[:BLIP:]Re: [icecast] disappointed with group

[Jim Bailey]

On Thu, May 23, 2002 at 09:50:58PM +1000, Geoff Shang wrote:
> Hi:
> 
> 1.  Icecast 1.x is no longer being developed excepting for security patches
> and bug-fixes.  Acordingly, it's probably also fair to say that it's not
> really being supported, since basically, the developers have other fish to
> fry.  There is, of course, a decent sized user base, which I'm guessing
> would make up the majority of this list.
> 
> 2.  Shout has not been supported for some time and the developers (and many
> users) are up-front about this.
> 
> 3.  Ices (currently at 0.2.3) is still being developed by Brendan Cully
> <SP?>.  IIRC, he's generally quick to respond to queries directly about
> ices.
> 
> 4.  Icecast2/libshout2/ices2 are under active development at this time.
> The developers are at least keeping an eye on icecast-dev, as patches are
> being committed.  Keep in mind however that the guys doing this are also
> heavily involved in Vorbis' development which is likely taking up a good
> deal of time right now.
>
I would say that this was an accurate picture, I don't actually use
Icecast 1 or 2  but do have an interest music and streaming technology
so I just tend to lurk. and read the occasional thread that interests
me.

> Speaking as a person who's dabbled with icecast 1.x but not done a great
> deal with it, the manual seems fairly thorough in documenting features,
> etc.  However, it would seem that a FAQ for this list would be a good thing
> as a number of questions seem to come up at regular intervals.
> 
I agree to a certain degree with the need for better documentation
particularily if the developers are not going to tune in to the user
list on a regular basis something they seemed to do more in the past.
It seems that a problem with this list is a gap between the developers
who seemed to know a lot about the system but were too busy developing
this and other stuff like Ogg Vorbis and the users on the list.  Who
seem to be new to the software and in some cases general *nix stuff.
This project needs something like the commentable documentation on the
MySQL site, where registered users can place footnotes below the main
documentation.  This should help and setting up a wiki system is not a
difficult task.

On a final note, particularly if there are developers lurking on this
list.  I put a strong emphasis on documentation and user support when
choosing an application for my systems, it doesn't matter how great an
application is if I can get it to work.  By the same token Free Software
project need users to support and enrich them for them to become great.
There does seem to be some fundamental structural problems with Icecast
as a project at the moment.

Peace Jim

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