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| Author |
Please bring the conference news back
|
|
| Marco Tabini 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| All—
First of all, let me say that I am sending this e-mail after a lot of very
reluctant thought; since my company is in the business or organizing PHP
conferences, I am clearly biased and, inasmuch as I think that I am writing
objectively, I can hardly claim that as a fact.
First a quick bit of background for those not in the loop: all
conference-related news have been removed from the php.net homepage; this
was discussed briefly at various intervals on IRC, and although general
agreement had been reached that conference announcements were beginning to
clutter the homepage, no decision was taken until yesterday, when they were
abruptly removed from the home page and relegated to a separate page that
can only be reached by clicking on a link at the top of the site template.
I think this was a bad decision for a number of reasons.
The first—let me get it out in the open right away—is that it damages my
business. In all honesty, if this change hadn't affected me directly, I
wouldn't be writing this e-mail. This clearly doesn't concern anyone else
(except those who also organize PHP conferences), but it needs to be stated
to keep things in perspective.
The second is that, although my event has now lost some exposure, this is a
relatively minor problem for my organization, because we have other means to
promote php|tek and we build the cost of that promotion into our prices.
Other organizations—for example, all the non-profits that organize
conferences, like PHP Québec or the Vancouver PUG, have different goals and
probably rely on the exposure they receive through php.net much more. I
cannot and do not speak for them, but I can't imagine them popping the
bottles of champagne open right now.
Conferences matter to the PHP community, and they matter to
php.netvisitors. In the last thirty days, we have received
approximately 9,000
referrals from the various php.net mirrors—these are people who saw the
conference announcement on the homepage and clicked through to our site. It
is by no means an astronomical number, but it is certainly significant
enough to dispel any notion that the conference announcements are irrelevant
or that they do not belong on php.net in the first place.
Historically, conferences have also played a part in the growth and
increased popularity of PHP. Many core developers have had opportunity once
and again to meet face-to-face at the various events worldwide—not just
among themselves, but also with PHP users from around the globe. In turn,
conferences have helped (directly and indirectly) with spreading the word
about PHP in settings where it might have otherwise made no inroads
whatsoever. Many companies and organizations that organize conferences have
also directly supported the PHP projects by contributing either financially
or by other means.
Removing the conference announcements from the homepage wholesale and
essentially "disappearing" them from the site (if you think that the link at
the top makes everything ok, I suggest you take a look at Fitt's Law of
ergonomics and reconsider) has caused a number of (perhaps unintended)
consequences:
1. While the fact that conference announcements appeared on php.net didn't
amount to an endorsement, they certainly indicated that the PHP Group
considered them relevant to the community. Removing them abruptly and with
no explanation signals a shift in policy which, in my opinion, does not jive
with reality. To the outsider, the removal could well mean that the people
who run php.net no longer consider conferences useful, relevant or important
to the community—and that is not what I have heard from the people I have
actually spoken to.
2. Removing all the announcements also means that calls for papers are no
longer visible at all. This deprives the entire community of an opportunity
to make their voices heard, and to make an impact on the PHP world.
Ultimately, this damages PHP, simply because there is less opportunity to
promote new ideas.
3. The list of upcoming conferences currently shown in the right-hand side
bar is completely useless. All the three conferences listed on the site
right now (Vancouver PHP, OSDC Israel and UK PHP Conference) are to take
place in the next three w s. The problem is that the decision of attending
a conference—particularly if it lasts more than a day—is hardly ever made on
a whim. It usually takes careful planning, management approval of expenses,
and so on. A list of upcoming conferences listed chronologically does not
help anyone, while the old system was, in a sense, self-regulating, since
every organizer tried to publish their announcement when they would
strategically make the most sense, rather than have them categorized by an
arbitrary algorithm.
4. There are now two news items on the main page of php.net—one is from the
beginning of November, and the other from a few days go. Even with an
announcement coming about a 5.2.1 release and an explanation of what
happened to the conference announcements (which will eventually fall off of
the main page), that gives the impression that very little happened in PHP
land since last fall. This is obviously not true—but you have to have
intimate knowledge of the going ons of the platform to know it.
5. Conference announcements have also disappeared from the RSS feed. I am
not sure how many people rely on it to get their PHP news, but they are now
cut off from knowledge of these events.
6. There is a difference between desire for action and impulsiveness. I
understand and appreciate that discussing things to death is not
constructive; however, "we talked about it on IRC for three hours" is not a
good justification for such a significant and far-reaching change. Allowing
everyone to voice their opinion—karma or no karma—before making significant
decisions has always been the norm.
All things considered, if the concern was to reduce clutter on the home
page, I think that the situation could have been handled much better. Rasmus
has mentioned that he is looking to have the site redesigned; the decision
to move conference announcements could have been made part of the redesign
and made to take place in a more organic way. Others might have suggested
workable solutions that would fit in the current design without making rash
changes that were obviously not well thought through.
On a personal note, I am very dispirited; organizing conferences is hard,
and very expensive work (you cannot fully appreciate this until you have
been asked to pay $70 for a gallon of coffee) and, while it is my day job
and obviously gives me a direct benefit, I have always felt that making
these events happen was a great way to give back to the community and to the
people who make PHP a reality. This decision feel like a huge (and
unwarranted) slap in the face—again, probably something that won't matterto
anyone other than myself, but something I wanted to get out there.
Cheers,
Marco
--
Marco Tabini
php|architect
Phone: +1 (416) 630-6202 x.666
Fax: +1 (416) 630-5057
Web: http://www.phparch.com
| |
| Hannes Magnusson 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| Hi Marco
On 2/8/07, Marco Tabini <marcot@tabini.ca> wrote:
> All=97
>
> First of all, let me say that I am sending this e-mail after a lot of ver=
y
> reluctant thought; since my company is in the business or organizing PHP
> conferences, I am clearly biased and, inasmuch as I think that I am writi=
ng
> objectively, I can hardly claim that as a fact.
>
> First a quick bit of background for those not in the loop: all
> conference-related news have been removed from the php.net homepage; this
> was discussed briefly at various intervals on IRC, and although general
> agreement had been reached that conference announcements were beginning t=
o
> clutter the homepage, no decision was taken until yesterday, when they we=
re
> abruptly removed from the home page and relegated to a separate page that
> can only be reached by clicking on a link at the top of the site template=
..
>
> I think this was a bad decision for a number of reasons.
>
> The first=97let me get it out in the open right away=97is that it damages=
my
> business. In all honesty, if this change hadn't affected me directly, I
> wouldn't be writing this e-mail. This clearly doesn't concern anyone else
> (except those who also organize PHP conferences), but it needs to be stat=
ed
> to keep things in perspective.
>
> The second is that, although my event has now lost some exposure, this is=
a
> relatively minor problem for my organization, because we have other means=
to
> promote php|tek and we build the cost of that promotion into our prices.
> Other organizations=97for example, all the non-profits that organize
> conferences, like PHP Qu=E9bec or the Vancouver PUG, have different goals=
and
> probably rely on the exposure they receive through php.net much more. I
> cannot and do not speak for them, but I can't imagine them popping the
> bottles of champagne open right now.
>
> Conferences matter to the PHP community, and they matter to
> php.netvisitors. In the last thirty days, we have received
> approximately 9,000
> referrals from the various php.net mirrors=97these are people who saw the
> conference announcement on the homepage and clicked through to our site. =
It
> is by no means an astronomical number, but it is certainly significant
> enough to dispel any notion that the conference announcements are irrelev=
ant
> or that they do not belong on php.net in the first place.
>
> Historically, conferences have also played a part in the growth and
> increased popularity of PHP. Many core developers have had opportunity on=
ce
> and again to meet face-to-face at the various events worldwide=97not just
> among themselves, but also with PHP users from around the globe. In turn,
> conferences have helped (directly and indirectly) with spreading the word
> about PHP in settings where it might have otherwise made no inroads
> whatsoever. Many companies and organizations that organize conferences ha=
ve
> also directly supported the PHP projects by contributing either financial=
ly
> or by other means.
>
> Removing the conference announcements from the homepage wholesale and
> essentially "disappearing" them from the site (if you think that the link=
at
> the top makes everything ok, I suggest you take a look at Fitt's Law of
> ergonomics and reconsider) has caused a number of (perhaps unintended)
> consequences:
>
> 1. While the fact that conference announcements appeared on php.net didn'=
t
> amount to an endorsement, they certainly indicated that the PHP Group
> considered them relevant to the community. Removing them abruptly and wit=
h
> no explanation signals a shift in policy which, in my opinion, does not j=
ive
> with reality. To the outsider, the removal could well mean that the peopl=
e
> who run php.net no longer consider conferences useful, relevant or import=
ant
> to the community=97and that is not what I have heard from the people I ha=
ve
> actually spoken to.
This simply is not true. I consider the announcements that important that t=
hey
deserve their own dedicated page where they can live happily among all othe=
r
PHP events around the world, be it a quick coffee at the Daily Dose Coffee =
House
and Bar or a whole w of lectures.
These events have however absolutely nothing to do with php.net and are now=
here
near the importance of a real news entry from php.net.
Being so arrogant to add a 'call for paper' announcement as a top entry 25h=
ours
after the release of PHP 5.2.0 is quite an accomplishment btw...
These announcements got so overwhelming that it was almost pointless adding=
any
php.net related entry on there cause within a w there would be two new
announcements making the real php.net related entry old and not as noticeab=
le.
The frontpage has been treated as conference holders private commercial gro=
und
for long enough. It is time for php.net to take the control back and give
PHP related events their own dedicated page to keep their information on.
It is a win win situation. Those who care about php.net news will check the
frontpage, those who want to know whats is going on in the world of PHP eve=
nts
will check the event schedule and the conference page.
> 2. Removing all the announcements also means that calls for papers are no
> longer visible at all. This deprives the entire community of an opportuni=
ty
> to make their voices heard, and to make an impact on the PHP world.
> Ultimately, this damages PHP, simply because there is less opportunity to
> promote new ideas.
They were moved. Not removed.
How exactly is this giving anyone less opportunity to promote new ideas?
I see this a _better_ opportunity. We could even create a specific section =
for
call for papers on php.net/conferences in the future (on the right side may=
be?)
Lets see how keeping them in between will workout. I can't however imagine =
how
this could be a problem as they have been surrounded with lot of other thin=
gs
in the past.
> 3. The list of upcoming conferences currently shown in the right-hand sid=
e
> bar is completely useless. All the three conferences listed on the site
> right now (Vancouver PHP, OSDC Israel and UK PHP Conference) are to take
> place in the next three ws. The problem is that the decision of attend=
ing
> a conference=97particularly if it lasts more than a day=97is hardly ever =
made on
> a whim. It usually takes careful planning, management approval of expense=
s,
> and so on. A list of upcoming conferences listed chronologically does not
> help anyone, while the old system was, in a sense, self-regulating, since
> every organizer tried to publish their announcement when they would
> strategically make the most sense, rather than have them categorized by a=
n
> arbitrary algorithm.
Is your conference on the list?
By clicking on a item on it you get a calendar listing what is happening in=
the
world of PHP events (conferences, user groups & training). This is the perf=
ect
place to pick an event at your liking that fits your schedule.
php.net/cal.php && php.net/conferences are your friends, not the enemy.
> 4. There are now two news items on the main page of php.net=97one is from=
the
> beginning of November, and the other from a few days go. Even with an
> announcement coming about a 5.2.1 release and an explanation of what
> happened to the conference announcements (which will eventually fall off =
of
> the main page), that gives the impression that very little happened in PH=
P
> land since last fall. This is obviously not true=97but you have to have
> intimate knowledge of the going ons of the platform to know it.
>
> 5. Conference announcements have also disappeared from the RSS feed. I am
> not sure how many people rely on it to get their PHP news, but they are n=
ow
> cut off from knowledge of these events.
At this moment there is no feed for conference announcements, but there wil=
l be
soon enough.
> 6. There is a difference between desire for action and impulsiveness. I
> understand and appreciate that discussing things to death is not
> constructive; however, "we talked about it on IRC for three hours" is not=
a
> good justification for such a significant and far-reaching change. Allowi=
ng
> everyone to voice their opinion=97karma or no karma=97before making signi=
ficant
> decisions has always been the norm.
After each announcement this is discussed, unofficially though.
The last entry was the last straw for me. I started to consider these
announcements as spam.
Something _had_ to be done. I asked quickly around and did not find anyone =
who
disagreed. How unpopular it may have been with conference planers I took it=
upon
myself to regain the control of the frontpage and move all these events ont=
o
their own page for everyone interested to see.
Those who don't care, these announcements will not bother again.
Those who care, these announcements are easily (if not more) available.
No release announcements. No news about the work from the doc team.
Nothing will now get in conference announcement way again.
-Hannes
> All things considered, if the concern was to reduce clutter on the home
> page, I think that the situation could have been handled much better. Ras=
mus
> has mentioned that he is looking to have the site redesigned; the decisio=
n
> to move conference announcements could have been made part of the redesig=
n
> and made to take place in a more organic way. Others might have suggested
> workable solutions that would fit in the current design without making ra=
sh
> changes that were obviously not well thought through.
>
> On a personal note, I am very dispirited; organizing conferences is hard,
> and very expensive work (you cannot fully appreciate this until you have
> been asked to pay $70 for a gallon of coffee) and, while it is my day job
> and obviously gives me a direct benefit, I have always felt that making
> these events happen was a great way to give back to the community and to =
the
> people who make PHP a reality. This decision feel like a huge (and
> unwarranted) slap in the face=97again, probably something that won't matt=
er to
> anyone other than myself, but something I wanted to get out there.
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Marco
>
> --
> Marco Tabini
> php|architect
>
> Phone: +1 (416) 630-6202 x.666
> Fax: +1 (416) 630-5057
> Web: http://www.phparch.com
>
| |
| Marco Tabini 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| Hello Hannes—
On 2/8/07, Hannes Magnusson <hannes.magnusson@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Marco
>
> with
> jive
> people
> important
> have
>
> This simply is not true. I consider the announcements that important that
> they
> deserve their own dedicated page where they can live happily among all
> other
> PHP events around the world, be it a quick coffee at the Daily Dose Coffee
> House
> and Bar or a whole w of lectures.
Really? The rest of your e-mail clearly contradicts this statement. In fact,
you consider the announcements to be such a nuisance that you want to move
them to another place.
These events have however absolutely nothing to do with php.net and are
> nowhere
> near the importance of a real news entry from php.net.
I disagree; and, at a very minimum, it is not up to you to decide what does
and does not belong to the main page. Has it occurred to you that perhaps
people read the homepage *precisely* because they get news other than
release announcements?
Being so arrogant to add a 'call for paper' announcement as a top entry
> 25hours
> after the release of PHP 5.2.0 is quite an accomplishment btw...
So you are essentially condemning an entire group of people to oblivion
based on what one person has done?
These announcements got so overwhelming that it was almost pointless adding
> any
> php.net related entry on there cause within a w there would be two new
> announcements making the real php.net related entry old and not as
> noticeable.
>
> The frontpage has been treated as conference holders private commercial
> ground
> for long enough. It is time for php.net to take the control back and give
> PHP related events their own dedicated page to keep their information on.
>
> It is a win win situation. Those who care about php.net news will check
> the
> frontpage, those who want to know whats is going on in the world of PHP
> events
> will check the event schedule and the conference page.
Please do not make the mistake to think that you are representative of the
entire php.net readership. You are not. Neither am I. The difference is that
you are dismissing my point of view—and presumably the point of view of
other people—without giving me any consideration.
CVS karma comes with a certain amount of responsibility; I do not have any
CVS karma, and respect the fact that I need to make my point and convince
those who do that I am right—or not, but at least there should be an
opportunity for all those who are directly affected by a decision to speak
up. You have karma, and completely ignored any reasonable process.
> 2. Removing all the announcements also means that calls for papers are no
> opportunity
> to
>
> They were moved. Not removed.
> How exactly is this giving anyone less opportunity to promote new ideas?
> I see this a _better_ opportunity. We could even create a specific section
> for
> call for papers on php.net/conferences in the future (on the right side
> maybe?)
This is a meaningless statement; for all intents and purposes, they were
removed, not moved. People who read the news through the RSS feed will no
longer see them. Those who are *looking* for conferences will have a really
hard time finding the tiny link at the top-right.
Lets see how keeping them in between will workout. I can't however imagine
> how
> this could be a problem as they have been surrounded with lot of other
> things
> in the past.
This is akin to someone coming in to your office and saying "let's fire
Hannes and see how that works out." Would you like that to happen to you?
> 3. The list of upcoming conferences currently shown in the right-hand side
> [snip]
Is your conference on the list?
> By clicking on a item on it you get a calendar listing what is happening
> in the
> world of PHP events (conferences, user groups & training). This is the
> perfect
> place to pick an event at your liking that fits your schedule.
>
> php.net/cal.php && php.net/conferences are your friends, not the enemy.
Indeed, as they are set up now, they are useless. I have already explained
why, and I beg you to take my word for it—I'm the one who runs these things,
remember? I'd like to think that after eight conferences I have an idea of
how they work.
> 4. There are now two news items on the main page of php.net—one is from
> the
> of
> PHP
> am
> now
>
> At this moment there is no feed for conference announcements, but there
> will be
> soon enough.
Again, what does this mean? Soon enough for whom?
> 6. There is a difference between desire for action and impulsiveness. I
> not a
> Allowing
> significant
>
> After each announcement this is discussed, unofficially though.
> The last entry was the last straw for me. I started to consider these
> announcements as spam.
>
> Something _had_ to be done. I asked quickly around and did not find anyone
> who
> disagreed. How unpopular it may have been with conference planers I took
> it upon
> myself to regain the control of the frontpage and move all these events
> onto
> their own page for everyone interested to see.
This is not true. I was on IRC, and there were objections—and this is a
fact, not my personal opinion.
Those who don't care, these announcements will not bother again.
> Those who care, these announcements are easily (if not more) available.
>
> No release announcements. No news about the work from the doc team.
> Nothing will now get in conference announcement way again.
Wonderful; too bad nobody will care, either. Why, instead of making these
changes, don't we revert back to the way things were and then look at how we
can make all these news coexist without encroaching on each other? That
seems like a level-headed approach to solving the problem.
Marco
--
Marco Tabini
php|architect
Phone: +1 (416) 630-6202 x.666
Fax: +1 (416) 630-5057
Web: http://www.phparch.com
| |
| Sean Coates 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| > Wonderful; too bad nobody will care, either. Why, instead of making these
> changes, don't we revert back to the way things were and then look at
> how we
> can make all these news coexist without encroaching on each other? That
> seems like a level-headed approach to solving the problem.
<goodoldirc>
[16:31] <bjori> Chocula: as I said yesterday, scoates (or anyone with
karma) is totally free to revert it for all I care
</goodoldirc>
Does anyone actually object to reverting this until we can talk about a
good solution to the problem?
In the same vein, does anyone actually disagree that we should talk
about these things on-list before doing them?
I'd be happy to help implement a solution that at least attempts to make
everyone happy (that means I'll volunteer to help write the code).
IMO, we also need to set a soft policy on what is and isn't allowed on
the main page (in a collective manner).
S
| |
| Edin Kadribasic 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| On Feb 8, 2007, at 22:36, Sean Coates wrote:
> Does anyone actually object to reverting this until we can talk about a
> good solution to the problem?
Yes, I do object strongly!
> In the same vein, does anyone actually disagree that we should talk
> about these things on-list before doing them?
In theory this is a good idea. But nobody really asked about hijacking
php.net for the financial benefit of conference organizers.
> I'd be happy to help implement a solution that at least attempts to
> make
> everyone happy (that means I'll volunteer to help write the code).
The current look is fine. A very small minority (I'd guestimate far
fewer than 1%) of php.net visitors are interested in conference
announcements.
> IMO, we also need to set a soft policy on what is and isn't allowed on
> the main page (in a collective manner).
>
This change was prompted by the big frustration that very important
news announcements like the one about great progress our *voloteer*
docs team has made goes unnoticed because people have given up on
php.net as the source of news.
I for one, am looking forward to more dynamic and interesting php.net
front page with content that is interesting to more than a handful
conference goers.
Edin
| |
| Sara Golemon 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| >> Wonderful; too bad nobody will care, either. Why, instead of making these
>
> <goodoldirc>
> [16:31] <bjori> Chocula: as I said yesterday, scoates (or anyone with
> karma) is totally free to revert it for all I care
> </goodoldirc>
>
> Does anyone actually object to reverting this until we can talk about a
> good solution to the problem?
>
> In the same vein, does anyone actually disagree that we should talk
> about these things on-list before doing them?
>
> I'd be happy to help implement a solution that at least attempts to make
> everyone happy (that means I'll volunteer to help write the code).
>
> IMO, we also need to set a soft policy on what is and isn't allowed on
> the main page (in a collective manner).
>
Sean/Marco-
You both know I've got nothing but love for php|architect, and I do
agree with the principle that this could have had some list discussion
before being implemented. That said, I don't think moving these is
unreasonable. They are PHP-community news items, but not actual PHP
news. I also don't think it's unreasonable for PHP to give-back to
those who organize conferences (which in turn allow a lot of us to
travel and meet-up in person) by displaying some advertising (yes, I'm
calling these how I see them).
So we need a compromise.
My proposal would be to bifurcate the homepage with actual PHP news
going on top (release announcements, security advisories, etc...), and
PHP-Community news going on the bottom (Conference announcements, PUGs,
etc...). I would also recommend splitting the RSS feed in twain so that
these topics are covered independently. This satisfies the need to
"unclutter" PHP news, while granting reasonable affordances to
conference organizers and other driving forces of the PHP community.
-Sara
| |
| Edin Kadribasic 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| Sara Golemon wrote:
> So we need a compromise.
>
> My proposal would be to bifurcate the homepage with actual PHP news
> going on top (release announcements, security advisories, etc...), and
> PHP-Community news going on the bottom (Conference announcements, PUGs,
> etc...). I would also recommend splitting the RSS feed in twain so that
> these topics are covered independently. This satisfies the need to
> "unclutter" PHP news, while granting reasonable affordances to
> conference organizers and other driving forces of the PHP community.
I would be very much against advertising for-profit products for free on
PHP.net disguised as "community news". If we do that I see no reason why
should conferences be the only commercial product that is granted free
ad space, as I do honestly think that a release of say new Zend Studio
or other development environment has bigger community relevance, than a
"call for papers" that is relevant for a couple dozen people at most.
Edin
| |
| Marco Tabini 2007-02-08, 7:00 pm |
| Hi Edin—
On 2/8/07, Edin Kadribasic <edink@php.net> wrote:
>
> Sara Golemon wrote:
> I would be very much against advertising for-profit products for free on
> PHP.net disguised as "community news". If we do that I see no reason why
> should conferences be the only commercial product that is granted free
> ad space, as I do honestly think that a release of say new Zend Studio
> or other development environment has bigger community relevance, than a
> "call for papers" that is relevant for a couple dozen people at most.
I actually disagree with this. As long as everyone (for- and non-profit) is
given equal access, the announcement is about a product that is directly
related to PHP and these announcements do not overwhelm the other
php.netnews, I think everyone would benefit from them.
And once again, my statistics show that conferences are relevant to a lot
more than a dozen people.
Marco
Edin
>
>
>
>
--
Marco Tabini
php|architect
Phone: +1 (416) 630-6202 x.666
Fax: +1 (416) 630-5057
Web: http://www.phparch.com
| |
| Andi Gutmans 2007-02-08, 10:00 pm |
| The first time that I hear of this.
I didn't read everything Marco wrote (too long :) but I must say I'm =
unpleasantly surprised at removing conferences from the front
page.
I think conferences (whether commercial or non-commercial) are of high =
importance and interest to the broad PHP developer's
community and less visibility for them will mean lower momentum for the =
gatherings and thus for PHP itself.
It's really not a very good community move. These conferences are =
extremely supportive of the community and PHP profileration.
Andi=20
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mtabini@gmail.com [mailto:mtabini@gmail.com] On Behalf=20
> Of Marco Tabini
> Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2007 10:05 AM
> To: webmaster@php.net
> Subject: Please bring the conference news back
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> All=97
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> First of all, let me say that I am sending this e-mail after=20
> a lot of very reluctant thought; since my company is in the=20
> business or organizing PHP conferences, I am clearly biased=20
> and, inasmuch as I think that I am writing objectively, I can=20
> hardly claim that as a fact.
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> First a quick bit of background for those not in the loop:=20
> all conference-related news have been removed from the=20
> php.net homepage; this was discussed briefly at various=20
> intervals on IRC, and although general agreement had been=20
> reached that conference announcements were beginning to=20
> clutter the homepage, no decision was taken until yesterday,=20
> when they were abruptly removed from the home page and=20
> relegated to a separate page that can only be reached by=20
> clicking on a link at the top of the site template.
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> I think this was a bad decision for a number of reasons.
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> The first=97let me get it out in the open right away=97is that it=20
> damages my business. In all honesty, if this change hadn't=20
> affected me directly, I wouldn't be writing this e-mail. This=20
> clearly doesn't concern anyone else (except those who also=20
> organize PHP conferences), but it needs to be stated to keep=20
> things in perspective.
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> The second is that, although my event has now lost some=20
> exposure, this is a relatively minor problem for my=20
> organization, because we have other means to promote php|tek=20
> and we build the cost of that promotion into our prices.
> Other organizations=97for example, all the non-profits that=20
> organize conferences, like PHP Qu=E9bec or the Vancouver PUG,=20
> have different goals and probably rely on the exposure they=20
> receive through php.net much more. I cannot and do not speak=20
> for them, but I can't imagine them popping the bottles of=20
> champagne open right now.
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> Conferences matter to the PHP community, and they matter to=20
> php.netvisitors. In the last thirty days, we have received=20
> approximately 9,000 referrals from the various php.net=20
> mirrors=97these are people who saw the conference announcement=20
> on the homepage and clicked through to our site. It is by no=20
> means an astronomical number, but it is certainly significant=20
> enough to dispel any notion that the conference announcements=20
> are irrelevant or that they do not belong on php.net in the=20
> first place.
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> Historically, conferences have also played a part in the=20
> growth and increased popularity of PHP. Many core developers=20
> have had opportunity once and again to meet face-to-face at=20
> the various events worldwide=97not just among themselves, but=20
> also with PHP users from around the globe. In turn,=20
> conferences have helped (directly and indirectly) with=20
> spreading the word about PHP in settings where it might have=20
> otherwise made no inroads whatsoever. Many companies and=20
> organizations that organize conferences have also directly=20
> supported the PHP projects by contributing either financially=20
> or by other means.
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> Removing the conference announcements from the homepage=20
> wholesale and essentially "disappearing" them from the site=20
> (if you think that the link at the top makes everything ok, I=20
> suggest you take a look at Fitt's Law of ergonomics and=20
> reconsider) has caused a number of (perhaps unintended)
> consequences:
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> 1. While the fact that conference announcements appeared on=20
> php.net didn't amount to an endorsement, they certainly=20
> indicated that the PHP Group considered them relevant to the=20
> community. Removing them abruptly and with no explanation=20
> signals a shift in policy which, in my opinion, does not jive=20
> with reality. To the outsider, the removal could well mean=20
> that the people who run php.net no longer consider=20
> conferences useful, relevant or important to the=20
> community=97and that is not what I have heard from the people I=20
> have actually spoken to.
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> 2. Removing all the announcements also means that calls for=20
> papers are no longer visible at all. This deprives the entire=20
> community of an opportunity to make their voices heard, and=20
> to make an impact on the PHP world.
> Ultimately, this damages PHP, simply because there is less=20
> opportunity to promote new ideas.
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> 3. The list of upcoming conferences currently shown in the=20
> right-hand side bar is completely useless. All the three=20
> conferences listed on the site right now (Vancouver PHP, OSDC=20
> Israel and UK PHP Conference) are to take place in the next=20
> three ws. The problem is that the decision of attending a=20
> conference=97particularly if it lasts more than a day=97is hardly=20
> ever made on a whim. It usually takes careful planning,=20
> management approval of expenses, and so on. A list of=20
> upcoming conferences listed chronologically does not help=20
> anyone, while the old system was, in a sense,=20
> self-regulating, since every organizer tried to publish their=20
> announcement when they would strategically make the most=20
> sense, rather than have them categorized by an arbitrary algorithm.
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> 4. There are now two news items on the main page of=20
> php.net=97one is from the beginning of November, and the other=20
> from a few days go. Even with an announcement coming about a=20
> 5.2.1 release and an explanation of what happened to the=20
> conference announcements (which will eventually fall off of=20
> the main page), that gives the impression that very little=20
> happened in PHP land since last fall. This is obviously not=20
> true=97but you have to have intimate knowledge of the going ons=20
> of the platform to know it.
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> 5. Conference announcements have also disappeared from the=20
> RSS feed. I am not sure how many people rely on it to get=20
> their PHP news, but they are now cut off from knowledge of=20
> these events.
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> 6. There is a difference between desire for action and=20
> impulsiveness. I understand and appreciate that discussing=20
> things to death is not constructive; however, "we talked=20
> about it on IRC for three hours" is not a good justification=20
> for such a significant and far-reaching change. Allowing=20
> everyone to voice their opinion=97karma or no karma=97before=20
> making significant decisions has always been the norm.
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> All things considered, if the concern was to reduce clutter=20
> on the home page, I think that the situation could have been=20
> handled much better. Rasmus has mentioned that he is looking=20
> to have the site redesigned; the decision to move conference=20
> announcements could have been made part of the redesign and=20
> made to take place in a more organic way. Others might have=20
> suggested workable solutions that would fit in the current=20
> design without making rash changes that were obviously not=20
> well thought through.
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> On a personal note, I am very dispirited; organizing=20
> conferences is hard, and very expensive work (you cannot=20
> fully appreciate this until you have been asked to pay $70=20
> for a gallon of coffee) and, while it is my day job and=20
> obviously gives me a direct benefit, I have always felt that=20
> making these events happen was a great way to give back to=20
> the community and to the people who make PHP a reality. This=20
> decision feel like a huge (and
> unwarranted) slap in the face=97again, probably something that=20
> won't matter to anyone other than myself, but something I=20
> wanted to get out there.
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> Cheers,
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> Marco
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> --
> Marco Tabini
> php|architect
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> Phone: +1 (416) 630-6202 x.666
> Fax: +1 (416) 630-5057
> Web: http://www.phparch.com
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