Supporters don't like to be PMed, because the whole point of running a forum is that answers to questions users have are visible for others as well for their benefit. The whole concept is based on freedom: we're free to answer a thread or not. Sending a PM is an invasion of my privacy, only my friends are allowed to do that. I won't accept to be sent PMs by total strangers. The same thing applies for almost all other devs and supporters. The only exception to this rule is if someone should find a security flaw in coppermine - then it would be wise to send such information privately to a developer to enable the dev team to come up with a fix. So far, this hasn't happened very frequently, that's why I'm considering a mod that will allow PMs to be sent only if a user has already posted a certain amount of regular postings.
I can understand that newbies want a gallery, they want it fast, they don't want to read details. On the other hand, developers don't like answering the same newbie questions over and over again. After all, we're dealing with technology - it's not rocket science, but you can't teach a total newbie in just one minute all aspects of internet technology that took the experts years to learn. Often, newbies then ask "why has this got to be so complicated?". The answer lies in the mutlitude of different server and client setups: there are so many parameters that have to be taken into account, you simply can't create an application that will run on all platforms easily without manual trouble-shooting (although coppermine is doing a pretty good job imo).
Coppermine is a very powerful app that has got a lot of features, with the drawback that it's a bit more complicated. If it's too complicated for someone, then this person should look for an app that is easier to set up, but has less features. There's a myriad of apps available that will allow you to display some pics on a web page. Coppermine is just one of them, serving the needs of those who actually need all those features it comes with. Those who need much less should go for less. We're happy if a lot of people find our "product" usefull, but we don't earn one penny with it. The devs keep working on the project for as long as it is fun. If the trouble and negative user feedback outweighs the fun, we'll quit. I don't need users kissing my ***, saying thanks all the time and how great the product is (I know that already), yet there's a lot every user can give back, at least by trying to solve things on their own and if they fail to do so turn here for help, respecting board rules and some common sense.
Joachim
Author
Topic: How do you install this thing into your website? (Read 7034 times)