*** the state of the SIAB union ***

[Jen Simmons]

Hello everybodies,

I've been working away (a bit obsessively) on Show in the Box over the last two weeks — starting with jumping back into themeing, which led to a lot of thinking about the tutorials, which led to getting into discussions about the new website, all the while reading the great discussions on the listserv, plus spending many hours teaching some people how to use their SIAB websites.......... and a lot of weird issues came up. After thinking things through, I've come to a couple conclusions about the need to take a few different directions than what we originally planned at the Hackathon in September. I talked to Cheryl, Michael, Ryanne and Jay about all this over the last couple days..... and I think we all agree that this "new plan" makes the most sense. So I want to fill in everyone else via this email, and see what you think.

Why a change now? I believe this approach will make the tutorials clearer (and easier to plan), make upgrading sites easier for everyone, eliminate all the worries about licensing, keep us closer to the "Wordpress way of doing things", and make maintaining Show in a Box over the long haul much easier.

There are two big changes:

1) No longer provide an all-in-one install. 

For the past while, Show in a Box has been offered in two "versions" --- the "all-in-one" install, and as separate individual pieces. The all-in-one install, or "The Box", was simply everything in one zipped file, preconfigured: Wordpress + our four plug-ins (soon to be five) + our themes (originally one theme called Vlogsplosion, more recently one theme based on K2 called "Show in a Box Themes" that contained several styles -- Spacy, Tomato, Chocolate Box, etc). We did this expecting it would be easier for anyone new to this technology to download one thing, and skip all the steps installing separate the pieces. In fact, during the Hackathon, we put a lot of time into finding new ways to slightly modify our copy of WP so the installation would require even fewer steps --> ie: you would't have to pick the theme, it would be turned on by default, etc, etc. We figured this would make creating the  tutorials easier for us -- eliminating a bunch of steps, and getting the newbies to the exciting part faster (the part where you actually put video online!!)

It turns out, however, that this is not such a great idea. 

First of all, providing an all-in-one install gave people the impression that there is something special to The Box -- and that if you didn't install The Box, you were missing something. People wanted The Box, and wanted to download and install it even when that wasn't the best thing for them to do. If you buy hosting  at Dreamhost, for example -- it might be easiest to start with the Dreamhost one-click install of WP, and simply add our plug-ins and themes. A lot of people already have a Wordpress installation they've been using for a while, and it would be dangerous for them to upload the all-in-one install -- they could end up with something misconfigured and get lost with a bunch of database errors or 500 / 404 errors. People on this mailing list were like -- hey, the new SIAB is out? Great, I'll download it, and then what do I do? / how do I install it on top of what I already have?? The answer for all of these situations is DON'T DOWNLOAD THE BOX!!! >> download each component separately and install them one-by-one. If vPIP is new, upgrade that one plug-in. If there is a new theme and you would like to try it, install that one theme. If you have an older version of WP, and would like to upgrade it, then install the new version of WP by following the steps on codex.wordpress.org (and back-up your database first!) When only one thing is new, you leave everything else alone...... The only time someone should have used The Box is if they were creating a brand new virgin install from scratch. But that wasn't very evident from the idea of having A Box.

I believe that by only offering Show in a Box as a group of components downloaded individually, we clear up this fundamental misunderstanding. It also makes it much more clear that you can install other plug-ins, or use other themes.

In fact, I remember that when I first started using SIAB several months ago, I had to keep asking Verdi if it mattered that I hadn't downloaded the whole Box: can I use any theme? Do I have to use your theme in order to use these plug-ins? If I use your version of WP is there something special that I need and won't get if I've downloaded WP from wordpress.org??? I expected that there must be an extra bit of magic in The Box, when there wasn't. The magic is in the individual plug-ins and in the individual themes.

Second, it turns out that by _not_ teaching people how to FTP themes and plug-ins into their appropriate directories, and how to turn them on & off -- we aren't doing anyone a favor. If instead we make some kick-ass tutorials that teach people these steps from the very beginning, and we expect people to do that, then we set them up to be able to upgrade to future plug-in and theme releases on their own. We'll be teaching needed skills. You just really can't skip understanding how to install themes and plug-ins! If a person can't FTP files to the right directory, then they should go to Freevlog and use blogger.

Plus, this whole long discussion that's been happening on the list about software licensing is only relevant to the all-in-one download. By dropping that, the issue disappears! We don't need an umbrella license for SIAB. Show in a Box is a set of recommendations to use certain components that we love + a resource for downloading everything from one site + a great set of tutorials for learning how + a showcase of inspiration -- and we don't need a software license for any of that. Each plug-in and each theme will have it's own license, and it doesn't matter if they go together or not. The author of each piece is free to make their own choices — exactly like the Wordpress community already works.

And, by not having an all-in-one download, we don't have to maintain that package. We don't need an SVN for SIAB, we don't have to keep track of what we did to WP last time we hacked it..... all that energy and brilliance can be channeled into our plug-ins and themes instead. The only thing we were getting for all that effort was to make virgin installations "easier" for some users. It had no impact on long-term features for websites using Show in a Box.

 2) No longer ship "one theme" (with multiple styles built on a K2 mod). Instead, make each visual-look a separate theme. 

The reasons for the change in themes are similar to the reasons listed above. By having all of the different looks bound together into one theme, we were changing the way wordpress themes are usually handed. If one style was updated, the whole set would get re-released under a new version number — giving people the impression that they needed the new theme set, even if the style/theme they were using that hadn't changed. 

Having all theme developers use the same one set of php files meant none of us could break away and do more radical things with the theme design. We'd have to all agree as theme team to change all of the themes in that certain way... which turns out to be quite limiting. Some of us also decided we didn't really want to build from K2, that it was too crazy / really meant for a specific, blogging look, and that moding K2 enough to realize other visions was too complex, unnecessarily. It's easier to make a radically new-looking theme by hacking Sandbox then by hacking K2.

So here's the new plan for the themes: There will be a bunch of different themes people can download and install from the Show in a Box website. Each will show up separately in the Presentation Themes WP admin page, each with their own screenshot -- which is the way people familiar with WP already expect things to work.  The themes that are already in existence will get ported over to the new system -- broken into separate themes, to be downloaded separately. New themes will get developed that are less blog-shaped, and more innovative in the video content placement. 

It also means the development of each theme is independent from the others. Each theme developer is responsible for their own upgrades / tutorials / etc -- and there will be no need for one themer to wait for the others to issue a new release, or whatever. Each theme can have a different license, even. Maybe most are GPL, but people can make CC-non-commercial themes if they want. Anyone is welcome to make a theme -- and can do so in whatever fashion they want. (In the old model, there was a need for us all to be "on the same page" -- using the same base CSS file and such. Now we can share ideas and code if we want, or not.)

The Future

So -- those are the two big changes. Thinking this all the way through, talking about it the last several days, and coming to these conclusion, I feel much better about where we are at. I was stuck there for a minute, confused about how the theme code was really going to work, and overwhelmed by the problems I could see coming down the line regarding upgrade paths and user confusion. Now I feel like all of this has cleared up.

I'll update the current website to reflect these changes tomorrow. And in case you didn't realize already, we are planning a whole new website that will replace everything that is there now. I'll be working on this new website over the next month, along with everyone, and we will launch it just as soon as we can -- realistically that may take until January. Ryanne and Jay will be starting on the tutorials in December. Verdi and Cheryl and I will be creating more themes and cleaning up the code on the ones we've made already — who else is making themes?? David Howell?. We need to get Recent Videos, Related Videos, and Video Archives into shape — Markus? Charles? Sull? Elbows?. We want to ship Pledge Drive by the time we launch the new site / start beta-testing before then — Markus? There are a few outstanding desires for vPIP ('cleaner' feeds...) — Enric? There's a lot of content that needs to be written for the website. So, please, do jump in! We'll do our best to let everyone know what projects are available for the doing (I expect I'll be able to start communicating more about what needs to be done and ask for help on specific parts towards the end of this month / I started thinking about Project Management software... / meanwhile we've got the wiki to help us organize.) 

For sure, let's talk more about how Sandbox can be hacked so the video is next to the text on the post (like I described here: http://showinabox.pbwiki.com/Rearranging+the+post+order). I'd like to solve this in the next 2-3 weeks — Steve Elbows! Sull?

I'll be spending a lot of time on this over the Thanksgiving weekend, so if anyone wants to do a hackathon in cyberspace, let me know. 

Yeah!!!!!

I hope this email excites you. Please let us know what you think!

I'm going to get some sleep...

-- Jen

Jen Simmons

jen@jensimmons

http://jensimmons.com

http://milkweedmediadesign.com

917-455-0022

skype: jensimmons

[Sull]

wow, i thought i just posted a long one.
heheh.
ok, will read this and head to bed. :)

[Sull]

great email, great decisions.
i was gently nudging for this :)

sweet.  i'll be in touch.

sull

On Nov 19, 2007 2:07 AM, Jen Simmons < jensimm...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Sull]

sandbox - http://www.plaintxt.org/themes/sandbox/

[Jen Simmons]

Yup. That's what I was referring to throwing around the name Sandbox. Specifically Sandbox 1.1 for WP 2.3. They just made some pretty cool changes to the base code.

- Jen

On Nov 19, 2007, at 2:48 am, Sull wrote:

sandbox - http://www.plaintxt.org/themes/sandbox/

[Michael Verdi]

I can't remember if it was Jay or me that came up with the idea of
doing the whole box thing (maybe we thought of it together). The idea
though was to make it super simple - like blogger. But I do think the
ability to do that has gotten way out of hand for our small group.
We're halfway though the current WP dev cycle and K2 isn't finalized
and our stuff isn't finalized and even if it were all magically there
tomorrow we'd be in this situation again come January. So that plus
all the reasons Jen mentioned are reasons to get rid of the all in one
instal.

The real thing here is that if you want to create your own show and
don't mind not having total control over everything then it's
ridiculously easy to get started. You don't even really need Freevlog
anymore. Just go to Blip or YouTube or Revver or any number of places
and they'll do everything for you but make the video. If you want to
do more than that you're going to need some web skills or you're going
to have to have someone on your team with some web skills. Period.
There is no way around that. We can make it easy by collecting great
stuff all in one place and making tutorials showing you how to use it.
But making a repackaged, videoblogging system based on Wordpress that
doesn't require you to monkey around with stuff is a job for a group
who wants to do it full time - to do it like a startup. I don't think
that's us. I know it's not me.

I think our goal should be to make the stuff we want to use, the stuff
that we know is useful and document it. That will work for many people
but not for everyone. For the rest, they can hire some of us (or other
people) to help them get it done. If they're serious about producing
something that they hope to turn into a sustainable business then that
will be an investemnt just like a computer or a camera or their time
is an investment.

- Verdi

--
http://michaelverdi.com
http://freevlog.org
http://nscape.tv

[Milt Lee]

I love all the new thoughts. Jen, you really made it clear for me,
and I totally support it.
I think you all are right about being able to FTP. I also like not
having to worry about what WP does - and having that affect our themes
and styles. I think concentrating on the 5 plug ins (how about "5 in
a box") is really, absolutely, totally, completely the right way to
go. It saves so much energy. I think the new plugins are kickass.
Can't wait to see the pledge drive!. As I've said before, I really
love vPIP, and for me, I don't want a different player - one is
enough.

My suspicion is that if someone ones something special or even just
different in the look of their site, then frankly they should be
spending some time or money dealing with it - time in learning CSS, or
money hiring you guys. It's just that simple. I remember when I was
doing public radio, and I heard folks complaining about the cost of
microphones, and recorders etc etc. In reality, the cost of doing
business in public radio was about as cheap as you could do anything.
It wasn't free, but it wasn't like the cost of a college education.
The same is true in the vlog world. It really isn't free, but the
return on investment is huge.

Thanks Jen, and everybody!!!
Milt

[Living Parable]

This sounds great... In fact, I wish I would have read this before my
last post about licensing issues. This does away with most of the
thoughts there.

As you guys already know, you are saving the core team from having a
bunch of headaches and messes on your hands.

As a newbie here, still 'looking in' - I think this is a great move
right now. It really helps clarify who and what this project is.

Matthew

[Enric]

On Nov 18, 2007 11:07 PM, Jen Simmons <jensimm...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> <snip>

>
> I'll update the current website to reflect these changes tomorrow. And in
> case you didn't realize already, we are planning a whole new website that
> will replace everything that is there now. I'll be working on this new
> website over the next month, along with everyone, and we will launch it just
> as soon as we can -- realistically that may take until January. Ryanne and
> Jay will be starting on the tutorials in December. Verdi and Cheryl and I
> will be creating more themes and cleaning up the code on the ones we've made
> already — who else is making themes?? David Howell?. We need to get Recent
> Videos, Related Videos, and Video Archives into shape — Markus? Charles?
> Sull? Elbows?. We want to ship Pledge Drive by the time we launch the new
> site / start beta-testing before then — Markus? There are a few outstanding

> desires for vPIP ('cleaner' feeds...) — Enric? <snip>
>

I worked on cleaning out the vPIP link and embed information from the
vPIP feeds during the Hackathon. From my testing the vPIP feeds are
clean, let me know otherwise.

-- Enric

[Jen Simmons]

On Nov 19, 2007, at 1:21 pm, Enric wrote:
>
> I worked on cleaning out the vPIP link and embed information from the
> vPIP feeds during the Hackathon. From my testing the vPIP feeds are
> clean, let me know otherwise.
>
> -- Enric
>

Oh cool. I haven't looked at the vPIP feeds personally, well, maybe
ever. I was hearing reports from other people -- hey, other people,
have you checked what's up now?? Someone see if all is now happy and
well.

Jen

[Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen]

Den 19.11.2007 kl. 02:07 skrev Jen Simmons <jensimm...@gmail.com>:

> The only time someone should have used The Box is if they were creating
> a brand new virgin install from scratch. But that wasn't very evident
> from the idea of having A Box.

Um... You may want to watch the language if there are children around.

--
Andreas Haugstrup Pedersen
http://www.solitude.dk/

[Cheryl Colan]

As of what version of vPIP would they be clean? Do you recall? Mine don't show up clean, but I need to check what version of vPIP is running.

[Jen Simmons]

The most recent version of vPIP is 1.13b. Just test out that one:

http://showinabox.tv/wordpress/download/

[Cheryl Colan]

I thought there was a 1.14?

--
I vlog: hummingcrow.com
I make: whatwefound.blogspot.com
I teach: node101phoenix.org

[Cheryl Colan]

and, it will be easier for me to test if I don't have to update first, so I'd like to get the most recent version # from enric - if I need to download & install my testing it will have to wait until after thanksgiving

C

[Enric]

As of version 0.12i of vPIP.php and version 1.12d of vpip.js.

-- Enric

[Enric]

The most recent version of vPIP (which refers to the main javascript
library, vpip.js) is 1.13c. You can always see the most recent
version at:

http://vpip.org/

-- Enric

[Cheryl Colan]

Thank you, Enric.  Do you happen to recall what the first "clean feed" version was?

Cheryl

whatwefound.blogspot.com
I teach: node101phoenix.org

[Enric]

Version 0.12i of vPIP.php and version 1.12d of vpip.js.

-- Enric