The Purpose of this Board

Quote from: harveyev at Feb 23, 2013, 11:32 PM

I would argue that professional grade Modx addons are already being developed for a fee, but on a contract basis and not available to the public. ... I would prefer these solutions be made available in cooperation and coordinated by the platform provider themselves, or at a minimum, endorsable by them, rather than and slew of "one offs" without any coordination or implementation standards as described earlier in the thread.

There are some amazing—like really amazing—Add-ons that people will otherwise never release without a profit incentive. This is simply because it's a lot of extra work to prepare, fully document and support them.

When that functionality is available, it should draw more and more users to MODX. More users attracts more Developers attracts a better ecosystem overall of both commercial and free/open source Add-ons.

Definitely want to have standards and best practices in place, but user ratings and feedback can also provide valuable insight into what should and shouldn't be purchased. MODX itself can't be a full-time gatekeeper or a choke point for getting great code out there fast. It needs to be easy and not dependent on "the core team".

It should be said that there are also existing add-ons that were developed on commission, but that the client was kind enough to allow to be released in Open Source form.

I also wanted to throw in a plug for MyComponent, which will automatically place a license of your choice at the top of every executable PHP file in your project. That not only establishes the conditions under which it can be used, it can also be a powerful protection against liability for the author.

/this. More succinctly put than I. Do let me know when you guys hangout on this again.

Quote from: rethrash at Feb 24, 2013, 01:36 AM

Quote from: harveyev at Feb 23, 2013, 11:32 PM

I would argue that professional grade Modx addons are already being developed for a fee, but on a contract basis and not available to the public. ... I would prefer these solutions be made available in cooperation and coordinated by the platform provider themselves, or at a minimum, endorsable by them, rather than and slew of "one offs" without any coordination or implementation standards as described earlier in the thread.

There are some amazing—like really amazing—Add-ons that people will otherwise never release without a profit incentive. This is simply because it's a lot of extra work to prepare, fully document and support them.

When that functionality is available, it should draw more and more users to MODX. More users attracts more Developers attracts a better ecosystem overall of both commercial and free/open source Add-ons.

Definitely want to have standards and best practices in place, but user ratings and feedback can also provide valuable insight into what should and shouldn't be purchased. MODX itself can't be a full-time gatekeeper or a choke point for getting great code out there fast. It needs to be easy and not dependent on "the core team".

good grief, it's time for a legitimate e-commerce add-on

I'm also +1 for a good eCommerce component.

Ideally something that a MODX site builder can Install > customise > launch would be perfect. There are so many MODX + eCommerce plugins that are half finished now.

Also, every MODX developer I chat with in private almost always has some kind of eCommerce plugin in the works; ideally we could get a few of these out in the open (on Github or something) and start to team up and collaborate on something that will be more useful to the community at large.

It also surprises me that VisionCart has its own dedicated forum but its been abandoned for over a year now, somehow we need to clean up this MODX + eCommerce mess and get things back on the right track

I have not used SimpleCart, but the price is very reasonable and I'm hoping that it will satisfy people who need an e-commerce solution for MODX.

http://www.oostdesign.com/modx-revolution-cms/modx-extras/simplecart-webshop/#install

I have not used SimpleCart, but the price is very reasonable and I'm hoping that it will satisfy people who need an e-commerce solution for MODX.

SimpleCart is nice, I've used it on a client's site before. But currently it doesn't seem to have any continuing development, the last update was almost over a year ago now. The message from Bert's back-end client portal reads:

10-06-2012 - We're working on a new system, which better works with MODX.
Very soon you will receive a new update and by then you're able to download the package trough the MODX Package manager.

And that's the last I heard about it. If I recall correctly there were some critical features missing, such as applying taxes and shipping rates at the checkout which made the system unusable in the end.

I don't know what Bert's plans are for the component, I'd love to know if he still plans to continue developing it because with a little more work it could become the MODX eCommerce extra everybody's looking for.

Maybe if Bert can no longer support the component he might consider open souring it and putting the code on Github?

I guess you're right. I tried to send Bert a message through the contact form on his site ([email protected]) and it bounced.

The error that the other server returned was:
550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist.

Not a good omen for commercial MODX extras.

There was a package update about a month ago, so SimpleCart is still maintained I think.
Though I wish it was moving a bit faster because there is a lot to improve.

Not a good omen for commercial MODX extras.

Indeed it is not. It would be great if Bert could chime in here and share his thoughts - and also if he's open to the possibility of open-souring his code to the community?

Form my experience, we have often asked for source code to be placed in escrow under some performance stipulations on support) to mitigate these risks. Im not implying anyone is shady here. But from a business standpoint if the developer or owner of the source code gets hit by the proverbial bus there is a process in place to resolve it. Again, its a buyer beware world, but there are things that can be done with some creativity and experience.

Quote from: harveyev at Feb 23, 2013, 05:29 PM

That said, I would not try to "boil the ocean" when scoping the direction for ModX in this regard as this is a much broader and ubiquitous business risk issue. Instead the primary focus in the premium addon space would be better served by 1.) protecting and promoting the brand 2.) set standards for such bits as minimum documentation, packaging, and demonstrations to mitigate and potential damage to it. Holding any source code in escrow if there is in fact IP or source code that the buyer does not get is ...