BuddyPress

So @jeffsayre is releasing BP Privacy to the masses and asking for developers to take it over. I think this should just be added to BuddyPress core as it’s a too important feature that many if not every last BuddyPress site wants.

Thoughts?

I think it can only be seriously discussed once we’ve seen the plugin. But certainly it is worth discussing.

Pencil it in for brief mention Wednesday?

I guess so, but it’ll be much more productive if we wait until the community at large has had at least a week or two to play with it. Anything beyond that is speculation.

I’d just like to say this is a great idea. I’m glad mod suggested it, that Boone thinks its worth discussing and most importantly that hnla has a pencil.

I’m not excluding BP devs creating their own core privacy functionality. I think this is something very much needed or people wouldn’t be in such hot debate over why or why not @jeffsayre hasn’t released it. That said I just figured if jeff’s plugin is worthwhile to be integrated then add it otherwise create an internal solution.

Waiting to see if Jeff’s plugin is also kinda silly because he is dropping support. I wouldn’t want to rely on just anyone creating a privacy solution. So, i’m tossing it out there to have it added to core either from jeff’s plugin or create from scratch that way it will work and work well. Allowing plugins to use the functionality from core not the other way around. Privacy is something that the FCC cracks down on on major sites. It’s that important.

I’m fully stocked stationary wise, got two pens on the desk as well as the pencil .

So why hasn’t Jeff released this then?

Following on from ML’s comments Privacy is always a concern as is fine control over permissions and and moderation of users that it ought to be a serious point for roadmap discussion regardless of route taken to achieve it.

@hnla
First Jeff was waiting for BP 1.2.7 to hit the shelves, then he found a serious bug that needed fixing. That’s when the whole discussion started, I think. There were loads of negative comments on his site, so I think its worn him down. Some of these comments were far too harsh, even though the concerns behind them were valid. Anyways, I understand his position as well, it being a free, as in beer, plugin.

Regardless of all that, I second the request to get privacy controls into BP core, whatever the route.

@travel-junkie Thanks for the update wasn’t aware of this, real shame that Jeff has been worn down by negative comments when he’s undoubtedly put so much time into this plugin. I really feel that many simply do not get what hard work and time is involved in development of any nature and when it’s essentially done for ‘free’ it’s doubly galling when people take the work for granted, complain or just request endless ‘Features’ as though there was some obligation to provide endless fixes, updates, improvements etc.

If only all those probable 3000+ downloads that one would expect to see with a plugin like this stumped up a dollar each then at least the developer might just feel their hard work rewarded slightly!

The comments to Jeff were completely uncalled for but really this is an opportune time to add this functionality since the plugin is being dropped. Who knows maybe Jeff is overwhelmed, he did say he had help at the beginning. Maybe by it moving to core he can still contribute as can others.

People don’t get it, true. And it definitely wears you down if you’re doing it for free even more. We still have to pay bills after all. I still have 2 plugins in the WP repo, been downloaded around 150.000 times together, but I can’t afford anymore to keep them updated. With a few donations a month it could well be different, but all I got in 2 years was around EUR 50 altogether, most from other developers who were using them on client projects.

I agree 100% that some level of privacy control in the core is a very good idea. I’m just saying that the discussion about whether Jeff’s approach is right for the BP core is one that we can only have when the plugin is in our hands.

@Travel-Junkie It’d be helpful if WP/Automattic (read: entity that provides mega-spotlight/massive exposure) would come out with an *Official* Kickstarter-like WP site solely devoted to curbing these funding issues (case in point: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1104350651/tiktok-lunatik-multi-touch-watch-kits). I think everyone can agree that BP is in need of some privacy functionality and so if everyone who needs the plugin pitched just a buck, @jeffsayre could still justify development time on it… he’d probably be at 10 grand by now, maybe more.

@boonebgorges yep that makes sense .

Just found and read Jeff’s update as well as the potted history writeup he made, makes one both a bit sad and angry.

Just deleted two hundred odd words I wrote here on this subject of GPL, free work, download and moan thought what’s the point?

Not putting Jeff down but has anyone ever seen a single line of this code?