Is anybody going to fix this serious problem with Drupal 4.6.x?

This will not be backported to the 4.6 branch. Drupal 4.7 ill be released soon and we recommend that you upgrade as soon as this happens. We also invite you to try our release candidate to make sure your update is aas smooth as possible.
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Drupal services
My Drupal services

What makes 4.6 and the patch so different form 4.7? Does 4.7 have the patch code in it? Has something entirely different been done to compensate for the problem in 4.7?

Well, Hiveminds claims to have the patched files as a package. Here it is:
http://www.hiveminds.co.uk/drupal-4-6-updated-path-alias-files

Hello,

Just a quick note. I am one whose site was eventually choked to death by the url path alias issue. Site just absolutely became paralyzed and made it impossible to navigate or configure the site any further. After approx 3 months of trying to fix, 3 months of going through the Drupal threads, 3 months of trying to get independent coders to assist, even with the offer of money for their time, with a site absolutely packed with income producing ads, I elected to dump the entire site in favor of a fresh start @ 4.7.

Their is not doubt about the the brain power of those behind Drupal, there is no doubt about the magic of all of those who contribute in the forums and module and of course who can complain about the fact that this most powerful CMS is open source. BUT, something is greatly lost when you have to spend three months just to get a sight up and going. There is something which nullifies the benefits when many of the great modules has crippling bugs out of the box.

Without critizing at all, without really putting anyone down, I think maybe the brain trust of Drupal show slow down a bit and look things over. For instance, now module should be permitted without absolutely ensuring that it is free of (fatal) bugs. Perhaps its too much to expect that programs will be free of all bugs. But the addition of any given module should not crash a site nor paralyze.

I have heard of bit of chatter as to what's next! 4.7 seems to be close to completion, and the chatter seems to be what's next. Shouldn't there be some surety that 4.7 is tight? Even 4.6.5 currently has some major issues which can essentially render a sight useless.

From the little that I have observed as a non programmer oriented business person, Drupal does have a very nice operating module, it just needs to be tightened down a bit. The power of Drupal nor its most valuable contributors does not need to be harnessed, just the organization module and the execution of the same needs to be tightened up a bit.

Some core group should be posted at the gate whereby no module contribution is entered/excepted unless, as a maximum, not minimum, the module is compatible with the Drupal core --- no exceptions. Further, when a bug has been identified, this core brain power should lead the charge to fix. Contributors could assist and even play a lead role here, but the core brain power, should preside over this process. There seems to be a shell of this type of core currently in place, but it seems that they are too busy and the quality assurance could be better.

In closing, everyone is thrilled about open and what a great development. However, so that the Drupal CMS can lead all other CMS's in terms of quality and effectiveness of the CMS, perhaps a reasonable "membership" fee of say $25 per year, per member could be instituted that would fund the core brain power in terms of compensating them for their time. Indeed, one of the most marvelous developments of open source is that there is no cost. However, if the product begin to suffer, then all begins to become a little counter productive. Further, one must consider that most of the developers and contributors have full time jobs during something else and you are a witness, it is very easy to spend 4-5 hours on the computer searching forum threads to solve one issue.

I believe that we can keep the true spirit of open source, open contribution, and open use while instituting a reasonable membership fee. Each member would then be entitled to utilize forum resources. Anyone who might think that this idea is out of bounds, please consider that the forum is a most value resource and has saved many, including myself on many occassions. But it is free. Many take there valuable time to contribute answers and fixes, but this is what contributes to alot of the haphazardness of the process.

In my opinion, it is far more valuable to have a CMS which works, instead of spending so much time trying to get it to work.

To go along with the membership fee, perhaps Drupal should consider products to place in the commercial arena (i.e. CompUSA, Best Buy, etc.--maybe even under a different brand name?). This could be done without moving away from the open source platform at all. By not doing it, Drupal is leaving money on the table which could serve to strengthen the core and service and resources in which the core could make available to its open source members. My premise here is that not everyone is aware, interested nor has the time to dig through the open source process. Many people simply prefer to purchase off the shelf, even if it can be retreived through open sources. Why leave this money on the table?

I am not a programmer, but I can contribute in other ways. As such, this is my take on the matter. Again, kudos to all, there is so much positive on the table.

Publishing