrote:

>>> I don't think you can easily valuate the time or money costs to
>>> forking projects.  I realize the method of module management that
>>> Drupal has assumed makes contributing back to the hive difficult at
>>> times.
>>
>> Can you expand on this? I have never found it difficult to contribute
>> back....
>
> Boris, first let me apologize.  I don't read this list every day.
> But, I expect this is more a long-term investment of consideration so
> hope you'll accept my belated contribution to the discussion.

No worries.

> Clarifying my comment about the Drupal module managers.

Wasn't clear you were talking about modules. I still don't believe it :P

> I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Drupal or the community.
> I'm just pointing out the obvious, that contributing to present day
> Drupal modules requires cooperation.  Some people may consider that
> more costly than just coding up their own fork.  They may be wrong in
> the long run, but it's easier in the short.

So, you're saying people have to communicate in order to work  
together? ;)

Costs of forking tends to mean core, not contrib modules. But, I  
don't see a ton of traffic on lists, forum, or elsewhere with people  
saying "I tried to submit a change but module owner X wouldn't let  
me". In the long run (and the not very long run...) it is lower cost  
to just submit a patch with your change as an issue.

--
Boris Mann
Vancouver 778-896-2747 San Francisco 415-367-3595
SKYPE borismann
http://www.bryght.com