[dev] Release plan

[Duck]

I agree with cleaning API and concerting on bugfixes. What I miss in 
update of the online Help too. There are too many features, that an average 
user don't even know that exists and in the outdated help aren't explained.

I general I miss applications feature list on horde web page too. Oky horde is 
well known for its imp module, but that are many framework functionalities 
and applications that are useful and on the pages are bad or not explained.  
If we want to enlarge the number of programmers that uses Horde and of course 
submit patches, we should give them an easy general preview. No one would 
like to loose days to read entire docs or mailing lists, just to see how the 
things are and how are going on. I experienced this on myself and when I 
tried to engage my coworker.

This is not important only for potential contributors but for companies 
that would like to sponsor the project. I found that he webpage presentation 
is too concentrated on/to developers. If I am a company, I would like to have 
a clear view of project status, features and plans before I invest in it or I 
use it for developing my applications. Believe me, I got exactly this problem 
when I tried to persuade my company to choose Horde for a base to developer 
some apps.

Another problem is the bounties management. Oky. I don't know how this part in 
internally managed and of course on one works full time on Horde, but is the 
main problem is that is not defined that if the company sponsor a bounty it 
never knows when it would be implemented. An this for a company that makes 
planes, is a big problem. Is not a matter of time or bounty values, just a 
problem of planing a company project. I don't know hot to deal with this 
issue but I think if we solve this in one or another way, that the project 
would receive more bounty sponsorship.

I have one idea to enlarge Horde project usage, denvelopment cotributions and 
conectivity to economical resources. I now it is not pure OS concept but an 
bussines idea should be discused, science we must all live from someting. I 
see that with bountes, an idea of economical support started so my ideas are 
not in so wrong direction. 

Maybe would not be an bad idea to allow some programers which created 
comercial product/modules based on Horde to offer itd directly at horde.org. 
So we have still the actual modules in OS plus someone that are not free (or 
only the litter versions are free). Of course, every copy sold, shoud return 
an percentage to the horde project/team.

I would give a pratical example. I writed some modules with Horde (I can send 
screenshots).  One is an articele managment sistem with multilingual and 
multiversion support. And the other is an Mapserver frontend to display GIS 
data (with features like adding points, configrable layers attributes...). 

I think that this two modules would be intersting for a lot of companies and a 
Horde project will benefit with incluson of them. (I belive that are may 
others who have good and intersting  "commercial" modules.) But I wont give 
it free, science I would like to earn with them at (least to maintain the 
modules). So what I (and the others)  can do. I publish my modules horde.org. 
And for example if I sell a module from horde.org and the module costs 100 
units. I give 20 units back to horde team. 

I think that this relationsip is not so difficult to addopt. And both sides 
would get benefit. Denvelopers that sold their poroduct based on horde. And 
Horde project/team with financial stimulation and patches/contrbutions that 
the other denvelopers will produce with their work.


Duck