Hi, this is no question but some thoughts about licq that I find rather important... It all started some days ago when I tried to include GPG-support in icqnd (a gtk-gui for Licq). Because I don't have any knowledge about GPG I wanted to take a look at the qt-gui first to see how it works. I was more than disappointed seeing, that this thing crashes everywhere AND doesn't work without putting lines into an EMPTY config file. Putting my anger aside I checked out the new things in licq-1.3.2 (the official release) ... what I saw were new windows and new crashes. Together with my knowledge of the Licq-API I really started to worry if Licq goes the right way.
This has reasons of course: - In my eyes the windows of the qt-gui are quite bad designed. Maybe good for a programmer but bad for a normal user (and believe it or not - most Linux users are even afraid of the terminal). Things are not intuitive, sometimes in submenus they really don't belong and sometimes don't work properly. Also the program doesn't seem to follow a guide-line and uses different GUI styles at once - it is missing a certain "ergonomy". Why does one have to click right for going online on the status information field? Why is there no information about connecting? Why are users in so many groups at once? Why are contacts sorted so wrong after downloading them from the server? These are just the questions a new licq user would ask himself after 5 minutes of using the program (and the tip of the iceberg) ... - Things seem to be so unorganized. There are big steps to do, for example better plugin integration, video support, bug hunting .... and what comes in? A new error source: a third method of encryption (this is NO "attack" of the programmer of OTR. It is propably a good thing and important, but is it really the right time?), messing up the source more and more by making it bigger and bigger (and for the points below). - The API is just outdated and too highleveled. I have some experience now with it and what I discovered was highleveling for ICQ everywhere. Sure, regarding Licq's history this is more than logic, but times have changed, for some reason every instant messager must have multi-protocol support to have a chance (which is a good thing). But the API is missing a flexibility, the ability to be extended through plugins - just outdated. Everyone who has programmed with it knows what I mean. - I always thought open-source also means "community-developed". In the case of licq this doesn't seem to be the case. Really nothing is documented (So much patience was neccessary to crawl through the qt-gui source to get a hint of the API). This, kind of, averts a really community-based project but packs all the work on one main developer (which is Jon). - The new web site is not bad from an ergonomic and stylistic standpoint but the content is (for someone like me who really likes licq and always gets butterflies in his stomach when a new version comes out) somehow embarrassing ... half of the plugins arn't working anymore, the themes are unorganized, just listed, and so on and so on There are more points but these are the ones I remember right now :) The question is what to do? - create a REAL roadmap which is not based on sticky notes on Jons desktop but on a real serious list on the licq page - think about the api, it must be more flexible, which means that it should be able to load extension plugins (other plugins may ask the host for the existence of certain plugins and then use their features), plugins must be able to influence plugins. - start documentating everything! - REALLY do everything together with a community, plan areas, plan dead lines (which still can cope with the "spare time project"-factor) - tidy the site, ditch everytihng that isn't working - try to KEEP the good call of Licq, follow guidelines, integrate it more, get icons be done, short: get the thing ergonomic - get ICQ out of the core and make it a plugin - don't do the same mistake nearly every multi-instant-messager application is doing - don't only support the least common denominator... Sounds easy but is hard, I know too well. But (to say it again) Licq ran the wrong way. The code is in some parts too messed up. Do a rework, at lease 40% can still be used. In fact my motivation regarding licq has sunken with this thoughts. I really hope there will be some constructive answers pushing my motivation up again :) (To prevent misunderstandings: I don't want to animadvert Jon's programming skills or whatever - I know that he is spending his little time to provide good software. But things went off somehow and this would be a good point to press a kind of "RESET" button). Thanks in Advance Joachim -- E-Mails und Internet immer und überall! 1&1 PocketWeb, perfekt mit GMX: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/pocketweb ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by xPML, a groundbreaking scripting language that extends applications into web and mobile media. Attend the live webcast and join the prime developer group breaking into this new coding territory! http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=110944&bid=241720&dat=121642 _______________________________________________ Licq-devel mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/licq-devel
