rc4 and phpfreechat not working - don't want to use forked module

If you don't want to use the bug fix version, there's not much I can do to help you.

I applied for a CVS account earlier in the week, but haven't heard back from the Drupal webmasters yet. I have no idea how long that takes.

owahab and I have corresponded privately, and he has agreed to make me a co-maintainer if/when I'm approved for the CVS account. At that time, I'll update the Drupal version of the module to what's currently on my Web site, and remove the separate download area. It's there now just as a service to the community. Of course, you are free to continue suffering if that's what you prefer. :)

What's a "noob"?

I'm not flaming anyone.

I posted the bug-fix version on my Web site because someone in the community requested that I do it. After a while, as I fixed more and more bugs, there were too many changes to keep track of easily.

I'm not maintaining a fork. I just posted a bug-fix version, temporarily, until it can be moved over to Drupal. I was trying to help people by sharing what I learned - as I wished others had done for me. No one helped me when I first downloaded this module and begged for help. I emailed people and I posted in the issues queue with no response. I had no choice but to fix the problems myself, and when I was able to do it, I shared what I learned with others - as I would want others to do for me. I can't imagine why that makes you angry.

I created the fixed version for my own site, and made it available to others at someone's request. There's nothing site-specific in it - it's just bug fixes - and it's very well-tested. I'm pretty compulsive. The people who've tried it have gotten the same result as me - it works. If someone prefers not to try it, though, it doesn't matter to me. It's just there for people who want it.

As for my original posts being cranky... Well, yeah. I'd just upgraded my site's version of Drupal from 4.6 to 5.x so I could use phpFreeChat - thus breaking the chat we had been using. phpFreeChat is better than the other chat options for Drupal, plus it has a feature that my community particularly wanted. The upgrade was very painful because update.php didn't update the database properly. It took 10 hours of manual tweaking to get my site back up. My community was not pleased.

And then the chat didn't work - which was my original reason for upgrading in the first place. I'm a strong PHP programmer but I hadn't written a Drupal module before, and I didn't even know where to start to look for the bugs. I emailed everyone I could think of for help (the module maintainer, the original developer of phpFreeChat, a developer whose name was on a very brief routine in one of the files). And meanwhile my community was ... impatient. There's a regularly scheduled chat on Sundays and I wanted to get the thing working by Sunday. But the only Drupal developer who even answered my email was the guy whose short routine was used in one file, and he sent me back a one-sentence response - "Sorry, no time to help."

So I was cranky, yes.

I'm much more cheerful now that the chat is working and my community is happy. Plus I now know how to program Drupal modules so I'm not so helpless. It was painful, though. I did all that in about a week.

I still don't know what a noob is. What is a noob?

noob = new comer

Hi!

I am watching the discussion about new drupal phpfreechat module from the start.
IMHO, permutations did great job, he did a working phpfreechat. no version of phpfreechat was working for me completly and without bugs like this for one year. So I suppose that he has a good skills and I am glad that he give it to us, to community.

So far as I can see, phpfreechat moduel was not updated from december. So this is the reason why use this module (if it work correctly) as new version of phpfreechat module. (when permutation get cvs access)

Who wants to use old version and it works for him, he can. Who wants to use new version without bugs, he can too.
I really don't uderstand Caleb G hot answers.

I can tell just for me, but I am happy that here it is working phpfreechat module. So if here is somebody who can help to Owahab (or work together with him) we can be glad only that we have this situation, because it is fine for everybody.

I really apprecitate permutations works (and work of everybody whose did something for this module, Grugnog, Owahab, and patch and bug committers).
Thanks for your work!

Igorik
http://www.somvprahe.sk

Thanks, Igorik.

I'm a co-maintainer on the module now, and am trying to find the time to learn the system so I can update the version on Drupal. Last week I was working on the module itself (fixed a few more bugs and added an "away" feature), and this weekend my cell phone died so I ended up configuring a new Smartphone instead. I may upload the new version to my Web site while I learn the Drupal system so people can try it out and send feedback in the meantime. I'll read up on the CVS system this week - maybe it won't take me that long to figure out.

If it's so critical for you, then you fix it.

I've had computer problems, health problems, and work problems. Other things in my life are more critical right now. I'll do it eventually. If you want it faster, do it yourself. It's open source - that's how it works.

And stop insulting me, while you just sit there judging and complaining. It's not productive.

I suggest you bug off, because the more you hassle me to do work for you, the less I feel inclined to do it.

Pardon me for throwing my two bits in here, but I fail to see how this exchange is moving this project forward.

Instead of individuals who are developers throwing stones at maintainer, co-maintainers, and "noobs" (and I stand in the "noob" crowd myself), perhaps it would be more beneficial for everyone if we collaboratively, and in a spirit of good will, looked for solutions to the presenting problems, recognising that we are all people, fallible, with real-life concerns that sometimes get in the way of our best intentions.

This is a great module and project, and certainly there has been excellent work done by a number of people, albeit not always in strict conformance to Drupal guidelines. I'll take some responsibility for that, in that I was one of the people (the only person?) that asked permutations to provide a complete module. Nonetheless, *she* (I believe permutation is a "she" --- please correct me if i am wrong) has made moves to conform to the Drupal standards, and I am inclined to give her some slack, particularly since (a) she's done a good job at debugging the module, and (b) she has had some personal life issues. How sad is it when we ignore the fact that it is real people doing the work here, not just a set of characters on a screen? Do we have to lose our sense of compassion and community?

OK, I'm getting off my soap-box now... :-)

any new commits to the module? eagerly standing by...

Thanks guys.

I have uploaded my so-called "fork" of the phpFreeChat module to the project repository on drupal.org so you can get it right here now.

I will graciously accept apologies from all those who were rude and obnoxious to me for uploading the code to my own site to make it available to others while I learned CVS (and did a few other things in between). You know who you are.

Like I said, the users of phpfreechat within Drupal are more than welcome for the dozens of hours of my time that I donated to the good of the community at no charge. My graciousness extends even to the ingrates who think this was somehow owed to them (you know who you are).

There's a certain irony in the fact that I'd have been spared the abuse and criticism that some people (you know who you are) heaped on me if I'd fixed the module for my own use and didn't tell anyone or share it with anyone, rather than fix it and share it in my own way and in my own time as I did. I'll bet a lot of people do that - fix bugs for themselves and say nothing - people like me who know PHP but not CVS. It was nontrivial to learn CVS.

Maybe the ones who say nothing and don't share are smarter than I am. But I will continue to share my work because of the people who are polite and appreciative, and who make this a pleasant community that I want to be a part of. There are flamers in every community - I can't let that dictate what I do.

And there are those of us who are appreciative and understand that life happens, permutations. So thanks.

In a perfect world, we'd all have time to study the intricacies of the various systems with which we are involved, which are no doubt there for good reason, and comply to the letter. Having been a programmer / analyst myself in the past, I'd like to think that i have some insight into computer stuff, but I have to confess (speaking as a techie), I think we often delight in the wondrous complexity of our inventions, and forget about that little fundamental principle of software and system (including the broader definition of 'system') design known as 'elegance'. Some complexity sometimes is unavoidable, but I personally shudder (having already had some experience with Tortoise SVC and, in frustration for the additional time it was costing me with no real benefit, having uninstalled it from my system) at having to learn yet another source code version control tool. I've just done some major work on IMCE gallery, on (dare I say it, at risking ridicule from all around) a Windows platform. There's no native "diff" or "patch" on Windows XP (go figure), and having worked in a GUI for a long time, despite my admiration for the '70s style command-line jockeys, i really am kind of partial to my GUI. Issuing commands at a command-prompt brings back too many university-all-nighter bad memories. No one has actually asked me yet for a "patch" for IMCE gallery, but i'm not looking forward to the request, let me tell you. What's so wrong about writing nice, intuitive, user-friendly tools? Who said programmers weren't 'users' too? ... but i digress.

All that being said, as a senior leader of software engineering teams, i am a huge proponent of standards, rigour in software engineering, and adherence, because in the long-run, it is the best-cost approach to quality software engineering. That said, I never chastise a programmer / analyst for doing something excellent that doesn't completely conform to the standards. I thank them, note that we have to bring it into standard, and then ask them what they think the best way of doing that is.

OK, i'm getting off my soap box now. :-)

While there is no native patching program for windows there is a FREE GUI patching utility called winmerge which allows you to compare two files create patches and merge changes.

YOU... are a saviour! :-)

I've not used it use, just happened to notice the patching feature recently upon reinstalling on a reformatted machine. I use cygwin under normal circumstances but only because that is what I was guided to when learning how to patch upon my arrival to this community. Let me know how it works out. I may not get to work with it until the weekend.