[Mageia-dev] PHP + phpBB mod capabilities needed to fix bug 1956 - please help

[Wolfgang Bornath]

2012/1/11 Marja van Waes <marja11 at xs4all.nl>:
> On 03/01/12 10:09, Wolfgang Bornath wrote:
>>
>> 2012/1/3 Michael Scherer<misc at zarb.org>:
>>>
>>> Le lundi 02 janvier 2012 à 22:17 +0100, Maarten Vanraes a écrit :
>>>>
>>>> Op maandag 02 januari 2012 21:40:31 schreef Michael Scherer:
>>>>>
>>>>> Le lundi 02 janvier 2012 à 19:41 +0100, Marja van Waes a écrit :
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi everyone,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Can someone please help to fix bug 1956?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> You don't need to be a regular forum visitor.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We need someone to find and implement a probably existing MOD,  needed
>>>>>> to keep forum posts history when unlimited edit time is enabled
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  From wobo's comment #32:
>>>>>> Capabilities needed:
>>>>>> Well, one could say that anybody who
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   - knows how to run phpBB as admin and
>>>>>>   - has seen a line of php
>>>>>>   - knows how to edit code (respecting tags and such)
>>>>>>   - knows how to cut&paste
>>>>>>
>>>>>> should be able to install an existing MOD (if I'm not mistaken there
>>>>>> is
>>>>>> one or more).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I know next to nothing about php coding. But I've been running a phpBB
>>>>>> forum for a couple of years and successfully implemented some MODs in
>>>>>> phpBB2 and phpBB3. With no help (except the phpBB-forum in case of
>>>>>> problems).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In practice you have a detailed installation README for each MOD. Like
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   - open file /foo/bar/doo.php
>>>>>>   - Find the line which starts with '......'
>>>>>>   - After that add
>>>>>>   - "........."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> And more such step-by-step guidance
>>>>>
>>>>> My eyes start to bleed dues to such "guidances".
>>>>
>>>> i'm sure misc means to say that we should have all our changes in
>>>> packages/puppet config so that we can update without issues. and with
>>>> file
>>>> edits, that's a whole different thing.
>>>
>>> I was more thinking of proper patchs or better, proper modules, with
>>> files to deploy in a well know directory .
>>
>> I only gave a part of an example. MODs are made as enhancement to the
>> standard software. The easiest MOD is like Michael wrote: "a module
>> with files to deploy in a well known directory". But in most cases
>> they consist of files to copy into various directories of the program
>> tree and changes to existing files of the software. There are other
>> MODs which can be implemented automatically - which is far worse IMHO.
>> This is where a modded phpBB3 could turn into a nightmare to maintain
>> - believe me, I've been there :(
>>
>> Of course no developper of a MOD could know what somebody has already
>> done to the standard files, so it's not possible do use only patches.
>> And it could be (and that happens quite often) that a MOD is not
>> compatible to your already "modificated" forum software (destroys
>> other modifications or whatever).
>>
>> IMHO the best way in this case here would be a mod written for our
>> setup, all changes well defined to make it maintainable in a proper
>> way. Saying this I beg to think again whether the issue  justifies all
>> the time and work.
>>
> It would make me very, very happy, does that count a little? If I were sure
> that I'd be able to learn how to do it, I would now consider to halve the
> time I use for the Bug Squad and Doc Team and start learning.

Why? IMHO this complete issue is going out of proportions. Let's
remember why we *seem to need* this MOD in the first place. And what
will we find? The time-to-edit discussion, again. In the council
meeting where it was decided to have this mod It looked as the best
way to please a disturbing minority request, the more as that same
minority gave the impression that such a MOD could be implemented
within a reasonable time span. As we see now after 8 months, this was
never the case.

Adding the fact that a test period of several months with a much
looser time-to-edit setting in the German Mageia forum showed not one
single case of misuse brings me to the conviction that we should
rather rethink the time-to-edit limitation itself than to waste
manpower on this issue. Manpower which is needed at more important
tasks, if I may say.

-- 
wobo