Hi Paul,<br><br>I love the way different points of view can be aired in Koha Community - useful discussion..<br><br>Yours in mutual peace, friendship and respect :)<br><br>Jo.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 4 June 2011 12:38, Paul <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:paul.a@aandc.org">paul.a@aandc.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div class="im">At 10:52 AM 6/4/2011 +1200, Joann Ransom wrote:<br>
>A wee word of caution from someone who has been badly stung and never want<br>
>to be again ...<br>
>Horowhenua stayed on Koha 1.x for years and years and years because it was<br>
>perfect for our needs and we didn't see any value in sifting to 2.x<br>
>. This was largely because the introduction of Marc broke our FRBR system<br>
>but also because our acquisitions module worked beautifully and error free.<br>
<br>
</div>Joann,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the reply. Might I suggest that your "word of caution" reflects<br>
the point that I was making. You write: "didn't see any value in shifting"<br>
... "worked beautifully." My terminology was "if it ain't broke, don't fix<br>
it."<br>
<div><br> <br></div></blockquote><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="im">
>Slowly it dawned on us that we were on an abandoned fork. The main<br>
>project had raced on and got better and better.<br>
<br>
</div>If, as you write 'abandoned' = 'beautiful'|'perfect for our needs', then<br>
did 'better and better' = new features that were part of your requirements?<br>
[and I'm not sure what an 'abandoned fork' really means; whether you simply<br>
add logos and change layout schemes in CSS, or modify MySQL structure and<br>
delete perl modules, every customization is a 'fork' that is not followed<br>
by the community at large. We probably all do it without feeling abandoned.]<br>
<div class="im"><br></div></blockquote><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><div class="im">
>When we did make the jump to 2.x it was hideous - everything was "broken"<br>
>in our eyes.<br>
> Shifting to 3.2 was another big jump; again we had left it too long and<br>
> did not stay current.<br>
<br>
</div>Were you in a production environment? 'Hideous' and 'broken' are anathema<br>
to me (but my IT training and experience for a quarter of a century from<br>
the late 1950s was in national defense) and since then I have always<br>
attempted to programme to [end] users needs. I think you're saying that<br>
'stay current' was the cause of your dilemma - a possibility that I wish to<br>
avoid.<br>
<div class="im"><br>
>So from now on this is my vow :) I intend to always upgrade to the current<br>
>stable version, limit customizations to an absolute minimum, and when I do<br>
>commission enhancements I also fund for that work to be incorporated into<br>
>the main trunk (and yes it doubles the cost but I want to be certain I am<br>
>always swimming in the main Koha stream).<br>
<br>
</div>I take my hat off to you (and to those who can double your budget), but<br>
would suggest that while swimming in the main stream is ideologically<br>
perfect, some of us may be constrained to more pragmatic surroundings. The<br>
charity that I work for looked for a low [to reasonable internal] cost<br>
solution to its needs. We have succeeded *thanks_to_Koha* and consider<br>
additional bells and whistles to be a low priority luxury. Your [and<br>
others'] mileage might well vary.<br>
<br>
In peace, friendship and respect,<br>
<div class="im">Paul<br>
Tired old sys-admin.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
</div>>Cheers Jo.<br>
><br>
>2011/6/4 Lori Bowen Ayre <<mailto:<a href="mailto:lori.ayre@galecia.com">lori.ayre@galecia.com</a>><a href="mailto:lori.ayre@galecia.com">lori.ayre@galecia.com</a>><br>
<div class="im">>Thanks Paul! I appreciate getting my wrong assumptions straightened<br>
>out. Very good points about that being another value of being on an open<br>
>source product.<br>
><br>
>Lori<br>
><br>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<br>
>Lori Bowen Ayre // Library Technology Consultant<br>
</div>>The Galecia Group // <<a href="http://www.galecia.com/" target="_blank">http://www.galecia.com/</a>><a href="http://www.galecia.com" target="_blank">www.galecia.com</a><br>
>(707) 763-6869 // <mailto:<a href="mailto:Lori.Ayre@galecia.com">Lori.Ayre@galecia.com</a>><a href="mailto:Lori.Ayre@galecia.com">Lori.Ayre@galecia.com</a><br>
<div class="im">><br>
>Specializing in open source ILS solutions, RFID, filtering,<br>
>workflow optimization, and materials handling<br>
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
>On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 12:06 PM, Paul<br>
</div><div><div></div><div class="h5">><<mailto:<a href="mailto:paul.a@aandc.org">paul.a@aandc.org</a>><a href="mailto:paul.a@aandc.org">paul.a@aandc.org</a>> wrote:<br>
>At 01:00 PM 6/3/2011 -0400, Owen Leonard wrote:<br>
> > > So while there is no more<br>
> > > development to 3.2, any bugs found will be fixed. At some point,<br>
> even that<br>
> > > will stop and everyone will be expected to get themselves upgraded.<br>
> ><br>
> >And indeed, the 3.2.x Release Maintainer has said that the upcoming<br>
> >3.2.10 release will most likely be the final release of the 3.2.x<br>
> >branch.<br>
><br>
>"expected to get themselves upgraded" ... or, of course, to retain 3.2.x in<br>
>production.<br>
><br>
>We have a functional, extensively customized, 3.2.5 that meets the<br>
>requirements of our cataloguers and users. While I might spend some of my<br>
>spare [?] time looking at 3.4 (I really like the concept of templates), the<br>
>customization has to be done all over again, and is proving troublesome.<br>
>Nothing wrong with Koha, all to do with our requirements; I ended up<br>
>modifying the SQL structure to accept longer, searchable keywords and<br>
>abstracts; to facilitate serials cataloguing; and to remove all "lending<br>
>library" features to speed things up considerably (we are<br>
>reference/research only.)<br>
><br>
>If and when I get 3.4 running to our requirements, we'll evaluate whether<br>
>we migrate; but in the meanwhile, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And<br>
>I'm sure there's got to be a lot of other Koha users who are also wary of<br>
>"upgrading" a fully functional tool.<br>
><br>
>This is the great strength of community-driven, open license products - you<br>
>can reach a point where you have achieved what you set out to do. Anything<br>
>after that can be considered much lower priority. Quite frankly, my only<br>
>concern at this point is to get rid of Zebra and integrate different search<br>
>methodology which is apparently not high on the Koha horizon; barcoded<br>
>spine labels, dustjacket images and emailed fines are not in our<br>
>specifications.<br>
><br>
>Everyone achieving their own specs, again, is a Koha strength. Otherwise<br>
>we'll end up following the "M$ business code" - if Win98 is good enough for<br>
>a Koha kiosk (and it most certainly is) you don't need to go chasing Vista,<br>
>Win7 or Win8. Our Ubuntu 10.10 server is perfect for Koha, so I only look<br>
>for the ultra-rare Ubuntu security alerts.<br>
><br>
>Given our satisfaction with Koha, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on<br>
>future versions; but in the meanwhile, I respectfully beg to differ with<br>
>the statement that "everyone will be expected to get themselves upgraded."<br>
><br>
>Regards - Paul<br>
>Tired old sys-admin.<br>
><br>
>---<br>
>Archives and Collections (ACS) Society<br>
>205, Main Street, Picton, Ontario, K0K 2T0, Canada<br>
</div></div>><<a href="http://www.AandC.org" target="_blank">http://www.AandC.org</a>><a href="http://www.AandC.org" target="_blank">http://www.AandC.org</a><br>
<div class="im">>Canadian Charitable Organization 88721 9921 RR0001<br>
>Dedicated to maritime conservation and education.<br>
><br>
>_______________________________________________<br>
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<div><div></div><div class="h5">><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
>--<br>
>Joann Ransom RLIANZA<br>
>Head of Libraries,<br>
>Horowhenua Library Trust.<br>
><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Joann Ransom RLIANZA<br>Head of Libraries,<br>Horowhenua Library Trust.<br><br>