[Serusers] SERusers, developers and those undecided...a users point of view

[Iqbal]

Hi

Wow this fight is better than Mike Tysons..not that it took much 
beating...but as a user I felt I may as well give my $0.02 worth.

I have used alot of opensource SW in my time, to build some great 
businesses, and in return helped bring the internet to a whole lot of 
people who would never have used it. From the days of sendmail and 
apache, to msql and mysql, perl and php...its all added to this virtual 
world we call the Internet.

Since my development days are way past me, I cant really contribute in 
code, hence I'll do a little in my own way, together with the numerous 
others who have helped me along the way....

This argument (which is exactly what it is), boils down to moving fast 
or keeping stability. In this list there are both types of users, and I 
think both are needed, if we dont move fast, then SER will come to a 
standstill, but if we move too quickly, and dont get new users problems 
resolved like basic setup (which Greger et al at doing) then we will be 
short of new users...who always come with new ideas. Whether the 
solution is in a fork or not, is irrelevant here, because having core 
developers not working together just aint good. Judging by opensource in 
other projects, I think the key is too keep it as one (or so it should 
seem to the casual observer), and from there you could have two threads, 
one where the fast paced users would be able to pull from and test, and 
the other more safer stable environment. Let the user decide what he 
wishes to opt for, but dont make it look as if there are two separate 
projects going on.

The logistics of this I havent a clue on, but I am sure some on this 
list do, 2 URL's etc doesnt make much difference, except as Klaus 
pointed out I've got too mailing lists, and if I try to reply to user 
questions I know I will only really have time for one list, and you will 
just get alot of cross posts happening.

If the core developers do not pull together, then how can the community. 
Maybe split the core team into two (which is what is happening), one who 
can work on stable releases, and one on a more faster release...slightly 
less stable , eventually the latter one being sucked into the former.

Also I think there is a call to allow others to submit modules....and 
these should not always have to be approved, I think if approved they go 
into stable ser, else users should be able to use them at there own 
risk. If you look at asterisk you will see lots of software developed 
for it, and modules etc, and I am sure not all these are approved, but 
what it helps do is to spread SER.

Whether we have two sites 3 or even more, unless the core developers are 
happy, this wont work, guys you gotta sort it out, else SER and VoIP 
will not reach its full potential...a plea from a user :-)

Iqbal