Kathy Cannon's List: Moodle Administration

• If a feature is complex or the maintainer does not understand it, the price of accepting the contribution may be higher than not having the feature.
• the code is not for you, it’s for everyone.
• Fight for boring code.
• While we like to say there are many kinds of contribution and room for everyone, realize that documentation may be so incredibly boring that no one wants to do it. Step up and do it yourself, in that case, it’s important
• it’s also possible to get too many feature requests, and a lot of bug reports to the extent of “I want a pony” — when code contributions and pre-release testing aren’t coming in at the rates you expect
• Folks do not assume all communities are welcoming, or that there is room to join a team
• those that will actually get involved in pre-release testing is quite low… so ask for help often
• It’s important to make sure that questions asked get answered, in a decently timely manner, in order to build a userbase that CAN help other users.
• Bottom line: the userbase builds the contributor base, so don’t neglect the userbase.
• The community network multiplier effect may double or triple your power some day, but initially it may only feel like a 5% boost (and even when it’s running on full stream, some days, it’s a power drain).

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• • Image of Assignment workflows for teacher and student
• What do I find but a query into how Moodle works that has been responded with little constructive information and a lot of 'we don't do it that way because we don't understand or agree with the need'.
• Proper modification/enhancement of any system requires that the system be understood
• A perfectly acceptable answer to Steve and I's question would be "it doesn't exist", but instead we get "we have no need for that and neither should you, it is meaningless".   Read the past threads - it is exactly what has been stated.
• It seems that I must scan everything and piece together what I need.  That means scheduling considerably more time to this process than I had expected.
• I am getting a picure of Moodle's basic architecture, and believe me it has one as all software does, and it does not appear to have changed at all over recent years.
• • It cannot be used constructively to create a linear instructional method.
• is Moodle for first-time MOODLE developers.

  • This would change everything
• f the moodle documentation project shifts to such a style of documentation, I believe you will find that more new developers will become willing to jump on board and contribute. This way, everyone involved in Moodle will learn. Not just the students.
• The point is that the people evaluating your proposal want to know that moodle has certain non-functional requirements (scalability, maintainability, extensibility, robustness, database-independance, ...) They want sufficient evidence to justify whatever you are claiming, and your judgement is that they will consider an appropriate architecture diagram as sufficient evidence.
• However as an author of several technical books and creator of ER digrams for the Moodle database, If there  I can quote a very modest hourly rate for developing additional documentation if it will encourage its adoption.

  • Marcus Green - Sept 2011 - available for hourly work

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