malibu wrote:
My question is: what else has to be done to make Joomla all blog worthy so that bridging of apps like b2evo is NOT necessary.
Rewrite the road map and turn it into a blog :P Bridging isn't necessary either if an application like b2evo is made into a component
My reasoning is because bridges are a continual drain of developer resources. Frankly, I'd go so far as to say if you want to use another blog CMS, than use it. Don't try to bridge it into Joomla.
This is the crux of the issue. The line is blurring between cms and blogs BUT blogs have one purpose and cms another.
When I design a site I chose whichever tools are best suited for the type of site I am doing. If the client needs content management, I use a cms. If the client wants a blog, I use b2evo. However, if a client wants both a website with cms functionality and a blog feature, I have to weigh up whether Joomla! will work for them. At the moment, the only way to have a full-featured blog appearing to be part of the site is by using a wrapper. Some blogging systems have moved more towards cms but none do it with the functionality of Joomla! None of them is capable of being used on a professional or business site without a whole heap of work.
For me, this is not a case of either using a blog or using Joomla! - some clients want both in a seamless system.
What function does Joomla provide then? Just seems like a LOT of extra developer resources dedicated to trying to make two applications that function completely by themselves marry up to each other. My fear is that this will take resources away from making Joomla capable of meeting the web design communities needs on it's own.
Why should it? 3rd party components are just that. Their development does not impact on the development of the core.
On the other hand, as a designer, I waste countless hours trying to marry up Joomla! with b2evo and get iframes working properly across browsers.
So, what else is needed? Fish is being developed. Comments exist in component form, I think it should be integrated into core. There are several components that all have their own way of including comments, or stand alone comment management--a unified approach in the core would greatly benefit all the components that want to take advantage--without tripping over each other. Traceback would be needed. Pinging? Categories is supposed to be addressed soon. User priveleges I believe is being addressed. What else is needed? Not trying to be a 'snot', I'm just trying to advocate resources going to the benefit of the community as a whole I guess.
I personally feel that the approach Joomla! appears to be taking is the right one - a robust and flexible cms that will meet the needs of the widest possible market. It is not a blog, though it can be used that way. Adding the features of a blog as part of the core would make it less appealing, in my opinion, certainly in the markets in which I work. Trackbacks, pings, referrers - all have their place in blogs. If there was a component developed, people then have the choice of whether to add that feature or not. Presumably, they would also be aware of the issues managing the spam they attract.
I guess by now you will have realized that I like Joomla! as it is and as it is proposed to develop
It is not proposed to develop it into a blog. 3rd party add-ons that give more options when developing sites are great, and I hope the bridge/component/whatever for b2evo becomes one of them.