Wordpress SEO is not better than Joomla. Period

09.05.09

Seems like its going to be one of those rant days...

/rant on

I just found Yet Another Post About Wordpress SEO (YAPAWS) that is saying its better than Joomla's.

This is simply not true!!!!!

Last year I tested Wordpress and Joomla SEO, and guess what? There was no real difference, if anything, Joomla was better!

If anyone can show me with objective scientific evidence that Wordpress is better for SEO than Joomla I will give you a free Joomlashack Develop [...]

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JED to be GPL Only by July 2009

09.05.09

 

About Joomla! and the GPL

The Joomla Project is a GPL community, which means not just that a particular Free and Open Source license is used for Joomla software, but also that we believe in the mission and values behind that license. These include collaboration, community, and freedom. The GPL license embodies these values.

The Joomla Extensions Directory  and the GPL

The Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) is important for many reasons: it makes it easier for users to find extensions, and it helps support the development of a vibrant and healthy commercial and non-commercial development community around Joomla. However, it may also be unintentionally undermining our support of the GPL by including extensions and other applications that run counter to it.

After careful thought and reflection, the Joomla Project has determined that the Joomla! Extensions Directory should be a community resource that fully embodies the project's values.

What Change Are We Making?

Starting on 1 March 2009 only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be accepted into the JED.  After another three months, from 1 July 2009, such extensions will no longer be listed in the JED.  Under the same schedule, all encrypted or encoded extensions, whether or not they are GPL licensed, will also be excluded. Third party developers are a valued part of our community and in order to make this transition as easy as possible for them we selected a long notification period. This change is designed to strengthen the project's active commitment to its core mission, vision and values as articulated in September 2008.

Timeline

• June 15th 2007: Joomla! confirmed that both Joomla! 1.0 and Joomla! 1.5 are released under the pure GNU GPL.
• March 1st 2009: Only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be accepted into the JED.
• July 1st: 2009: Only Joomla! extensions licensed under the GNU GPL will be listed in the JED.

Why Wait Six Months?

We understand this will be a difficult process for some developers, and we feel a responsibility to give ample notice. We want to make sure our developers have enough time to make adjustments to their product marketing and business structure, if necessary, in order to maintain their listing in the directory.

The GPL and Commercial Developers

Does this mean there will be no more commercial extensions in the JED? No.

Prohibiting commercial distribution would violate the GNU GPL and the Joomla community values of equality and freedom. Commercial extensions with the GNU GPL license and that are not encrypted are welcomed and encouraged in the JED. Today 17% of the extensions in the JED (22% of 1.5 Native extensions) are commercial, and many of those are already licensed using the GNU GPL. Among 1.5 native commercial extensions 35% are licensed using GNU GPL.

The JED Supports Developers

The Joomla team is strongly committed to supporting both commercial and non-commercial Joomla developers. We have implemented some policy changes to enhance our support for developers. We think that the best place to get an extension is from the original developer of that extension.  Therefore we will not link to collections of GPL extensions that are not submitted by the original developer. These are not requirements of the GPL license but rather fall in line with our "forking" guidelines that no direct copies or minor-changed copies of JED-listed projects will be listed.  We support the original project developer whenever possible to maintain the integrity of the listings and support developers who are building and innovating on the Joomla platform.

To have a forked project listed in the JED it must meet our requirements:

• Significant change

  Forked project must represent a significant code improvement, either in features or security and structure.

• Intent to develop and support

  Forked project must exhibit an intent to develop and support the new product.

• Unique name

  We do not allow forked projects by new developers to build on the name of the original developer without permission.

• Unique version structure

  Version numbering must clearly indicate a new project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Options Do Developers Have?

The project supports developers who are building and innovating on the Joomla platform. We are committed to providing the information and help that developers need in order to relicense (or to license for the first time, if there is no current license). The JED editors and members of the Core Team and Open Source Matters board are ready to advise or assist any developer who would like this help.If you have any questions about licensing or want help, then you can contact OSM with the following email address license@opensourcematters.org or the JED editors at team@extensions.joomla.org. Developers not currently using the GNU GPL may choose to switch from their current licensing to the GNU GPL or to no longer participate in the JED.

What if I have some GPL and some non-GPL extensions?

This policy refers only to those extensions listed in the JED. Your GPL extensions are permitted to be listed on the JED but your non-GPL extensions are not.

Where can I get information about how to license my product using the GNU GPL?

Every copy of Joomla includes a copy of the GNU GPL with instructions for licensing in the license.php file. Instructions are also available from the Free Software Foundation.

All you need to do is add two elements to each source file of your program: a copyright notice (such as “Copyright 1999 Terry Jones”), and a statement of copying permission, saying that the program is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License. (Free Software Foundation)

Can I use GPL v3 to license my extension?

Yes. In particular, you may need to use GPLv3 if you rely on certain third party libraries or APIs for your extension.

What GPL version is Joomla! licensed under?

Joomla! is licensed under GPL version 2 or later.

What does this mean for enforcement of the Joomla! license more generally?

Enforcement of the Joomla! license is a separate issue from the policies of the JED.

Isn't the JED itself built on a non-GPL extension?

The current version of the JED built on Joomla 1.5 uses a GNU GPL extension, Mosets Tree for Joomla! 1.5.

What if I think my extension doesn't violate the Joomla! license?

This is a policy in favor of software freedom and the mission, vision and values of the Joomla! Project, not one about technical issues in licensing.

Can I use a GPL compatible license?

The JED will only list extensions licensed using the GNU GPL.

Why are only GNU GPL licensed extensions being listed?

The simple answer is, making the JED a GPL only resource is the easiest and most practical solution. It frees the JED team from having to investigate or worry about licensing issues. It frees OSM from having to create and maintain a list of one or more acceptable licenses. When you break it down, other licenses were created because they opposed one or more parts of the GPL. The only license that truly embodies the spirit of the GPL is the GPL. Throughout the Open Source world, there is plenty of disagreement over what that spirit is and there is even more disagreement over what licenses are compatible and incompatible. In the end, our list of compatible licenses might be very different from yours. Our list of licenses that share the spirit of the GPL will most certainly be different than yours. So, we could waste months of time researching a list and debating which licenses should be included and excluded or we can make it simple and easy to understand for the community, the developers, and the JED team so that we can use those precious months to focus on the real point of this project: making great software.

Can I use libraries in my GPL extension that are GPL compatible?

Yes.

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Update 29-Dec-08 22:00 CET - We have added 2 new questions to the FAQ and simplified the answer for "Can I use a GPL compatible license?", this since we follow up this answer with new questions.

 

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Request for Comment: Joomla! Contributor Agreement

19.02.10

There are some pretty exciting changes coming with regard to how we work on Joomla!.  In the near future we are going to be allowing developers to register accounts via our Joomla! Developer Network site and be given access to commit code to our subversion repositories with those accounts.  We will be keeping the trunk and release sections of our repository secured for trusted maintainers, but anyone will be able to create and work in branches so that more people can be working collaboratively on making Joomla! better.

While these changes are a fantastic step towards facilitating access to the core software, they also potentially expose the project to some problems.  Historically, gaining commit access to the core repository has come with earning the trust and favor of the existing committers.  This has kept the group relatively small, and given us all good assurances that the people who are committing code understand the ramifications, both legal and social, of having that privilege.  By opening up to self-registration we are losing some of that assurance, so we felt it was important to formalize the terms under which we accept contributions to our project repositories.  

I’ve spent quite a bit of time working with OSM, the Production Leadership Team, and obviously OSM’s attorneys to come up with what we believe to be a great solution to these challenges: the Joomla! Contributor Agreement (JCA).  The JCA is based on the Sun Contributor Agreement, version 1.5, by Sun Microsystems, but obviously reworked for our purposes.  My hope is that it will make expectations for both the contributor and the Joomla! project more clear as we move into the future.  What I am presenting here today are three draft documents, and I am asking for your feedback.

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A Community United

08.11.10

Over the last five years Joomla has seen exponential growth.  We see this happening in not only the market share of sites that use Joomla, but also in the community that supports it.  Having a common goal of making Joomla better and a community structure that encourages each individual's creative spirit to be free has brought our CMS to places that were once only dreamed of.

During the joint summit in San Jose the growth and empowerment of the community was discussed.  Part of that discussion included the inherent need to document the structure and shared values for all people participating in the community.  The result of that documentation is below in the Community Code of Conduct.  Being part of a community like Joomla comes with great rewards - the largest of which is the satisfaction of knowing that you have done something positive to help society.  Anne Frank said, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  Each member of the community has this opportunity with Joomla.  To help bring the best positive methods of this to the forefront, this document was drafted.

Prior to this, only a Volunteer Code of Conduct existed.  What you see below has been taken from the Volunteer Code of Conduct and applied community-wide.  A seperate Volunteer Guidelines will be published at a later date for feedback and comments.  For now, however, please provide feedback and comments on this draft version of the Community Code of Conduct.  The goal is for this Community Code of Conduct to apply to all members of the community and all volunteers.

Community Code of Conduct

This document outlines the code of conduct for everyone interacting with other people on any of the official Joomla community resources. By participating, you agree to the following principles:

Be Considerate

You are interacting with people in the community, so be considerate of how your words and  actions affect others in the community.

Be Respectful

A community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. All members of Joomla community should be respectful when dealing with others in the community as well as with people from outside projects and initiatives.

Everyone can make a valuable contribution to Joomla.  We might all experience some frustration from time to time, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack; disagreement is not an excuse for poor behavior or poor manners.

Avoid becoming involved in flame wars, trolling, personal attacks, and repetitive arguments that are not respectful of others’ time. Take these matters "outside" (off-list, etc) if it helps resolve the situation. Do not use community resources for personal or business arguments or agendas.

Be Straightforward

In the Joomla community it is important that you speak for yourself in discussions.  Quoting other community members is often necessary, but be considerate of the fact that context is a very important part of the meaning of what others say. Avoid quoting if it creates a different meaning than what was originally said.

Be Collaborative

Joomla is free software and about collaboration and working together. Collaboration reduces redundancy of work done. It improves the quality of the software produced regardless of whether you are writing code or performing some other task.

When you disagree, consult others. Disagreements happen all the time, and Joomla is no exception. Disagreement, debate and constructive criticism is often how progress is made and is a necessary part of doing complex work in a team. The important goal is not to avoid disagreements or differing views, but to resolve them constructively.

Above all, don't make conflicts personal. Debate should never include reference to a person’s nationality, gender, orientation, beliefs, religion or other personal characteristics.

When you are unsure, ask for help. Nobody knows everything. Nobody is expected to be perfect. Asking questions avoids many problems down the road. Questions are encouraged. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful. Working Group Coordinators and Team Leaders may be able to help you to decide which direction will be most acceptable. However, when asking a question do it in an appropriate forum. Off-topic questions, such as requests for help on a development mailing list, detract from productive discussion.

Click Here to add your Feedback and Comments or Ask Questions

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Free Joomla Templates from Joomlashack

09.05.09

I was excited to come across a recent blog post about free Joomla templates, and their quality. Excited because Joomlashack managed to snag not just the #1 for Jamba, but also the #4 spot for Optimus!

Of course, having people validate how great you think your stuff is is great and all, but with respect to the free templates, I was especially pleased.

Joomlashack takes its free templates very seriously. We don't consider them commercial link-bait, or poor quality PR engines. Si [...]

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