Instiki problems

ruby-talk
1

Hi!

I have some problems with instiki, which we use as a internal projekt wiki
here in our company. The problem is the following:

Instiki refuses to render a page with following error message:

Please correct the error that caused this error in rendering:
private method `gsub' called for nil:NilClass

Stack trace is the following:
Rendering: GeneralConsiderations
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/wiki_words.rb:22:in `separate'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/web.rb:45:in `make_link'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/page.rb:70:in `link'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:221:in
`template_re
sult'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:221:in
`collect'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:221:in
`template_re
sult'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:162:in
`template_re
sult'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:65:in `render'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:77:in
`render_actio
n'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/controllers/wiki.rb:171:in `show'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:126:in `send'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:126:in
`perform_act
ion'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:32:in `do_GET'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpservlet/abstract.rb:35:in
`__send__'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpservlet/abstract.rb:35:in
`service'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpserver.rb:92:in `service'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpserver.rb:54:in `run'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:150:in `start_thread'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:144:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:144:in `start_thread'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:94:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:89:in `each'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:89:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:79:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:79:in `start'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/web_controller_server.rb:79:in
`start_server'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/web_controller_server.rb:22:in `initialize'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/instiki.rb:58:in `new'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/instiki.rb:58192.168.100.40 - - [22/Nov/2004:10:54:03
West
europõische Normalzeit] "GET /companywiki/show/GeneralConsiderations
HTTP/1.1" 3
01 220
http://pferd/companywiki/show/conception+of+content ->
/companywiki/show/General
Considerations
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Performing edit
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Parameters: {"msg"=>"private method `gsub'
called
for nil:NilClass"}
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Rendering: wiki/edit
192.168.100.40 - - [22/Nov/2004:10:54:04 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/compa
nywiki/edit/GeneralConsiderations?msg=private+method+%60gsub%27+called+for+nil%3
ANilClass HTTP/1.1" 200 3549
http://pferd/companywiki/show/conception+of+content ->
/companywiki/edit/General
Considerations?msg=private+method+%60gsub%27+called+for+nil%3ANilClass
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Performing static_style_sheet
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-22 10:54:04] INFO Rendering: static_style_sheet
192.168.100.40 - - [22/Nov/2004:10:54:04 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/compa
nywiki/static_style_sheet/ HTTP/1.1" 200
2972
http://pferd/companywiki/edit/GeneralConsiderations?msg=private+method+`gsub%2
7+called+for+nil%3ANilClass -> /companywiki/static_style_sheet/

I _guess_ the root cause is that one of my coworkers tried to insert a page,
which contained some unusual wiki words (actually I would call them wrong...
you'll see what I mean). Something like

[[Lösungen]]
(note the German O 'Umlaut' )

or
[[Installieren der Produkt Umgebung!]]

(note ! after Umgebung, and capital letter words)

In that case it would be related to the problem Roger Sperberg reported on
page ExplainedBugs in the instiki wiki.

Even editing the page so that it contains simple, non-mark up, non-wiki
words text doesn't solve the problem. Shouldn't fixing the offending pages
solve it?

What's the proposed solution? Going back to the latest storage snapshot
where the problem did not occur yet? Somehow I suspect that we'll lose data
in that case, so I am reluctant to try that.

Any clues?

Platform is WinXP, SP2, latest ruby one-click-installer, Instiki 0.9.1

regards,
Henrik

···

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2

Update:

I _guess_ the root cause is that one of my coworkers tried to insert a
page,
which contained some unusual wiki words (actually I would call them
wrong...
you'll see what I mean). Something like

[[Lösungen]]
(note the German O 'Umlaut' )

or
[[Installieren der Produkt Umgebung!]]

(note ! after Umgebung, and capital letter words)

In that case it would be related to the problem Roger Sperberg reported on
page ExplainedBugs in the instiki wiki.

Seems like I am wrong. Previous Snapshots that already include the pages
that cause trouble now (they haven't been changed since) work like expected.
Even editing them works. I am absolutely confused. Snapshots from two days
later don't render the pages at all, but directly go to edit mode, because
of the render bug. There have been additions to the wiki and updates to
other pages, so 'diff'ing the storage files does not give any hints, at
least to me...

Help? :slight_smile:

regards,
Henrik

···

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3

You could try to find the source of this with something like

--- wiki_words.rb.orig 2004-11-23 11:51:08.000000000 +0100
+++ wiki_words.rb 2004-11-23 11:54:36.000000000 +0100
@@ -16,10 +16,11 @@
   WIKI_WORD_PATTERN = '[A-Z' + I18N_HIGHER_CASE_LETTERS + '][a-z' + I18N_LOWER_CASE_LETTERS + ']+[A-Z' + I18N_HIGHER_CASE_LETTERS + ']\w+'

   def self.separate(wiki_word, ignore_separation = false)
+ return "BOGUSMARKER" if wiki_word.nil?
     if ignore_separation
       wiki_word
     else
       wiki_word.gsub(/([a-z#{I18N_LOWER_CASE_LETTERS}])([A-Z#{I18N_HIGHER_CASE_LETTERS}])/u, '\1 \2')
     end
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end

Then grep for BOGUSMARKER.

···

On Mon, Nov 22, 2004 at 07:06:17PM +0900, Ryco@gmx.net wrote:

Hi!

I have some problems with instiki, which we use as a internal projekt wiki
here in our company. The problem is the following:

Instiki refuses to render a page with following error message:

Please correct the error that caused this error in rendering:
private method `gsub' called for nil:NilClass

Stack trace is the following:
Rendering: GeneralConsiderations
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/wiki_words.rb:22:in `separate'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/web.rb:45:in `make_link'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/page.rb:70:in `link'

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4

Hi!

Seems like I am not the only one having problems with Instiki. I got a
message off list, saying they abandon Instiki because of too many bugs to
work around. *Sigh* This is going to be a lot of work.

I am a little bit disappointed that I didn't get any answer from DHH at all
(David, are you reading me?). At least something like 'Sorry, I don't have
the time to support Instiki at the moment because work on Rails takes too
much time' would have been polite.

To quote Daniel Berger from his 'Preparing Ruby Packages for Public
Consumption' page at
http://ruby-miscutils.sourceforge.net/preparing_ruby_packages.html :

'Seriously, if you don’t plan on responding to feedback, or don’t like the
notion of answering questions about your code, DO NOT PUBLISH. If you
aren’t willing to maintain your module for at least a year, DO NOT PUBLISH.'

Sorry if this sounds a little harsh, as you might tell, I'm frustrated.
These things always pop up in the worst possible moment.

If I should have sent my problems to a different mailing list, did not
include enough information in my first mail, sounded to rude or whatever
please tell me. :slight_smile:

regards,
Henrik

···

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5

You could try to find the source of this with something like

[...]

Then grep for BOGUSMARKER.

Thanks a lot for your reply, Mauricio!

I had tried something similar already yesterday evening, without success. I
did it again right now with your approach, and I'm only getting more
confused :).

First of all, it doesn't solve the problem, just moves it to a higher level,
even though BOGUSMARKER shows up.
log:

[2004-11-23 13:03:41] INFO WEBrick 1.3.1
[2004-11-23 13:03:41] INFO ruby 1.8.2 (2004-07-29) [i386-mswin32]
[2004-11-23 13:03:41] INFO Your WEBrick server is now running on
http://localho
st:80
[2004-11-23 13:03:41] INFO WEBrick::HTTPServer#start: pid=2028 port=80
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Performing show
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Rendering: wiki/page
Rendering: GeneralConsiderations
text is Give imposing insights in Product features !. Is it nil? false
text is Delete dispensable information!. Is it nil? false
text is Update antiquated information !. Is it nil? false
text is Add missing information!. Is it nil? false
text is Reconsider the composition of the pages at all!. Is it nil? false
text is En Force_the_company_profile. Is it nil? false
Rendering: GeneralConsiderations
text is Give imposing insights in Product features !. Is it nil? false
text is Delete dispensable information!. Is it nil? false
text is Update antiquated information !. Is it nil? false
text is Add missing information!. Is it nil? false
text is Reconsider the composition of the pages at all!. Is it nil? false
text is En Force_the_company_profile. Is it nil? false
text is Henrik. Is it nil? false
text is conception of content. Is it nil? false
text is BOGUSMARKER. Is it nil? false
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ what the???
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/cgi.rb:342:in `escape'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/web.rb:47:in `make_link'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/models/page.rb:70:in `link'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:221:in
`template_re
sult'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:221:in
`collect'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:221:in
`template_re
sult'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:162:in
`template_re
sult'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:65:in `render'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:77:in
`render_actio
n'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/app/controllers/wiki.rb:171:in `show'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:126:in `send'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:126:in
`perform_act
ion'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/action_controller_servlet.rb:32:in `do_GET'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpservlet/abstract.rb:35:in
`__send__'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpservlet/abstract.rb:35:in
`service'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpserver.rb:92:in `service'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/httpserver.rb:54:in `run'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:150:in `start_thread'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:144:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:144:in `start_thread'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:94:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:89:in `each'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:89:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:79:in `start'
c:/programme/ruby/lib/ruby/1.8/webrick/server.rb:79:in `start'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/web_controller_server.rb:79:in
`start_server'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/libraries/web_controller_server.rb:22:in `initialize'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/instiki.rb:58:in `new'
F:/wiki/instiki-0.9.1/instiki.rb:58192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:13:03:52
Wes
teuropõische Normalzeit] "GET /companywiki/show/GeneralConsiderations
HTTP/1.1"
301 220
- -> /companywiki/show/GeneralConsiderations
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Performing edit
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Parameters: {"msg"=>"private method `gsub'
called
for nil:NilClass"}
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 13:03:52] INFO Rendering: wiki/edit
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:13:03:52 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki/edit/GeneralConsiderations?msg=private+method+%60gsub%27+called+for+nil%
3ANilClass HTTP/1.1" 200 3872
- ->
/companywiki/edit/GeneralConsiderations?msg=private+method+%60gsub%27+calle
d+for+nil%3ANilClass
[2004-11-23 13:03:53] INFO Performing static_style_sheet
[2004-11-23 13:03:53] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 13:03:53] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 13:03:53] INFO Rendering: static_style_sheet
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:13:03:53 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki/static_style_sheet/ HTTP/1.1" 200
2972
http://pferd/companywiki/edit/GeneralConsiderations?msg=private+method+`gsub%2
7+called+for+nil%3ANilClass -> /companywiki/static_style_sheet/
[2004-11-23 13:04:24] INFO going to shutdown ...
[2004-11-23 13:04:24] INFO WEBrick::HTTPServer#start done.

The lines 'text is...' come from a puts statement I inserted into web.rb
between the call wiki_words and CGI#escape.

Second, and even more confusing, is the fact that one of the offending pages
seems to get rendered without being requested.

log2:
F:\wiki\instiki-0.9.1>instiki.rb
[2004-11-23 12:57:51] INFO WEBrick 1.3.1
[2004-11-23 12:57:51] INFO ruby 1.8.2 (2004-07-29) [i386-mswin32]
[2004-11-23 12:57:51] INFO Your WEBrick server is now running on
http://localhost:80
[2004-11-23 12:57:51] INFO WEBrick::HTTPServer#start: pid=1824 port=80
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Performing index
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:12:57:55 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki HTTP/1.1" 301 82
- -> /companywiki
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Performing show
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Rendering: wiki/page
text is Henrik. Is it nil? false
Rendering: GeneralConsiderations
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ there was no request for this page.
text is Frequently Asked Questions. Is it nil? false
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:12:57:55 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki/show/HomePage HTTP/1.1" 200 5100
- -> /companywiki/show/HomePage
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Performing static_style_sheet
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 12:57:55] INFO Rendering: static_style_sheet
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:12:57:55 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki/static_style_sheet/ HTTP/1.1" 200 2972
http://pferd/companywiki/show/HomePage -> /companywiki/static_style_sheet/
[2004-11-23 12:58:07] INFO Performing show
[2004-11-23 12:58:07] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 12:58:07] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 12:58:07] INFO Rendering: wiki/page
text is Peter. Is it nil? false
text is Home Page. Is it nil? false
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:12:58:07 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki/show/businessbitsDecision HTTP/1.1" 200 3874
http://pferd/companywiki/show/HomePage ->
/companywiki/show/businessbitsDecision

[2004-11-23 12:58:08] INFO Performing static_style_sheet
[2004-11-23 12:58:08] INFO Parameters: {}
[2004-11-23 12:58:08] INFO Cookies: author => Henrik
[2004-11-23 12:58:08] INFO Rendering: static_style_sheet
192.168.100.120 - - [23/Nov/2004:12:58:08 Westeuropõische Normalzeit] "GET
/comp
anywiki/static_style_sheet/ HTTP/1.1" 200 2972
http://pferd/companywiki/show/businessbitsDecision ->
/companywiki/static_style_
sheet/
[2004-11-23 12:59:01] INFO going to shutdown ...
[2004-11-23 12:59:01] INFO WEBrick::HTTPServer#start done.

Clearly, there was no request to GeneralConsiderations during the whole life
of the server.

Third, when I change the page GeneralConsiderations, I get a message that I
should correct spurious Nilclass error first. But when I shut down instiki,
and start it up again, the changed content, together with the oh so beloved
error msg appears. It seems to get stored despite of the error and contrary
to what the page tells me.

Since neither I nor anybody else here at work has any more time to dig into
this mysterium, we'll just bite the bullet and move away from Instiki to
something more stable. It's a shame though, I really enjoyed to work with
it. RedCloth/BlueCloth and Madeleine make it really easy to use and setup.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion.

Henrik

···

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6

* Ryco@gmx.net <Ryco@gmx.net> [1121 10:21]:

Hi!

Seems like I am not the only one having problems with Instiki. I got a
message off list, saying they abandon Instiki because of too many bugs to
work around. *Sigh* This is going to be a lot of work.

Have you had a look on the home wiki? There are several patches that should
help.

···

--
common sense is what tells you that the world is flat. - Principia Discordia
Rasputin :: Jack of All Trades - Master of Nuns

7

I am a little bit disappointed that I didn't get any answer from DHH at all
(David, are you reading me?). At least something like 'Sorry, I don't have
the time to support Instiki at the moment because work on Rails takes too
much time' would have been polite.

I'm sorry for your troubles, Ryco. Instiki is indeed not being actively maintained right now. I have other obligations that have taken precedence.

Such is the life of open source software.

···

--
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http://www.rubyonrails.org/ -- Web-application framework for Ruby
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http://www.loudthinking.com/ -- Broadcasting Brain

8

Ryco@gmx.net wrote:

Hi!

Seems like I am not the only one having problems with Instiki. I got a
message off list, saying they abandon Instiki because of too many bugs to
work around. *Sigh* This is going to be a lot of work.

I am a little bit disappointed that I didn't get any answer from DHH at all
(David, are you reading me?). At least something like 'Sorry, I don't have
the time to support Instiki at the moment because work on Rails takes too
much time' would have been polite.

To quote Daniel Berger from his 'Preparing Ruby Packages for Public
Consumption' page at
Preparing Ruby Packages for Public Consumption :

'Seriously, if you don’t plan on responding to feedback, or don’t like the
notion of answering questions about your code, DO NOT PUBLISH. If you
aren’t willing to maintain your module for at least a year, DO NOT PUBLISH.'

I sympathize with your problems; I've had issues with various free, OSS packages, and do not always get the help I would prefer.

But, being myself a provider of free software, I well understand how one can get too distracted by too many tasks, such that some begin to suffer.

I disagree that people should refrain from releasing code unless they have real plans to provide support. That sets too high a bar for many people who might otherwise have good, practical (even if flawed) code to offer.

Ideally, when code is released, there should at least be a good-faith assessment of what sort of support can be expected. I've released code with the README essentially saying, "Do not expect *any* support, patches, upgrades, or fixes. Send suggestions or patches, but do not expect an answer. Really. I'll try, but no promises."

Then why release the code? Because code in public, whatever the quality, is more valuable than code in private.

The issue has more to do with managing expectations than making promises you can't keep.

James

raise "Keep in mind that it's all a gift." if horse.mouth.look?

9

Have you had a look on the home wiki? There are several patches that
should
help.

Check my first mail in this thread. I looked at the home wiki, but could not
find a patch that seemed related to my problem. Maybe I'm blind. I'll have
another look now, and then stop bitchin' around. :wink:

Thanks for your reply!

···

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10

Dick Davies ha scritto:

Have you had a look on the home wiki? There are several patches that should help.

Maybe someone could provide an up to date patched package and put a link on the wiki, just for the time DHH remains prisoner of the Rails Army :slight_smile:

11

Time to pass the patch pumpkin?

···

On Tue, Nov 23, 2004 at 11:12:35PM +0900, David Heinemeier Hansson wrote:

>I am a little bit disappointed that I didn't get any answer from DHH
>at all
>(David, are you reading me?). At least something like 'Sorry, I don't
>have
>the time to support Instiki at the moment because work on Rails takes
>too
>much time' would have been polite.

I'm sorry for your troubles, Ryco. Instiki is indeed not being actively
maintained right now. I have other obligations that have taken
precedence.

Such is the life of open source software.

--
Hassle-free packages for Ruby?
RPA is available from http://www.rubyarchive.org/

12

I'm sorry for your troubles, Ryco. Instiki is indeed not being actively
maintained right now. I have other obligations that have taken
precedence.

Then why does the home wiki say

"Instiki was written and _is_maintained_ by David Heinemeier Hansson."
(emphasis mine)? You can't have it both way, not even in magical open source
land.

Henrik

···

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13

> I am a little bit disappointed that I didn't get any answer from DHH at
all
> (David, are you reading me?). At least something like 'Sorry, I don't
have
> the time to support Instiki at the moment because work on Rails takes
too
> much time' would have been polite.

I disagree that people should refrain from releasing code unless they
have real plans to provide support. That sets too high a bar for many
people who might otherwise have good, practical (even if flawed) code to
offer.

Please note that I was _not_ expecting a complete patch, immediate help or
whatever. Only not being ignored.

Otherwise, you make some very good points.

Sorry for the noise/ non-ruby like athmopshere.

···

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14

This type of talk isn't the way to get help out of a normally very
pleasant community. Perhaps you should ask DHH what his consulting fee
is?

That aside, have you been able to reproduce this on a fresh instiki
install. If you can do that and post the steps, I'm sure that someone
on the list will be able to diagnose the problem. Personally, I know
I'm interested in finding out what the issue is, but have been unable
to reproduce them on a fresh install.

Then we can send a patch to DHH and the open source methodology marches onward.

cheers,
will

···

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 23:28:19 +0900, ryco@gmx.net <ryco@gmx.net> wrote:

[SNIP]
Then why does the home wiki say

"Instiki was written and _is_maintained_ by David Heinemeier Hansson."
(emphasis mine)? You can't have it both way, not even in magical open source
land.

15

Ryco@gmx.net wrote:

>
> I'm sorry for your troubles, Ryco. Instiki is indeed not being actively
> maintained right now. I have other obligations that have taken
> precedence.

Then why does the home wiki say

"Instiki was written and _is_maintained_ by David Heinemeier Hansson."
(emphasis mine)? You can't have it both way, not even in magical
open source
land.

This *is* the land of open source.

Most of us don't get paid for doing open source work, its done on a
volunteer basis. We all do what we can, when we can. If it doesn't meet your
needs and you can't get the support you want, you patch it, abandon it, or
fork it.

If you submit a patch to David and he feels its something everyone would
benefit from in Instiki, I'm sure he would be happy to incorporate it. It he
doesn't, you could still fork it.

That's what open source is all about -- its your choice how you use the
source.

Curt

16

Sorry, this came over way to harsh from my side. I read some irony in Davids
mail that might or might not have been there, and that made me angry.
Sorry.

OTOH, I still think that if you publish something, you have some
responsibility. See the link I posted in one of my earlier mails.

···

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17

Sorry, this came over way to harsh from my side. I read some irony in Davids
mail that might or might not have been there, and that made me angry.
Sorry.

There was no irony. I had more hot pans that I could swing. Something had to give. Unfortunately that was Instiki.

I'm setting up a Trac for it, though. So it'll be easier to track bug reports and patches. Hopefully that'll encourage more people to help out.

For the moment, most of the patches on the wiki are feature additions that I'm not really terribly interested for the most part. Instiki already has too many features distracting from the original vision. When/if I resume work on Instiki, I'll be taking stuff out, not putting more in.

OTOH, I still think that if you publish something, you have some
responsibility. See the link I posted in one of my earlier mails.

I very much disagree. How I see fit to administer my priorities will not be dictated by some misunderstood sense of obligation.

If your woes are critical, I can advice formalizing a request and attach a bounty. For the right amount, I'm sure there's a skillful Ruby hacker out there willing to help you out. (This is not irony either)

···

--
David Heinemeier Hansson,
http://www.basecamphq.com/ -- Web-based Project Management
http://www.rubyonrails.org/ -- Web-application framework for Ruby
http://macromates.com/ -- TextMate: Code and markup editor (OS X)
http://www.loudthinking.com/ -- Broadcasting Brain

18

Ryco@gmx.net wrote:

OTOH, I still think that if you publish something, you have some
responsibility. See the link I posted in one of my earlier mails.

Who would write open-source programs if they had to support it forever? Everyone would just keep all their projects on their own hard drive.

19

David Heinemeier Hansson wrote:

OTOH, I still think that if you publish something, you have some
responsibility. See the link I posted in one of my earlier mails.

I very much disagree. How I see fit to administer my priorities will not be dictated by some misunderstood sense of obligation.

If your woes are critical, I can advice formalizing a request and attach a bounty. For the right amount, I'm sure there's a skillful Ruby hacker out there willing to help you out. (This is not irony either)

Well said, David. I completely concur. If I write something and make it available for free, I am under absolutely no obligation to support, improve, or otherwise fix that product. Once I start charging for my services, THEN I am obligated to my customers.

But you should _never_ rail at someone because something they gave you for free does not meet your expectations. That's just childish. If it's not good enough for you, fix it yourself.

- Jamis

···

--
Jamis Buck
jgb3@email.byu.edu
http://www.jamisbuck.org/jamis