Actually, being at university I have until the end of September :D

Not at all. I know it’s a lot, but we have a summer free to do all the work.

Well, not anymore. 1 month left :P

There was a recent bug in Linux that was fixed which was traced back to the original UNIX core. It wasn’t harmful, but it does prove that some bugs can go unfixed for long times even in the Open Source community.

I never said differently. I only said that a bug can always be fixed, even if the original devs have no intention of doing so.

The thing is, if the code is open, someone may find a bug and attack the site and not report it.

Same happens with Propriertary. The Only difference is that no-one else except the malicious one gets to find out.

Not at all. I know it’s a lot, but we have a summer free to do all the work.

“Again, incorrect. You’re thinking about Propriertary software where an obscure security bug might go unfixed for years.
In Open Source things are fixed as long as someone decides to fix them, like say, the admin of a site that might be compromised by it.”

There was a recent bug in Linux that was fixed which was traced back to the original UNIX core. It wasn’t harmful, but it does prove that some bugs can go unfixed for long times even in the Open Source community. The thing is, if the code is open, someone may find a bug and attack the site and not report it.

There are positive sides to both perspectives. If I were developing a platform for a market release, I would be it open source and make sure everything was user-friendly. In the case of Atheist Nexus or another unique site, I would make it closed and concentrate on making the user side of it good, as well as making the code as tight as possible.

Drupal and Joomla in the past, and they are very bloated,

I beg to dissagree. Drupal epsecially and without all the plugins is quite lightweight which is the reason why so many places customize it to do what they want.

When I said “specific site software” I mean software developed for the site itself. Unique stuff

I honestly think you’re underestimating the amount of work that would require.

Yes, but the Open Source world prefers software that is easy to use rather than software which is not.

That is absolutely incorrect. The Free Software community prefers stuff that they can use and modify. True, if its easier to use, you might get more people using them but even if it’s not, as long as it’s useful, people are going to use it, and because it’s open source, they will help improve it as well.

Most open software projects started very difficult to use and indeed many still are.

People use Firefox over I.E because it is easier to use and certainly more powerful. The same applies here.

The Free Software community was using Firefox and Mozilla before it because it was better and free, not necessarily because it was easier. The Usability only helped to make it popular in the NON-Free Software people.

Although security flaws are usually fixed faster with Open Source projects, this is only done if they are very popular.

Again, incorrect. You’re thinking about Propriertary software where an obscure security bug might go unfixed for years.
In Open Source things are fixed as long as someone decides to fix them, like say, the admin of a site that might be compromised by it.

It would be worthwhile keeping Atheist Nexus closed source for the beginning so that security holes are kept to a minimum.

Security through obscurity is not security at all.

If you are so set in your mind to do, it means that you’ll be filtering your review through this prism. The bad stuff will grow huge and the good stuff will be marginalised.

Not at all. I will fairly analyze what needs to be done, and what can be done with the current interface. However, it is my current understanding that Ning doesn’t really allow much editing of environment code, and judging by the amount of work needed in Nexus, my initial conclusion would be a better model.

Ah but you see you don’t have to start from scratch with it. You can easily begin from Drupal or Joomla and move from there.

Yes, and I’ve already found a few open source engines that we might build upon. However getting everything to work well from the start is a big priority, and we would still have to learn the basic code layout. I’ve worked with Drupal and Joomla in the past, and they are very bloated, so I would be looking for a lightweight platform to develop.

Which one do you have in mind?

I think you misunderstood me. When I said “specific site software” I mean software developed for the site itself. Unique stuff. For instance, the facebook platform is developed for facebook, so they probably do not have a powerful backend interface. If a change needs to be done, it would be better to do it by accessing the database or code instead of building a way to do it through a website.

I don’t understand where you get that impression. With a Free Software the emphasis is where you want it to be, like with any other piece of software.

Yes, but the Open Source world prefers software that is easy to use rather than software which is not. The easier to use the piece of software, the more people are going to use it. People use Firefox over I.E because it is easier to use and certainly more powerful. The same applies here.

There is also the problem of security when it comes to Open Source. Although security flaws are usually fixed faster with Open Source projects, this is only done if they are very popular. It would be worthwhile keeping Atheist Nexus closed source for the beginning so that security holes are kept to a minimum. The developers will of course try to hack the site as much as possible, and then fix the holes as they see them.

However my “diagnosis” will probably be to develop something better from scratch.

If you are so set in your mind to do, it means that you’ll be filtering your review through this prism. The bad stuff will grow huge and the good stuff will be marginalised.

The problem with making the software Open Source from the start is the overall workload.

Ah but you see you don’t have to start from scratch with it. You can easily begin from Drupal or Joomla and move from there.

With a specific site software, you do not have to build easy to use backend functionality

Which one do you have in mind?

With an Open Source product, the emphasis is on usability for the admin as well as the user. We would need to fashion an admin control panel to do everything.

I don’t understand where you get that impression. With a Free Software the emphasis is where you want it to be, like with any other piece of software.

The problem with making the software Open Source from the start is the overall workload. With a specific site software, you do not have to build easy to use backend functionality, since we would be able to change the code manually to do whatever we wanted. With an Open Source product, the emphasis is on usability for the admin as well as the user. We would need to fashion an admin control panel to do everything.

So yes, I am “dead set” on making a new social networking engine/platform, but that doesn’t make me exempt from helping out at Atheist Nexus, and in fact it might benefit Nexus greatly if my engine works better than Ning’s.

2. The way you say it is that you’re dead-set on developing a new platform. That is all well and good if Ning is really unworkable and I would support you all the way if the new platform is going be free software from the get go but it would also mean that you won’t be willing to help improve what we have now, or at least that’s how I read you.