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DrupalCon San Francisco 2010

20bits: Four Problems with Drupal

By Bryan - Posted on 01 March 2007
I don't know too much about the author of this post but he does make some semi-intelligent arguments regarding Drupal that shouldn't be entirely dismissed.  Also strange that this Drupal post is the first and only post on this Wordpress blog (so far).
4 Problems with Drupal

Drupal is an open source CMS. It it used by many big-name websites, like The Onion and the Mozilla Foundation’s Get Firefox campaign. However, it suffers from a few serious problems which make it extremely difficult to adapt to large, complex sites. If you’re looking to deploy something like a social network using Drupal then this article is definitely worth your read. Even if you’re not, these are facts any developer or admin should know about the software they might be using.  Read More...
I'd like to see some comments from others in the Drupal community before I make comments myself.  I should also mention that I originally came across this post on Amy Stephen's blog who frequently visits my site.  Amy Stephen is a Joomla! fan, but I don't think she is really trying to stir up trouble.  Of course I have to ask, can you really trust a Joomla! user?   And yes Dean, this is how you are supposed to write sarcasm.

Comments

#1 Eeek!

Amy Stephen's picture
Submitted by Amy Stephen (not verified) on March 1, 2007 - 11:40pm.
Of course I have to ask, can you really trust a Joomla! user?
hehehe! Eeek! Are you sending a gang of Blue Drops in my direction? Hopefully, while on my blog, they will click the Drupal category and find I am also a fan of Drupal, but *madly* in love with my own community! You rock, Bryan!

#2 Blue Drops

Bryan's picture
Submitted by Bryan on March 2, 2007 - 9:39pm.
So any blue drops raining on your head yet?  So far, I only see a lot of snow in my neck of the woods!

#3 I feel safe enough to venture out!

Amy Stephen's picture
Submitted by Amy Stephen (not verified) on March 5, 2007 - 1:57am.
So far, it's been very polite discussion. I think the battle took place at Angry Donuts. Such an unusual name, too. I do think the weather helped, though. No one wants to rumble in a snow storm! ;) Next time, I will remind myself -- only GOOD things -- print only GOOD things! lol! But, that would be no fun.

#4 He's not very convincing

merlinofchaos's picture
Submitted by merlinofchaos (not verified) on March 2, 2007 - 1:16am.

His commentary against Drupal is interesting, but unfortunately mostly off base. His complaints against the hook system are interesting, though fairly weak. His potshot against Views is factually incorrect, which stings a little.

He's right, generated SQL is not likely to be as good as handwritten SQL, but on the other hand, it's not actually guilty of what he claims it's guilty of.

#5 What isn't convincing?

TBarregren's picture
Submitted by TBarregren (not verified) on March 2, 2007 - 5:29am.

First of all, I love Drupal. And I live on providing Drupal related services. So I hope my question is taken seriously and not as polemic.

But I cannot see how his criticism against the hook system is "fairly weak". Could you please elaborate a little on that matter.

#6 Thank you for your answer

TBarregren's picture
Submitted by TBarregren (not verified) on March 2, 2007 - 6:44am.
You are fast (or, I am slow). I just saw your answer. Thanks!

#7 Must be on caffine

Bryan's picture
Submitted by Bryan on March 2, 2007 - 9:38pm.
Actually, I always thought "Merlin's" site should be called Angry Donuts and Coffee.  I don't know of too many other people that work so fast and late into the night as this guy.

#8 Have you read his fiction?

us421@drupal.org's picture
Submitted by us421@drupal.org on March 3, 2007 - 12:05am.
The guy is amazing.

#9 Thank you for the comments!

merlinofchaos's picture
Submitted by merlinofchaos (not verified) on March 6, 2007 - 8:18pm.

Thank you for the kind words about my fiction! I wish I'd written anything recently but alas, Drupal has sucked away all time for writing. =)

As for the caffeine and late into the night -- I actually go to bed quite early usually, but I have bouts of insomnia which occasionally lead to code being written.

#10 Also strange that this

Jesse's picture
Submitted by Jesse (not verified) on March 2, 2007 - 5:03pm.

Also strange that this Drupal post is the first and only post on this Wordpress blog (so far).

Well...more to come, I promise! I just wanted to start of with a bang. :)

#11 Good luck with the site. 

Bryan's picture
Submitted by Bryan on March 10, 2007 - 5:03pm.
Good luck with the site.  Yes, you had a chance to start out with a bang.  I've found that it's difficult to predict which posts catches everyone's eye and which don't.  There are a few posts that I spent a great deal of time on and received very few visitors or comments.  Other times I've written only a couple sentences and it seems half the IT world is commenting on it.  Go figure...
Bryan's picture

About this CMS Enthusiast

Bryan Ruby is the owner and editor for CMS Report. He founded CMSReport.com in 2006 on the belief that information technologists, website owners, and web developers desired visiting sites where they could learn about content management systems without the sales pitch. Outside of his late night blogging hours, he is the Information Technology Officer for a field office in the federal government.