discussion on Calendar features/enhancements/mods

[Bixby]

Hello:

I just thought I would pop in. Please note that I am just sharing information and I am not trying to engage in any debates about calendars and features.

I run two SMF sites and both of them are centered around the calendar. The calendar and events are a central part of what we do. I know that I am somewhat unique in what we are doing, but SMF is a GREAT package and we truly appreciate the calendar functions. I am one of the people that would dearly love enhanced calendar features, I think it is an area of unexplored and potential value. Realistically, I understand that SMF is a big beast and resources must be carefully allocated to features of broad appeal.

Of the two sites I run, one is private, and the other one is www.saskgames.com

The SaskGames site is such a wonderful example of what can be done with the calendar today. We have used it to unite and build a face to face community around the hobby of boardgaming. We are experiencing steady growth and there are a number of other geographic regions that are interested in duplicating our success.

One of the great things about SMF is that it is a tool and a software package that is begging to be used in creative and innovative ways, I think the calendar is just one of the many facets of SMF that make it a superior product.

I can understand that it may not get a lot of features enhancements in the days ahead, and I can live with that. Please, however, do not remove calendar functionality in future releases. That would sadden me deeply and force us to pursue another direction. I am loyal to SMF and see many years of use of community growth in the years ahead. As a matter of fact, I see the opportunity for SMF to be used in many new ways and I am currently working with a company to see about installing SMF as their employee Intranet and potentially use it for building a community with their client base as well. In both cases the calendar would be invaluable.

Now I am just rambling, so I will close by saying thanks to the developers of SMF. If anyone is interested in discussing and of the ideas I have for enhancements, I would be happy to get involved or share some insights. Great product... keep up the good work!

[Arantor]

I'd point out that, yet again, the 'you're going to remove the calendar' comments are always taken out of context. Every. Single. Time.

Everyone seems to think that if the calendar were removed from the core, that it would just die. Of course it wouldn't. It would actually have the opposite effect.

Firstly, it wouldn't just be thrown on the scrapheap. It would *demand* stronger plugin facilities be made. All mods benefit from an increase of modularisation because it would be a drop-in module in a way similar to IP.Calendar is for IP.Board. It's easier than installing a mod for them. (I speak as a licence holder for the complete IPB suite as well as XenForo so it's not like I'm just pulling this out of thin air)

Secondly, it would necessarily require some clean-up. That would serve to benefit both the SMF core and the calendar itself. Right now, if the calendar is enabled, every single topic view has an extra performance penalty, without fail, because topics are coerced into being something they're not. Any proper rewrite of the calendar would mean decoupling topics from calendar entries, restoring performance. It'd also allow searching to be more meaningful than it currently is by forcing search to also be able to cope with more than just topics.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly. If it were kept separate from the SMF core, it wouldn't mean you'd have to wait for another iteration of SMF itself to see changes in the calendar. By decoupling it from the core, you end up with the ability to see a faster release cycle. Instead of hoping and praying that someone adds these to SMF - when there's so much else to do - it means that the calendar can be developed independently, meaning that you might actually start to see these features.

[Bixby]

@Arantor

I am sorry if you thought I was taking things out of context. I am NOT engaging in any sort of jumping to conclusions. In my world, the "sky is not falling". Please re-read my post above. I have nothing but complimentary things to say about SMF and the developers. I only posted what I did to share that I was a person that has (and will continue to) get great value from the calendar. I just wanted to take some time out of my day to say SMF is awesome. Sorry if that message did not come through. I am a pretty even-keeled lad, do not read any panic or hostilities into my post.

Namaste,
Matt

 

[Arantor]

And that's precisely the reason I posted as I did. If the calendar were to be removed, it would benefit the calendar and benefit all the calendar's current users. Every time it's even suggested that the calendar might be removed (knowing full well it would become a plugin), it's always people asking not to remove it... except every time the wider consequences are never explored properly.