Zen Cart Poll

Zen Cart Poll

If the ZC Team or someone that received the ZC Team blessings gave you the options of downloading versions of the cart with extra's in it.... meaning additional modules (i.e. Google Checkout, SEO Urls, Google Analytics, etc) ready to go (maybe you had a few things you would have to change- just because the nature of some modules), free templates and such how much would you be willing to pay for the download?

Sorry.... first post timed out making poll....

A "loaded Zen Cart" would be considered a fork of the program and would not be supported in any way, shape or form. Not to mention that because the program is GPL - someone could pay for a version and then turn around and release it for free.

Moderator's note- your poll has been closed.

Kim:

A "loaded Zen Cart" would be considered a fork of the program and would not be supported in any way, shape or form. Not to mention that because the program is GPL - someone could pay for a version and then turn around and release it for free.

Moderator's note- your poll has been closed.

Being that I was very limited timewise and word wise with the survey it is very hard to get into any detail ....(i.e. to mention that the team would not support the extra modules)... but it is the teams loss on this one.

I know many people do things without thinking.... so, you decide to download the copy for free from somebody else who paid for it.... how would you know they didn't modify it in a negative way.... if the ZC team could give their blessing on a Turbo- ZC version I would be one that would be willing to pay for it! .... even knowing that it wasn't supported by the team. I would think multiple versions would be good so you could kind of pick and choose.

:lookaroun Shrimp-Gumbo :lookaroun

so, you decide to download the copy for free from somebody else who paid for it.... how would you know they didn't modify it in a negative way
How would one know if the initial paid download was not altered in a negative way?
And why Kim stated this would be a "Fork" of ZC and from that point on would be on it's own....

Think of this as a similar senario to the Template Monster debacle - They provide a product that is broken out of the box and user come here to find solutions...Where is the TM Support Forum??

If the version was previewed by the team I would assume there were no negatives in it.

I use a "fork" of the program and seem to be supported when I ask questions.

"I would be one that would be willing to pay for it! .... even knowing that it wasn't supported by the team. "

I use a "fork" of the program and seem to be supported when I ask questions.
What Fork?
Do you understand what the rules are around a "Fork"

kobra:

What Fork?
Do you understand what the rules are around a "Fork"

I don't know the rules behind a fork but I am using non standard modules :smile:

UNCLE I give! :smile:

from experience, I can tell you that a loaded version is a pain in the @$$ and way more work than you can possible imagine,

you have to rebuild it for every release, then you have to build just an upgrader for those folks that you have already supplied with a Loaded version,

NOT WORTH IT,

I say this because I lost 1/2 my hair every release due to stress, and then pulled the rest out through frustration.......

needless to say we no longer have a kool loaded version for our clients.

1.3.7 was the last one........

Will the 1.4.0 release change Zen Cart so signficantly that it will no longer be a child of osCommerce?

ZC is already so far from the other cart ( on the front end ) that there is no resemblance,

If you didnt know who the father was you would wonder if the milkman or poolboy did it......

I can see ZC stepping even farther from the other cart in upcoming versions that even a DNA test will not be conclusive.......

I would have to differ. The DNA is evidenced in almost every Zen Cart file.

copyright Portions Copyright 2003 osCommerce

I also think there is some validity to purchasing pre-loaded Zen Cart setups but obviously one would not get them through the Zen Cart site. The Developers have enought to keep them busy. :wink:

Hey Rob,
I would suggest giving it a try then,
trust me its a pain

we did it from 1.2.6 through 1.3.7 and its NOT WORTH the headaches..LOL

I would have to agree with Merlinpa1969 on this as I entertained doing this also with just a handful of modules that it seemed that many wanted added anyway.

Here comes 1.3.8 - Module list already had to have a few files common to them merged. Then 1.3.8 & a was released and the changelog with 1.3.8 & a meant checking and merging #&#&#& many files and I do not want to end up with no hair!!!

I can see ZC stepping even farther from the other cart in upcoming versions that even a DNA test will not be conclusive...

However - no matter how far we get from the roots, the parentage will always be acknowledged. Even if we were to burn it to the ground and rebuild, the foundation and inspiration would always be there and should be recognized.

I also think there is some validity to purchasing pre-loaded Zen Cart setups but obviously one would not get them through the Zen Cart site. The Developers have enought to keep them busy.

First, creating and selling a loaded version doesn't benefit the Zen Cart project, only the developer doing it.

Second, everyone's idea of the "ideal" program is different. Look at the forums now - many, many questions are how do I turn something off. Also look at the contributed templates threads ... they are full of how do I change the designer's vision of "perfect". There is no one-size fits-all without some alterations.

Third, adding every possible "good" module bloats the code (more than it already is) and the idea is to make the cart so easy to change with an addon that no one minds doing it, but you have to proceed carefully because of all the intricate, interwoven procedures and calculations needed by an ecommerce solution. You can very quickly run into conflicts and the resolution is not always easy.

Fourth, there are legal and ethical issues with selling GPL code. The idea behind the GNU/GPL is freedom - being free to use, change and redistribute the code. Charging for the code is a restriction of that freedom, changing the license without all of the copyright holders permissions is illegal.

Kim have a cup of coffee you definitely deserve it after that speach :wink:

Isn't there some irony in this after some of the zen-cart devs are originally from the OSC Shoppe Enhancement Controller which pretty much did just that? Then again, maybe you guys know best which is why you turned it into its own cart.

yes sure there is some irony there. Linda and I were for some time members of the osC dev team, and in Lindas case she developed the Shoppe Enhancement Controller, while I created the original osC loaded.

However, that just makes the point. We both realised that what we were doing was a fork of osC, and it then made sense to take those forks, and create Zen Cart.

it would have been disingenuous of us to continue using the resource of osC to support those projects. Similarly, there is nothing to stop anyone creating 'loaded' versions of Zen cart, but people who do that should realize that they need to be prepared to handle 'supporting' those forks themselves, and that relying on the ZC forums to do so,would not be right.