I'm an economist, and I don't believe I can analyse the present.
I don't see how I can help to change the structure of the documentation. If I can edit the cwiki I'be glad to change the hierarchy as proposed. If it will never change, so be it. I just believe it's a pity of this work, people getting started and not finding the f****** manual. Cheers, Axel > Subject: Re: OFBiz data load - Documentation > From: [email protected] > Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:15:45 -0600 > To: [email protected] > > > I think you're right Jacques, though I also think it's a natural and maybe > not a bad thing. > > Most people in the world aren't investing in much right now, even those who > have time and/or money to invest, because they don't expect much of a return > on the investment. Any successful investor will tell you that it's best to > get into things when it is cheap to invest (ie when others don't expect a > return and aren't investing), and then get out when the market is great (when > others do expect a return and are investing a lot). However, the same people > will often fail to recognize that such conditions are not only impossible to > predict in the future, but also impossible to recognize in the present, and > they further fail to recognize that the fact that they were able to invest in > a low market and get out when the market picked up was probably just the luck > of timing. Just ask any honest economist (if you can find one!)... they can't > even accurately analyze the present, let alone predict the future... even if > they are asked to every day. > > Anyway, the point of all of that is that yes there isn't as much activity in > OFBiz right now. I think this is natural given that most end-user > organizations have pulled back their budgets significantly. That makes sense > because the sectors where OFBiz has been strongest (at least from my > experience) are getting hit really hard right now and many companies are not > just cutting back, but totally failing. End-user organizations have always > been about 90% of my work, but are now down to 0%... and I haven't designed > or built anything for one in almost a year now. Fortunately there are other > types of companies out there, but one way or another the demand for OFBiz is > WAY down as the industries and sizes of businesses it serves are hit so hard. > > From the perspective of the project what does this matter? Unlike a company a > non-profit community-driven open source project has no liabilities and there > is no way it can just disappear (unless no one is using it, ie it falls into > irrelevancy). Even if somehow the ASF failed to get adequate donations of > money or server time to keep hosting the project, it could be hosted > elsewhere, or even turn into some crazy peer managed ecosystem using > distributed git repositories (some people would love that, but I think it > would be a nightmare for both contributors and users). > > In any case, the worst case scenario is that the project slows down a little > bit. If we're lucky people won't lose too much hope and will continue to > invest in open source projects like OFBiz, which is really an investment that > developers do in hopes of getting more and better work in the future. If > people don't feel much hope for that then chances are they won't invest as > much, and maybe just the hobbyists who want to develop neat stuff will be > contributing. > > Sooner or later things will of course pick up, and then we'll be back to > complaints about too much going into the project instead of complaints about > not enough. On the other hand, given an infinite potential universe of things > people might want to see in OFBiz, there will ALWAYS be complaints about > things missing that certain people would like to see, or things organized > better for their current requirements, or wishes for free help instead of > peer collaboration. > > Oh well, I guess enough pontificating for now, especially since I'm no > pontiff. > > -David > > > > On Jan 18, 2010, at 11:48 AM, Jacques Le Roux wrote: > > > And then, those that invested much, slowly invest less... > > > > Jacques > > > > From: "BJ Freeman" <[email protected]> > >> The missing element is manpower. > >> Get lots of great Ideas but not many contributors. > >> > >> Axel Van Noten sent the following on 1/18/2010 6:58 AM: > >>> > >>> Thanks, I learned a lot. > >>> > >>> Still, I'm a little bit disappointed about the overall documentation. > >>> Would it be possible to: > >>> > >>> 1) have it organised by release, > >>> 2) link to it immediatly from the documentation buton (on > >>> ofbiz.apache.org), or the help button in the application, > >>> 3) have a clearer structure (per release) like: > >>> > >>> Getting Started with OFBiz > >>> OFBiz End User Documentation > >>> OFBiz Reference Manual > >>> OFBiz Technical Guide > >>> OFBiz Tools and Utilities Guide > >>> ... > >>> > >>> I know its easy to criticise, but I believe the project would gain a lot > >>> just by changing these links and making a different hierarchy. > >>> > >>> Kind regards, > >>> Axel > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> From BJ Freeman <[email protected]> > >>> Subject Re: OFBiz data load > >>> Date Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:29:38 GMT > >>> http://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OFBENDUSER/OFBiz%27s+Data+File+Tools > >>> here is a good link for a lot of help > >>> http://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OFBIZ/FAQ+-+Tips+-+Tricks+-+Cookbook+-+HowTo > >>> http://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OFBIZ/Handling+of+External+data > >>> > >>> Juan Pablo sent the following on 1/14/2010 8:42 AM: > >>>> Hi Axel. > >>>> > >>>> 1) > >>>> http://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OFBENDUSER/OFBiz+End+User+Docs+Home > >>>> http://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OFBTECH/Home > >>>> > >>>> 2) http://ofbiz.markmail.org/ > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> On Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 8:30 AM, axel van noten > >>>> <[email protected]>wrote: > >>>> > >>>>> Hi > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> I've been installing OFBiz and looking for the following information: > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> 1) Where is the primary point can I find the most update documentation? > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> The documentation buton on the OFBiz website and the help button in the > >>>>> application are both bringing me to the cwiki.apache site. But there > >>>>> seems > >>>>> to be no clear structure nor a primary point where I can turn to for > >>>>> manuals > >>>>> and documentation. > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> 2) is there a possibility to perform a text search on this mailing list? > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> 3) I'm trying to load a product database into OFBiz. What would be the > >>>>> appropriate way to do so? Is this documented somewhere? > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> Thanks for your help! > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> Kind regards > >>>>> > >>>>> Axel > >>>>> > >>>>> _________________________________________________________________ > >>>>> Keep your friends updated�even when you�re not signed in. > >>>>> > >>>>> http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windows/windowslive/see-it-in-action/social-network-basics.aspx?ocid=PID23461::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-xm:SI_SB_5:092010 > >>>> > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you’re up to on > >>> Facebook. > >>> _________________________________________________________________ > >>> Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you’re up to on > >>> Facebook. > >>> http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windows/windowslive/see-it-in-action/social-network-basics.aspx?ocid=PID23461::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-xm:SI_SB_2:092009 > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Keep your friends updated—even when you’re not signed in. http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windows/windowslive/see-it-in-action/social-network-basics.aspx?ocid=PID23461::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-xm:SI_SB_5:092010
