Addons repository

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Many Lyceum users need to test themes and plugins for compatibility. Some require changes to work with Lyceum.

It would be great if there were one repository where Lyceum users could share plugin and theme code and upload their fixes so we can avoid duplicating work. I suggest creating a Trac on http://source.ibiblio.org/trac/ , the iBiblio Trac hosting where Lyceum itself is hosted.

Contents

Inspiration

http://wp-plugins.net/ and http://trac-hacks.org/ are what made me think of running this the way I suggested.

Benefits

  • If you find a plugin or theme that works with Lyceum, you can share it easily
  • You can get other people's patched or verified plugins/themes easily
  • People other than the original author can file bugs against addons and fix them
  • Easy tagging of code as working with different versions of Lyceum (svn copy)
  • Easy upgrading from e.g. a 0.34-certified version of a plugin to the 0.35-certified version (svn switch)

Discovery

Q: How do http://trac-hacks.org/ and http://dev.wp-plugins.org/ handle per-project access control, and how fine-grained is it?

A. I don't know, but coarse-grained access control should be fine for us: commit access to the repository can be a binary. A process I think makes sense is once you have one patch that an existing committer on a plugin/addon approves, you should be added to the svn repository. "Don't be a jerk" should be the guiding rule on which we cancel existing accounts if there are problems. I seriously doubt anyone who actually has code to contribute would intentionally destroy others' good work; after all, each of us is already in the business of making other peoples' lives with technology more fun and interesting.

A2. I've also seen lots of WordPress plugins wither away, bitrot, or die because they're not maintained in a central place. If Alice writes the plugin and posts it on her blog, and Bob finds a bug, and Charlie has a fix, Charlie should be able to commit that fix so Daniel can use it. This sort of easy, universal collaboration is what I'm after; hence my suggestion for access above.

A3. I've looked into it some and found that trac-hacks is basically entirely open and signup seems automated. wp-plugins.org requires you email the author of WordPress and ask to be added; despite that social hurdle it seems very open also.

Comments

Sounds like a great idea to me, not so much for themes but for plugins. Most work first time but many require a hack of some kind (in my experience). ShadyCraig

I love it. Thanks Asheesh and folks for putting this together. I am working on making source.ibiblio.org super robust and featureful and then this is my first project. Keep bugging me. --John

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