JomSocial vs. CB vs. Joomunity vs. Others

[Aristocrat]

I personally think the fact that Joomla has been marketed as a CMS alone has been an unfair treatment.

I have developed in Drupal or Wordpress and they feel like swimming in the mud. They offer a lot out of the box, but do not scale well enough and hit their limits when you want to do more. You have to write many lines of code to get something small done and the end result code is quite messy and out of hand. They have APIs but a good framework is absent from both applications.

I'd say Joomla is more of a Content Management Framework which happens to be shipped with a basic CMS extension with articles, categories, and sections. But combining Joomla and frameworks such as Nooku Framework you can develop the best tools quite fast and the results are very organized and maintainable.

K2 is a good example. If you are not happy with what Joomla offers out of the box, build your own flavour of cms extension and install it Joomla.

In fact I think tools such as Joomla and Nooku Framework as one of the few quite nice options today that close the gap between the software development and web development worlds.

[Jekerdud]

I've noticed it's been a while since any word on Elgg integration has come up. Has that project gone under?

[prilly]

From what I can tell, it fell flat on it's face. I have the impression that some of the students who signed up for "Summer of Code", didn't do a thing on their project. I tried to find info on Summer of Code follow-up, and couldn't find any comments about it.

[geethamcasweet]

hi friends...... i m new for joomla and jomsocial. i want to add one extra button(i.e) logout in jomsocial page. where should i make change and add a button, as well as need to change font also, help me

[mariusvr]

From what I can tell, it fell flat on it's face. I have the impression that some of the students who signed up for "Summer of Code", didn't do a thing on their project. I tried to find info on Summer of Code follow-up, and couldn't find any comments about it.

This is incorrect, as he completed his project which can be accessed on:
http://code.google.com/p/jconnect/

JFusion now also has Elgg support, you can download the latest package from:
http://jfusion.googlecode.com/svn/branc ... ackage.zip

Thanks, Marius

[pmcnamara]

So basically, 1.6 is on the way... and it has the same author/editor/publisher problem since day one ?

[MCNX]

Re. JomSocial: I tested it and in my opinion, this extension has a lot of potential. You can try it for free, then if it works for you, you can buy it.
It didn't work for me though, but it was a while ago when I tested it and they updated twice since then, so I'll give it a try again. By the way, I'll see how it works with Joomla 1.5.15.
Re. Dolphin-Boonex: Someone posted about it. It's not a Joomla extension (of course you guys know that) and it's full of bugs.

[MCNX]

good to know!

[prilly]

I think everyone has their eye on Anahita at this time. Jomsocial is good, but some of the more advanced users are not satisfied. And they are impatient; development is not as rapid as they like.

Perhaps Anahita will be a satisfactory solution for the professional users. The roadmap for Anahita indicates the initial release will be this month maybe.

Being an initial release, however, I think there will likely be complaints - again - that it is not "enough". Developers have a hard time because users are sophisticated (and spoiled?) by the advanced tools that are available online, with Facebook and MySpace and many others. So they want Open Source to be up to those standards even though projects such as JomSocial and Anahita are still very young.

[mojoe]

First off, I've really enjoyed this thread. I've been charged with upgrading our j! 1.0 site for the edu program I work for. I didn't have much j! background until I've started to develop the new site in j!1.5. I'd categorize myself as a intermediate J! admin with little programming or webdev background.

I've been banging my head trying to find a good solution where content, acl, subscriptions, multiple registrations, user content tracking and social networking are all needed and should be integrated - yet it seems there's no solid solution. I've taken a look at drupal (learning curve) and liferay ce (too business oriented but great out-of-the-box features) but both came up short on *where* I think J! is going and can provide for a noob like myself. Personally, I feel J! is the best all-around solution due to ease of use, flexibility, and support.

In the attempt of trying to build a j! site I've noticed that there are varying quality of extensions. Even now it takes me time, sometimes several days, to configure and test a few competing extensions. If j! mocked up websites and included a list of extensions they used and/or configuration it would certainly help as it's draining having to search through so many extensions to find the right one. Also, worrying about the commitment factor of the dev. is an issue. At first, I was excited to see work done with OpenFreeway only to see it sputter away. In regards to apps like elgg, I think that opportunity is great but I have concern around installation and configuration between the two and then the extra management of two apps on the server. Security is a big issue since we will be stewards of student information so I'm having to learn server security issues and what not (j! security checklist is great!) but it just becomes another thing to worry about. Obviously, its amazing that someone like myself can build a fairly nice website in a matter of days. However, I think for a noob, J! has a limit namely that it can serve as a content based website where the users are only readers and authors+, modification of content display, and customization of style & design. Once you decide to include acl, subscriptions, social networking and user content tracking - it's pretty time intensive.

However, I'd be curious to hear anyone's opinion on what they see j! being 6mo/1yr from now and if possible what kind of solution would you expect to see to allow ACL, subscriptions, multiple registration & profiles, user content tracking and a robust social network to be seamless.

Looking forward to Anahita and j! 1.6
Cheers,
m.

[unleash_it]

Dear friends,

was offline for several months - /(moving houses)

Well i think everyone can keep an eye on Anahita at this time. I talked to Rastin one of the lead-devs from Anahita. They work hard.
Guess that Anahita will be a satisfactory solution for the professional users.
The roadmap for Anahita indicates the initial release will be this month maybe.

Look forward to hear from you guys

Joo_jesus

[prilly]

I appreciate Aristocrat/Rastin's comments about Joomla as a CMS. I've looked at Drupal, but the community is not as impressive as the Joomla community. There is exceptional organization here. Apparently that organization extends to the softwares as well.

I installed WordPress and uninstalled it. I can't get comfortable with WP.

I like how Joomla is structured. Even for a non-programmer like me, I think Joomla is more flexible and extendible than other CMS programs I've installed and tried to work with (which is quite a few.)

The way Joomla works with templates is absolutely amazing, to me. So easy.

[wadzaloo]

Hi there,

As you can see i am totally newcomer in Joomla.org forum but Joomla user since 3 years now. I am not a developper, neither skilled enough to speak about architecture, just able to use my elbow grease to hack files thanks to helpers advices

First of all, i would like to thank you for this very interesting thread with lot of added value in informations and thoughs. I particularly appreciated dpk opinions and all synthesis update on Elgg, Jommunity and Anahita status along the thread.. My english is so poor, so joo_jesus updates was useful !

I want to keep the track of this thread with the root subject and just add some cents about JomSocial and recent evolutions. JomSocial today if close to release its 1.6 version (with no deep visible changes regarding 1.5 current release).

I am a blogging on a french site devoted to guitar and as my intention was to give more than a blog, i choose Joomla and completely satisfied by it.
I decided 1 year ago to launch (very discreetly) a community "web2.0" approach around guitar stuffs and for this, left CB to invest in JomSocial....

Main point of interest for me was the "facebook look" i.e ability to post directly some links,video, discussions around dedicated themas (through groups) and give the "real time" visibility through a timeline (so called activity stream in JomSocial).
This choice not only because it is in the mood (and finally no so far of a forum approach) but this kind of presentation is an expectation of our community. That's a fact

So now i feel able to give a testimony on JomSocial use but as a summary and thank to this thread i am now following evolutions with other initiatives (Elgg,Joomunity, Anahita mainly)
Sorry for my poor and clumsy english again....
Links are maybe not available for you, i suppose (for reasons explained below), you have to pay 150$ to have a look on it (ask me if you want a copy-paste of content)

1) Despite willingness of lot of helpers and some (not all) Support Team members, JS is still buggy, hard coded (number of complex hacks with lot of interferences to apply to change the layout) and i am really not confident in the ability of Azrul to manage the bug list with total confusion in what is a bug (in programmer point of view) and feature requests (which are considered as bugs for end user) . The Azrul forum becomes completely shambolic. No view on bug list, no view on roadmap....I suppose Mark (developper) is alone and completely underflowed.
See for example this thread on next 1.6 release (but really a little piece of the iceberg)
http://www.jomsocial.com/forum/index.ph ... =viewtopic

2) JS policy is more and more a mess. I feel a kind of panic mood in Azrul team and now more and more users are complaining about different lacks of "legal" features (privacy aspects is one of example) and Azrul behaviour regarding webmasters obligations on Country laws. In addition now, mutiny is growing due to the fact 12month renewal encompass bug fixes for historical users (change of the contract !!)
2 examples :
on contract changes: http://www.jomsocial.com/webforum/viewt ... =5&t=13347
an historical user/helper is leaving "i'm gone" :
http://www.jomsocial.com/forum/index.ph ... =viewtopic

3) Regarding features, JS looks good but something is missing called "utisability". A basic for a social site: users wants to have visibility on what's happen and can't do more than 1 or 2 clic to access to informations, comment, discuss.....

- Activity Stream is more a change log (lack of content, URL's are not parsed...) than a real information board. More serious, the front page is hard coded and you see all activities (from all members) - no choice of "my friends only, my groups only".... No possibility to browse in olders activities. You choose to display 5,20 or 40 whatever but that's all. For Azrul it is a "feature request" Is it planned? when ? nobody nows

- There is a "wall" feature available only on each profile page. It means you are not able to post something to "all your friends". If you want to see wall contents you have go to each friend profile. What is the interest ?

The list can be long, if you are interested, i can post more informations on JS behaviour. As my site is very unknown at the moment (i don't feel confident to advertise and do some SEO stuffs), it is on line with JS1.6 beta and you can see JS in action with a specific account for you:

http://www.legrattonaute.net
USN : membertest
PSW:membertest

The homepage is replaced by a profile page with some hacks. Due to bad behavior of JS today, there is no wall access,no groups access & no video or photos features installed yet. Just the strict minimum...

This clearly not an advertisement,not interested to do that

[prilly]

It would be nice if Jomsocial handled templates the same way Joomla does. WHenever there is an upgrade, it takes me a whole working day to get my templates back the way I like them. And I haven't even done anything very complicated. I have an entire page of Notes, to remind myself what needs to be changed every time there's an upgrade.

I'm surprised Joomunity is still in the JED. I asked them about that and they gave me a non-answer. But why is it still there, if the project is abandoned?

I like the way Elgg's activity stream works. But I don't like Elgg very much otherwise.

Yes, I think everybody is keeping an eye on Anahita.

[unleash_it]

hi there.

i love all your work - and the exchange of ideas here.

And yes: I appreciate Aristocrats comments about Joomla as a CMS.
I've looked at Elgg, but the community is by far not as impressive as the Joomla community.

i will wait untill The Anahitapolis - development goes on

best regards
joo

[prilly]

When Anahita is released to the public at the end of February (according to the roadmap), I think there will be a mad rush to get it. The development of Anahita appears to be very well planned. This might become the most exciting new Joomla extension of the year.

[Webdongle]

Anahita looks like a sledge hammer to crack a nut. There is too much on it for my liking, I like to mix and match extensions to suit my needs.

[prilly]

Why do you say that? It appears to be modular. Seems as if we can build it as we like. I have the impression some modules will be for purchase only, but apparently the basic social community application will be free/or donation? And since it will be a genuine Joomla extension, there's the whole JED as potential add-ons.

Seems a little judgmental, considering Anahita isn't available for inspection yet.

I appreciate that Anahita staff provide regular updates on their progress as well as screenshots, AND a roadmap.

Joomunity bombed at about this stage of development. They were almost done. I wonder if they got everything nearly completed but couldn't work out the bugs? That was a strange situation. It was as if the horse fell over dead, 3 feet from the finish line.

It doesn't appear that Anahita is going to do that.

[unleash_it]

good evening web-dongle.

many thanks for steppin up the plate. Great to hear your opininion. I really look forward to hear from anahita.

best regards
joo

[Webdongle]

@Prilly

It says that it requires Joomla to work, so does that mean it is installed using Joomla ? If yes then surely it acts like a combination of extensions that already exist. But it seems to focus on User management interaction.

If it were a stand alone product it would have great potential as a Social networking platform. But as an extension of Joomla(or for that matter any CMS) I see it as too specialised. And therefore 'a sledge hammer to crack a nut' because it is so powerful in it's field.

By using such an extension in a CMS negates the flexibility and uses of a CMS. Some thing like CB is powerful but does not focus on one aspect and is therefore more suitable as an extension rather than stand alone.

That of course is just my opinion.

[prilly]

There's a lot of loyal CB fans around.

We'll have to see what Anahita is when it comes out. Too early to say, I'd say...

[unleash_it]

hello Priilly

many many thanks - i really look forward to the release of anahita

[FidelGonzales]

Access to the referenced JomSocial forum threads does not exist. There seems a silent underworld of support for Anahita. I happen to be a holdout for its arrival.

[slinky]

I was hoping to use or take a look at Anahita. I have two sites that I needed to start development for this month. After perusing all around the Anahita blog and site, for all the excitement it ends up sending you to a contact for to privately find out what the "fee" is to become a "partner" for Anahita - and to allow up to five days (!) to find out what that current fee is. At this point "underworld" is correct. The last information I've seen about the project is almost a month old. Unfortunately it seems as that the best solution ATM is to move forward with other alternatives that at least have a track record and problems in the queue for fixing... they are at least here.

[prilly]

Anahita simply isn't finished... can't be criticized for that. Their roadmap is kept current. They released 9.4 to their partners last week and expect to release their first GPL version 9.5 to the general public in March. They have the best communication I've seen, for progress on development. That's why there is some excitement about it. It's like watching the garden grow. There will be a harvest, at a predictable time.

We don't know a lot about it. But the screenshots are certainly very pretty.

[FidelGonzales]

Perhaps yet another option that has emerged and arrives by way of developers who have a formidable track record is jSocialSuite. It is yet to be released but yet another yet-to-be released option to toss into the bag of IOUs.

http://jvitals.com/index.php?option=com_jsocialsuite
http://jvitals.com/index.php?option=com ... q&Itemid=3
http://jvitals.com/index.php?option=com ... Itemid=164

[slinky]

No offense to the good people at Anahita, but it looks like a dev blog and effort that will happen when it does. For parties like myself who are looking to develop and even see a framework, demo or something that we can base a decision upon, it's nowhere to be found. A blog, roadmap and contact us form with mention of fee that asks for a 5 day response doesn't instill much confidence in this potential partner/developer. I don't mean to be harsh on them but it's like many efforts here that sort of fall between professional endeavor and hobby and might happen or just may stay half done.

Regarding jvitals, glad to hear you're working on something. Right now viewing on icons yields a strange registration page in Firefox (my guess is it's premissions protected to register but the template is incomplete.)

In this regard I was hoping for a solution that was somewhat professional and didn't feel like 95% of all the components I've ever used in Jomla - dazzling eye candy met with equal amounts of awkwardness when actually trying to use it.

[prilly]

I really don't understand the criticism. Anahita has not tried to promote their project, that I know of. How can they be criticized for not being DONE yet?

Joomunity was releasing beta versions and then they never did finish. They disappeared. They had forums and users and downloads and people who were counting on Joomunity. That place was BUSY. I do think they let people down.

If Anahita is keeping everything close to the chest, so to speak, it's probably the better part of wisdom and prudence at this point. I don't see how it can be interpreted as underworld. That's unbelievably harsh, IMO.

If it takes 5 days to get responses about being a developer, then it sorta indicates there's a lot of demand. And none of the partners are over here on the Joomla forums griping about Anahita. They are the ones who would have a legitimate beef, if anybody would. The rest of us can't say much, one way or other until it becomes available to the public.

[FidelGonzales]

Anahita has made little no effort to promote, even by way of its blog. Reading its blog, you can understand their position, as in work not to promoting a product that does not quite exist or does not yet work but instead work to release a product that speaks for itself. From memory, they claimed somewhere upon their blog the software would indeed be released for free, after a subsequent release version was first released to its partners.

For Joomunity, or whatever it looks to call itself now (Yuigo or Yoyo), it has performed much like a very bad date, setting a time and date, and not showing up, repeatedly. Yet, it still calls you up with a promise of some dazzling date night you'll never forget. And you are again stood up. You can see evidence of this via their current site, which is still listed on the Joomla Extensions Directory (JED) but links to the new brand name (Yuiqjsa$%@&@!). What's even more interesting is that upon the JED, it that it references an update in code in January 2010.

I downloaded that code. It took more than a few minutes, as you had to register through the Magentor-powered store software and an associated series of hoops and seemingly false promises. The download was branded as Joomunity version 110b3431. I have resisted tainting my test domain with an install and the plague that ensues with hopes of further development.

[slinky]

My point was one of general impression. The partnership program is quite unusual and it's difficult to understand what that means with vague terms and 5 day response time. Given the challenges with open source, my assumption is always that many people have food they need to put on the table and these projects take a back seat to the daily needs. This is also why I'm happy to pay some developers to ensure the product moves forward and to silence the whiners who think that all development efforts should be provided to them for free, including support and documentation.