Theme and Add-on approval
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Can anyone give us a heads up about when the current submissions to PRB will begin to make their way onto the marketplace.
Thanks for the reply, I hope things do start moving on this front, I think it shows new users and existing users alike that there is a lot going on with C5 if we have a steady flow of add-ons and themes into the marketplace.
Its a shame there is not a few more people who can give the nod to new themes and Add-ons.
Its a shame there is not a few more people who can give the nod to new themes and Add-ons.
And because this topic seems such a good place for RANT, I will do it, although I bet frz would give me negative karma for this if it was possible. :D
For most of the add-ons we currently have in PRB there has been some activity but usually it goes like this:
1. We submit the add-on
2. Wait for 3 weeks for the first comment
3. The comment can be about "works and installs ok" OR someone pointing out possible flaws or errors there
4. We answer to the comment quite fast (usually inside 1 hour) pointing out that we'll fix the issues or why something works like it works
5. If fix needed, we fix the issue described and provide a new version to the marketplace and comment that there's a new version available, this is usually done inside 2 hours of the first comment (or in the beginning of the next day if that comment comes from US)
6. AT THIS POINT, no one is answering anymore for 1-2 weeks
7. Then after that time there's a comment like "There's an exclamation mark missing from the text you have in view X"
8. After few hours we've fixed that, provided new version to the marketplace and commented about it
9. THEN AGAIN, no activity for few weeks
Other case is that there is one active member commenting and we keep providing the fixes/tweaks that member sees necessary. And after that PRB member is satisfied, NO ONE ELSE gives anymore comments and after 2-4 weeks there is some core team member pointing out "has anyone tested this after the latest fixes", and no activity after that comment.
So I can clearly see few of the problems currently in the approval process. This way even the tiniest issues can be barrier for releasing the add-on and after fixing them, we need to wait for like 2-4 weeks to get further comments.
Imagine if every software project was like this! After providing a new increment for the customer, you'd have to wait for comments like 2-4 weeks. :)
Antti / Mainio
For most of the add-ons we currently have in PRB there has been some activity but usually it goes like this:
1. We submit the add-on
2. Wait for 3 weeks for the first comment
3. The comment can be about "works and installs ok" OR someone pointing out possible flaws or errors there
4. We answer to the comment quite fast (usually inside 1 hour) pointing out that we'll fix the issues or why something works like it works
5. If fix needed, we fix the issue described and provide a new version to the marketplace and comment that there's a new version available, this is usually done inside 2 hours of the first comment (or in the beginning of the next day if that comment comes from US)
6. AT THIS POINT, no one is answering anymore for 1-2 weeks
7. Then after that time there's a comment like "There's an exclamation mark missing from the text you have in view X"
8. After few hours we've fixed that, provided new version to the marketplace and commented about it
9. THEN AGAIN, no activity for few weeks
Other case is that there is one active member commenting and we keep providing the fixes/tweaks that member sees necessary. And after that PRB member is satisfied, NO ONE ELSE gives anymore comments and after 2-4 weeks there is some core team member pointing out "has anyone tested this after the latest fixes", and no activity after that comment.
So I can clearly see few of the problems currently in the approval process. This way even the tiniest issues can be barrier for releasing the add-on and after fixing them, we need to wait for like 2-4 weeks to get further comments.
Imagine if every software project was like this! After providing a new increment for the customer, you'd have to wait for comments like 2-4 weeks. :)
Antti / Mainio
Unfortunately that seems a very familiar course of events ;-) I dont think the backlog accumulating while 5.5 was being worked on has helped matters, understandably so. Going forward, there shouldnt be any huge road blocks like that for quite a while.
Yeah, a lot of this is the 5.5 backlog, but your concerns do hold merit. I can tell you that you're not being ignored. In a recent Totally Random live show, Franz mentioned they're working up a plan to make things run smoother in the PRB. This might include more people having the power to approve. Stay tuned, your patience will be rewarded.
Thanks Lucas, Having a few more people with the ability to pull the trigger on new releases, will definitely help, by the looks of things there is plenty of PRB members, its just bottle-necked at the approval stage. I was aware the acknowledgment had been made that the process wasnt running as smooth as it could, and improvements were on the table, just wondered if we had a time frame for this really.
The current delay is mainly because the core team has been busy with other things, mainly C5.5 release, although they said it has not been the ONLY reason for the delay. There was previous discussion on this topic here (which I see you have also noticed but I put the link here for others):
http://www.concrete5.org/community/forums/chat/add-on-feedback-for-...
We've had few add-ons there originally submitted in November 2011, so hopefully they will be addressing this issue soon... :)
Antti / Mainio