[Koha] Why are there 2 versions?

Sun Jun 5 20:19:20 NZST 2011

Hi Paul,

I love the way different points of view can be aired in Koha Community -
useful discussion..

Yours in mutual peace, friendship and respect :)

Jo.

On 4 June 2011 12:38, Paul <paul.a at aandc.org> wrote:

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