[development] #drupal and #drupal-contribute split (Was: Re: Proposal: Move all dev support off this list to new StackExchange site)

[Senpai]

>> On 3/18/2011 1:12 PM, Neil Hastings wrote:
>> 
>> As a developer of several contrib modules (previously including
>> taxonomy_menu, a top 100 module) I agree.  I'm not part of the *in*
>> crowd and not allowed the #drupal-conttribute and do feel like an outsider. 
> 
> 
> On Mar 18,2011, at 1:17 PM, Earl Miles wrote:
> 
> There is no hall pass to go to #drupal-contribute so if you believe
> you're "not allowed" this is a construct of your own mind.


I'm amazed at the traffic this one thread has generated, and I love the fact that so many are talking about it! Merlinofchaos, your point is technically valid, yet somehow ineffective towards addressing the fundamental, underlying issue. That issue would be that we've just heard from someone named Neil Hastings who feels somehow "excluded" from certain Drupal talk & discussions, even though he's written and maintained a top 100 module. I've never written or contributed a module to Drupal in the 5+ years I've been kicking around, but I feel totally at ease popping into *any* IRC channel and conversing with anyone about any topic. Therein lies the crux; newer community participants feel 'distanced' from the *real* discussions simply because there's so many people now involved in Drupal that the founders, core maintainers, module maintainers, and the really, really, *really* good looking are trying to find a place where they can still be productive without being inundated. (copyright 2001 Zoolander)

I'd venture to say that IRC is no longer the answer for official Drupal support. We've outgrown it, folks. IRC works perfectly well for two, three, or even six people to have a discussion on the merits of drupal_static or the migration of the Monarch Butterfly. It does not work well for Views support questions that only Merlin can answer because once he (or anyone else, for that matter) answers the question, NOBODY ELSE CAN LEARN what the answer is!!!

Now, having said that, I feel somewhat lost by the fact that I can't just pop into IRC and ask random stuff of random people without feeling slightly guilty, but meh. I'm off to #drupal to bug Merlinofchaos about Views UI plugins. I'll just keep repeating my question until he answers, "WHATT!!!" ;)
-- 
Joel Farris
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain
a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
~ Ben Franklin