Hi Greg,
I think Zope is in serious trouble and the Zope.org web site is badly
in need of attention. I started using zope in 2001 at Xerox PARC and
the helpful and persuasive resources at zope.org were a major
factor. Today, zope.org is full of dead links and it very hard to
use unless you are already experienced. Consequently, getting
started with Zope today is harder now than is was, even though the
actual software is better.
A key factor is that based on the zope.org web site it is not
apparent whether the community is healthy or not, and the general
impression is that the project is stalled since so many links are
dead and defunct. How can the decay in the key zope web site have
gotten so bad? (In fact I am not so sure myself of the zope
community health any longer, despite the ongoing zope postings here
-- I hope I will find I'm wrong in this regard at least).
I think this has something to do with what kind of people Zope and the
Zope community attracts. They are not really web designers or graphics
people or content gardeners.
Also, let's not get distracted by Google and/or all the other places
to find zope stuff. The fact is, Zope.org is the de facto primary
destination especially for newbies. If it's in bad shape it directly
impacts Zope uptake and usage.
I couldn't agree more. The good news is that several people (who's
opinion matters more than my own) also agree. Now that the Zope
Foundation exists, there is a mandate and a bit more room to manoeuvre.
No-one has a lot of spare time to devote to it, but it's moving up
various people's to-do lists. The situation may not be as dire as it is
now for too long.
Martin
--
Acquisition is a jealous mistress
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