The Adblock Project

[mcm_ham]

Well my question is, when is Adblock 0.5 going to be properly released? It has been using the developer notation of Adblock 0.5 d2 nightly 39 for some time. Having a version linked to under Install on the website is a bit less forboding than Dev Builds for first time users.

[itr]

WHEN IT'S READY

[Guest]

What! My understanding is that AdBlock 0.5 is no longer being developed, instead they are pursuing the completion of AdBlock 0.6, am I wrong?

[wonkothesane]

The Guest above is correct; rue decreed some eight months ago that the 0.5 branch will recieve no more development effort in favor of 0.6.

[guest]

Ok then, so when is 0.6 slated to release.
If no date, at least give an ETA and not 'when it's ready'

[idbehold]

Naw, they're all douche bags and won't even tell us what is done so far. It seems as if adblock is lost.
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[G]

Why do you feel that you're owed something? The developers don't need to give you any details on upcoming versions, nor do they need to tell you when they'll be released.
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[idbehold]

I don't feel that I'm owed something, I just think they are douche bags.
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[Org]

idbehold, download the latest .xpi file, unzip it with your favorite unzipper, add all the features you want, DO TELL US THE EXACT RELEASE DATE and then release your version. Easy, no?

Until you do all that, please keep your mouth shut.

[Zachariah]

hey I hate name-calling as much as the next guy, but idbehold does do some help for the adblock project by fielding some questions with good answers.

And, he even clarified in his second "douche bags" post that it was his opinion and not a statement of fact (as it was worded in the first "douche bags" post).

IMO "keep your mouth shut" isn't that far from "douche bags", so I am not going to tell either of you to stop posting or call you a name -- what I will do is say that we're all on the same team, but that doesn't mean we have to like each other. I'd hope that it at least means we respect each other and figure out some way to work together peacefully.

Suggestions:
use "they make me frustrated" instead of "they are douche bags"
use "please, I'd appreciate it if you didn't complain so much" instead of "please keep your mouth shut"

or do what I do when I don't have anything very useful to do (except with this post, ironically) ... type it all up and then close the tab (instead of hitting the seductive "Submit" button)
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[Org]

Sorry, my intention was not to be rude. I tried to be careful not to say anything like "shut up" or even "shut the f**k up".

[wonkothesane]

[rue]

Just a note to add:
Some of idbehold's posts were, indeed, helpful. I would prefer if the ban weren't needed, but he's only 16 and will hopefully acquire a more amicable persona, somewhere along the way.
.
Until then, the forum is closed to him.

[Zachariah]

[Guest]

[G]

"Open source" has nothing to do with development, it has to do with the finished product.
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[hank]

We're just lucky that the world cabal of internet polluters hasn't tracked these guys down and assassinated them -- it works, it's kept getting better, and it's them against the machine.

If there were a better way to send roses and thanks ....
%-<-<-@

[someone]

[hank]

This seems fairly clear, reading from the documentation at Mozdev. Versions are what's publicly available for download. The people working on each application hosted there have the ability to accept new people onto their projects and give them access to the work in progress -- but that means you get access to code, not that the work in progress is publicly stored where anyone can access it.

Think for a minute -- if you were interested in writing viruses or malicious code, wouldn't you be eager to have access to work in progress so you could plan out ways to attack it when it was released?

If you were interested in having people use your work and be satisfied with the result, would you leave the unfinished pieces open to the public so those unfamiliar with how software is build could play with the pieces of code and be harmed?

If you were of a mind to steal code and try to sell it by repackaging it -- wouldn't you want early access to the pieces as it was being built, so you could take and use it?

Now, I'm not a programmer, I just read and write docs for a living -- I'm sure there are other reasons for the way Mozdev handles things.

But -- as a general approach to things in life -- reading the fine manual first and stating your questions in a way that shows that you have read and understood the documentation, is a good way to encourage people to respect you as an inquisitive and thoughtful person who may have something to contribute.

Simply demanding that what is closed should be open works in (some) games. But right now I think you may be finding yourself in a maze of twisted little messages, all of which seem alike -- and you will feel more in control of what's happening when you show you've understood how the machine you're operating is meant to be worked.

Quoting from the bit of Mozdev's fine manual that I came across, explaining for developers how -- and WHEN -- their software is made publicly available there:

QUOTE:

"Posting Files to the Download Mirrors

"When you are ready to post a version of your project for download or installation, copy the release file to your downloads directory, and check it in to CVS.
....

"All download files (xpi, zip, gzip, tar, etc.) should live only in the downloads directory. Newly checked in (or changed) release files are scheduled for copying to the mirror servers."


-----Seems like the development work is done privately, and the versions -- the releases -- are published. Right?

Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm very new to understanding how this works here.

[wonkothesane]

No, hank, you're completely correct. For a variety of reasons, at the start of 0.6's development, rue declared that (a finished) 0.6 would be The Next Release. The key point, especially this late in the game, is that when it's just me and rue shuttling files back and forth, "lag time" for new features and so on is very low, and the code/distribute/feedback/code cycle is tight and short. If we released the in-development source more widely, the overhead involved with keeping everyone up-to-date and dealing with the feedback would leave us virtually no time to do any actual coding.

A quick browse around these forums will reveal just how much redundant feedback we get for n39, which is relatively bug-free. Now imagine if we released an in-dev and not-bug-free 0.6: first, we'd have hundreds of users from this forum posting duplicate or invalid bugs and feature requests. In a day or two, the forum would probably get slashdotted ("Adblock 0.6 Arrives!", which is obviously undesirable. Users would of course be disappointed by the unfinished nature of 0.6, and by the time it was well and truly "done", it would be a non-event. Not Good.


idbehold: perhaps you'd like to learn what Open Source actually entails? I'll give you a hint: CVS is not one of the requirements.

[IceDogg]

Come on guys, let them do it and stop bugging them. I could understand it a little if you paid for this or if the current version was very lacking..but nether is the case here. I just as much as anyone would love to see an update (just to see what could make this better) but lets be patient and let them get it done the way they want. Thank you guys for this great extension, I for one will be glad when .6 is released, but you take your time and do it the way you want. THANKS again for this GREAT extension! My hats off to ya!

[s33m33]

*sigh*

i wouldnt mind another nightly build.
considering the number of user requests our developers are attending to, i guess 0.6 is not the near future.

[ShunterAlhena]

IceDogg: you are absolutely right, but I believe everyone with a little sanity is nagging the devs out of sheer curiosity, not because they feel they have a rightful claim for the new version.

My point is that releasing a few screenshots, or a rough changelog would do no harm like tons of bug reports or "It's Here!" topics, but would satisfy the aforementioned curiosity and many people - probably including me - would give their Submit buttons a little rest.

Anyway, in the meanwhile my hat is off too
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[Ren]

All I wanted to hear is that work is still progressing on a new version.. That way I don't have to feel too depressed when I get swamped in the latest version of firefox, that does run the last n39 version..