Re: FYI: Lessons from Kai Wu at ArsDigita

> If you started on
> a given system (ACS 3, ACS 4, or ACS 5 Java) you usually stayed
> on it - translating software plumbing is a nauseating task for
> smart programmers, nor is it an appealing expense for clients.

I would add that it is a low priority for any business with deployed 
applications.  At Jamkit, we are still using DTML, because we reuse as 
much code as possible, and the business benefits of rewriting all our 
existing code libraries are not compelling enough.  For the same reason, 
we are very unlikely to port *existing* apps to Zope 3 for a very long time.

> Back to the past: Of course, our open-source external community
> ... took ... a long time to translate
> and begin improving ACS 4 Tcl ... in some ways, that learning 
 > curve sucked up such critical amounts of time and energy that their
 > whole community suffered; growth in ACS adopters slowed greatly.

Yes - this is the first time I've seen this particular risk clearly 
articulated.

>     If you have the luxury of time and a slow transition, use it.

>     And always, always have something to show people

> I think even a period of 6 months where you're promising The Next
> Great Thing while reluctantly showing your old software with
> downcast eyes and shuffling feet will do you serious harm. 

All of Kai Wu's observations suggest this route to me:

  - make some crystal clear, highly visible statements that Zope3
    is an R&D effort, without a release date, from the front page
    of zope.org
  - get Zope 3 to beta quality without any fanfares
  - write developer and user manuals
  - set up a new mailing list for the more casual users as soon as
    possible ([email protected])
  - release perhaps 10 really useful products / plugins / whatever we're
    going to call them
  - get installers working smoothly (windows, rpms, debs, etc)
  - *ONLY THEN* do we set a release date for the full Zope3 beta, make
    press releases, spam mailing lists

seb