[sword-devel] modules upload etc - suggestion

[Eeli Kaikkonen]

On Tue, 15 Jan 2008, Karl Kleinpaste wrote:
> I am thinking through these sorts of problems because I am again
> considering how to integrate the idea of users authoring their own
> modules, and how they could get them published in some sense, where
> friends/students/the world could get at them.  Whenever I have queried
> GS users about needed features, authoring tools have consistently been a
> top request, and I have been woefully lax about getting to it.  There
> are 150 Bibles available, but it would be nice if any respected author
> could distribute a sermon series or Bible study series in Sword format,
> in commentary or genbook form.  It would enhance Sword's PR value
> immensely if people saw that they could readily contribute to the body
> of work available for study.  I believe that as long as it's difficult
> for Joe Random to produce and distribute a Sword module (cf. Peter, who
> succeeds because he is bull-headed enough to keep pushing), that kind of
> community critical mass will not come into being.

After reading some opinions from different non-Crosswire web pages
(forums, reviews...) I have come to the same conclusion: user
contributions and sharing *is* the future. Again I remind that we must
have standards for that, it would be a huge advantage if Windows, Linux
and Mac users could share their material with each other. If every
frontend uses its own format/markup that advantage is lost.

I'm also in favor of an alpha area. One technical note: I first thought
that svn is not useful but then I realized that if it can handle binary
file diffs - and it can - it would be very good. Crosswire server is
very slow and if the module could be updated with difference only it
would be better for quick release-test-fix cycle.

  Yours,
	Eeli Kaikkonen (Mr.), Oulu, Finland
	e-mail: eekaikko at mailx.studentx.oulux.fix (with no x)