The Dao of the Drupal Community

Greg Knaddison

Growing Venture Solutions

July 2008

DrupalCamp Colorado

What confuses you?
What upsets you?
What don't you understand?

It's not just the code...

How do you pronounce Drupal?

DROO - puhll.

How do you pronounce Buytaert?

BUY - tart.

Diverse Communinity.
"Volunteers" (paid or hope to be paid)

Why are releases so fast/slow?

It's ready when it's ready.
(and you can help)

Do-ocracy
Why does chx decide so many things in Drupal?

Because chx decides so many things in Drupal.

Where do I find the roadmap?

There isn't one.
But, there are predictions (6.x and 7.x)
And personal battle plans (2007 and 2008)

Why are there major changes in every release that break the API?

The drop is always moving.

Why isn't feature X in core?

Core is small with APIs.

Where is the "Personals" module?

There is no personals module.

So Drupal is weak if it can't do that...

Well, views+cck+buddylist+privatemessage+
...
= Personals module

Think "features" not "type"

Be thankful.

Use a module? Thank a developer.
Submit a bug (nicely).
Test a patch.

Karma is our currency - can be bought.
Don't demand things (unless you have enough...).
Toot your own horn a little when you do help.

I found this bug. Why doesn't anyone care?

What to do when you find a bug
Getting a bug fixed sooner
How to write a good issue report

How can I get help with my problem?

• http://drupal.org/support
• Search first, ask smart questions.
• Paid support

What are the new developments?

issues.
Mailing lists, Planet, forums, groups.drupal.org, IRC.

How come there's so many modules that do the same thing?

Do-ocracy + different goals = multiple modules
Desire for credit...
Incompatabilities at one point go away...

Code is gold.