[Koha] Koha releases

[Owen Leonard]

2010/7/2 Lori Bowen Ayre <lori.ayre at galecia.com>:
> I hope that after KohaCon, a clear procedure is established that guides
> developers and people who contract with developers to ensure that
> development contracts include re-integration of the contracted code into the
> community version.

The clear procedure is already there for developers: Developers can
choose to code in the open or not. Most have chosen to participate
openly. What I think is missing is education for current and potential
users of Koha explaining why using a fork of Koha isn't necessarily in
their best interests. I think most LEK/Harley users don't even realize
that what they're getting *is* a fork and not Koha at all.

> Part of the reason 3.2 has been delayed has to do with this
> very issue....trying to integrate as much of the Liblime/PTFS code that was
> based on an older version of Koha.

I don't think anyone is letting the "release" of PTFS's Harley slow
down the release of 3.2. 3.2 is moving ahead at the pace required for
it to be polished without worrying about Harley.

> I believe it should be the job of the developer to ensure their code is
> based on the current version of the product and not leave it to the rest of
> the community's developers to wrestle with.

I think an ethical developer will keep their work open, and a
self-interested customer must demand that their developers do so. The
problem comes when companies decide that it is in their own best
interest to ignore this process and then convince their customers that
they're doing so in the customers' best interests. Maybe it is, maybe
it isn't. But the customers need to understand that the product
they're getting isn't Koha, and it isn't open source.

  -- Owen

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