On Sat, 08 Jan 2000 20:53:27 +0100 Stefan Matthias Aust <sma at 3plus4.de> wrote:
>Do we need some kind of source code registry other than the central swiki?

Hi Stefan,

Many thanks for raising all these issues. Here are some off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts:

We seem to be moving into a decentralized (or, at least, multi-centric) world and the notion of centralized anything may be of declining relevance. While we have a wonderful team at SqC, they cannot (nor do they wish to) be everything to everyone. I think the notion to focus on here is a network that will provide useful information in a fairly short period of time. There may never again be *one* place where we can find *everything* we want to know. Instead, let us think of links that allow us to traverse the terrain in a reasonably efficient manner. 

My own experience with my personal contributions is an example. I have a page on the swiki where I tried to keep current the latest versions of stuff I have made available. I have not tried to place links to these everywhere that someone might look: rather I have relied on the (quasi-)democratic nature of the www to propagate these where people saw the need. Sometimes thay have and references appear on other pages and sometimes they don't. That's life. Some of these things ultimately draw the attention of SqC and get included in the image that everyone sees and some don't. That, too, is life.

So, some concrete suggestions that all can follow:

1) Start a page where you list what you think is cool. Include as much data as you think useful.
2) See who else does the same. When you see another page doing somthing you like, include a link on your page. Optionally, suggest that they also link to yours.
3) Support the efforts of those who do package a collection of changes for new releases (STP and the swiki folks come to mind).
4) Don't forget to let SqC know when you think something is really needed in the main image.
5) Don't forget to let the authors of stuff you like (and use!) know that their efforts are appreciated.
6) Start a page to tally votes for new features. If enough people want it, it's more likely to happen.

Cheers,
Bob