MODX - Does it have a future ?

I think mostly Evo and its future is in the hands of the Russian community.
There are still plenty of users and I'm confident about updates for newer versions of PHP.

Personally I make small sites and think Evo fits that great.
When having larger sites and need many plugins Rev probably fits better.

I don't now when Modx Next is comming but I'm pritty sure that will be my next step.

Regarding Slack. Is there some sort of good guide to using it? I find it incredibly confusing.

I'll respond in more depth on the OP in another post, but @rx2, there's no guide to the MODX Community Slack, per se, but are you using a desktop client or on the web? I tend to lean to using desktop client (and mobile client). There are channels inside the group and you can belong to as many or as few channels as you want. They are loosely associated with topics of interest. If you wish to address someone directly you can @[username] (username is the username of the person) them. If you wish to address all people in the chat now @here and if you don't mind waking people up in the middle of the night you can @channel them. For more commands you can use the slash "/" and Slackbot will tell you what commands are available. It's very similar to IRC or Skype conversations but better organized. Here is Slack's userguide for team members: https://modx.slack.com/getting-started/users

Slack is not meant to be a replacement for the Forums, however, web forums in many communities and the purposes they serve are changing. With the growth of other social networks and Q&A sites like Quora and StackExchange and groups in LinkedIn, Facebook, and hashtags on Twitter there are fewer people coming to forums including this one for some things they used to have to come to the forums for.

There are a lot of MODX topics on StackOverflow too http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/modx

I've not got the desktop client for Slack. Thanks. It seems to make a little more sense to me. Have to get use to the free form nature of it.

I like how no competing system (with multiple code-base engines and constant development) which people are migrating to is mentioned and the only real evidence of a lack of momentum is this forum's level of activity, when we know the world of communication is diversifying rapidly. The forest and trees got together and had a fun party when they realized they knew all of each other's friends...

Of course we have the standard wide-spread platforms, with warts still very much attached...anything else even close in terms of control AND ease of development? I thought not.

I, of course, still want a starter pack for newbies like I was not that long ago, that's been my main complaint for some time now. Its probably the thing Modx is most in need of at this point, when development in many directions have gone so far (look at Migx). Put a price of 30-90 bucks on it, and allow for some sort of extra support, if needed.

It really should be relatively easy to get up and running without having to spend hours and hours just to get basic aspects of a standard website going. That is where the wide-spread apps win, hands down. Much, much lower ceiling on them, but quick adoption is what *most* people are concerned about. Quick and easy adoption beats better code, every time, whether you like it or not. Just as VHS beat sony, for us oldsters.

Adoption matters a lot more than a lot of other cool technological stuff, that's just a fact.

/mic

Quote of the day

Quick and easy adoption beats better code, every time, whether you like it or not

:( are my days of sniffing at code for elegance and perfection, over?

There are a number of "themes" that are actually full starter packs, with resources and everything. For example, Flatso is a good blogging starter site.

Wow Susan, I had no idea, that's pretty great and just what I have been talking about, thank you for the introduction!

This package has 1 goal:
Get you up and running with a standard MODX Blog install with the least barrier to entry.

This is awesome!

Now, would there be like 2-3 other such themes? Not just blogging but...hmm what else is commonly needed?

For me, I follow a bunch of young musicians in the US and I see them creating sites with stuff like youtube page, soundcloud page, twitter feed, and I feel like Modx should be in the conversation...but I am at a loss as to what advantage Modx can provide. I know Modx is a great platform, but i don't know how to promote adoption, or what aspect is a strong lure, for want of better terminology.

Check the extras at http://modx.com/extras/category/style. There are a lot of them.