BuddyPress.org

Since my opinion counts too, I’m going to jump into the fray…

The reason why people like WordPress, is because it unknowingly found the PERFECT balance of challenge, and ease of use. In order to become proficient at using WordPress as a development tool, you have to go through a rigorous 6 month hazing period of being totally lost in the code. Not because it’s badly written, or sloppy, but because it’s just a lot to learn.

You know why people that join fraternities rarely ever leave? Because once you’ve gone through the hazing, you’re more likely to stay. You know how businesses earn repeat clients? They charge MORE money, because people are more likely to go back to a place they’ve already invested money into, rather than a place that gave them a $15 oil change. Strange eh? Make things too easy, and people won’t go back. Make it too hard, and they won’t even try it in the first place. There’s a balance, and WordPress, bbPress, and BuddyPress found it.

Once you learn it though, it’s like driving a 6 speed manual trans; you just glide through the gears without really even thinking about it. It’s like learning to juggle; or play baseball; or ride a bike. You just do it naturally.

My experience with things written with strict coding standards is that no one ever appreciates the time spent adhering to those standards anyways, and the codebase is basically ignored. phpBB is a great example, because the code is dead simple to use and understand, but how many people do you hear about using it to its full potential?

I used to code every single website I did to section 508 compliance. You know how many clients cared? 0. So, now I don’t. Haha!

WordPress, BuddyPress, and bbPress make you earn your keep. They are investments in time, energy, and they actually can give you back what you put in. Not EVERYONE can sit down and develop a good plugin for any of the platforms, but LOTS of awesome plugins are possible and with a little time, anyone can sit down and write one. Anyone can develop a theme with a little effort. WordPress works for everyone, not just newbies and not just professionals.

I can’t predict what tomorrow will bring. Maybe something will come along and totally blow the doors off of anything we could develop ourselves. That’s okay. But for right now, I don’t think there’s anything better than what WordPress, bbPress, and BuddyPress bring to the table.