Why a Drupal extension rating list makes sense and no offense is intended

By dqd (diqidoq), 22 January, 2024
Why a Drupal extension rating list makes sense and no offense is intended
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Drupal contribution is a complex universe. Like all human group energy is. Especially when it comes to each sub group of peoples corners. Frustration of contributors, burn-out of maintainers, the one works for a company the other one jsut wants to help Drupal grow, unsatisfied users who are not familiar with Drupalisms, and the against each others ignorance. I usually say all in all it is the old issue of "cooks, service and guests". You sometimes have to switch your view point to understand the other side and there is always trouble in the kitchen and in the guest rooms and somewhere in between. And you cannot know what the other side has to deal with in the moment you want to yell at that person why this and that isn't working, ... again! ... or still not working ... after years.

Yelling aka complaining the non-contructive way isn't a good idea anyways, no matter if you understand the others view point or underlying issues or not. Being supportive even in the most challenging scenario is the key. But sometimes being nice is not enough. And clicking 10 times "buy me a coffee" too. Some times it needs a challenge. Even if it creates raised eyebrows at first.

For example: To run a list with rating and review and blacklisting (red flag) of contrib modules would usually feel very unsupportive and be like slapping into contributors and maintainers face. Not nice? But only if they are willing to get it the wrong way. And this depends not rarely on the amount of ego. About this later. Being unsatisfied with how some modules are maintained can become a real challange. Even for other module maintainers. Especially since the module and theme project create process barrier seem to be lowered lately. At least it feels like that... 

Drupal has one of the most high self-expectation driven contrib sector. We have security covery smartly incooperated into the contrib section on Drupal.org, which is a huge and great big plus! We have maintain status and issue response statistics. And most module maintainers - at least from what I know and see - have much higher level of complex solution dealing capacities than let's say Wordpress or Joomla developers. Drupal developers tend to be smarter than Wordpress developers is a cliché, I nkow. But as with all clichés: There's partly a reason for that :-) 

But despite of all that introduction words I need to come to the point. My example wasn't only an example, it was its first notation: No matter if you like it or not, we actually would need a review system for contrib. Even with red flags! Yes, you read right. It's lame, ist old-fashioned, it does not look like the kindest idea at first glance, but I come back to this every 3 years. Fo reasons. It is not about complaining, it is not about being respectless against maintainers and contributors, I am one of those and would maybe blacklist even one of my co-maintained ones. It is all about making Drupal better than great and to challenge black wholes of bad maintain habits. While keeping up the motivation.

Because in Open Source is all about motivation, positive vibes, factual standarts and respect to each others trouble. You can not go into such a problem without being careful. I am Linux advocate, Debian and Drupal contributor and maintainer by myself for one and a half decade and know how frustrating it can become to deal with lazy complaining users completely ignoring that they get things for free and that it is provided under the premise or at least soft assumption, that somehow all work together to make it better.

But even after all understanding and carrying and resprect to each other, there is still something I watched over the 15 years again and again popping up, which contradicts this from the exact other side. And it cannot be ignored: the egos of some developers. Sometimes simply too big, their comments sometimes simply to bossy, their assumptions somtimes too unexplainable and last but not least maybe the main reason for all that: their believe in their own importance maybe a little bit too much. Maybe it is easier for me to look at it critical because of that I am not a full stack full time Drupal developer in others company time but my own and a project lead who is sometimes developing/contributing and sometimes leading a project and employes developers. And non, I am not with flat hierarchies. Even not when I am the one under. 

I am somebody who is always willing to see all sides. Even the most critical ones. And even in the direction of those who won't you to look at. And I am able to bring them all together again even after the biggest fight. And some would may say I would be the best community manager with that. But you know what: I am actually not sure if I am. Maybe because of the same reason I wouldn't be a good politician: I could not follow the rule "don't bite the hand which feeds you" and I would be honest to my voters, even if it is critique in their direction, so that they wouldn't vote me no more. Hah. So maybe I am a better goal-keeper. 

 

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