RailsPlugins.org

RailsPlugins.org provides the following:

• Somewhere to register the compatibility of gems and plugins for various criteria.
• A feedback loop between authors and users to discuss and find ways to improve compatibility.

The site is not designed as a support forum. It is not a bug tracker. Most authors already have these established for their gems and plugins and RailsPlugins.org provides places for authors to list these sites.

Plugins, Versions, Opinions, Criteria, What??

OK, here is the run down, a Plugin can have many versions. Each version can have an owner's opinion about if it works with any one of the listed Criteria. The Criteria are at the moment "Rails 3", "Ruby 1.9", "JRuby" and "Thread Safety". These are not hard coded into the site and can change as we improve Rails and Ruby et al.

In addition to the owner's opinion (which has the most sway) any registered user can also have exactly one opinion per plugin's, version criterion. So if you now think a gem is working when before it was not, you have to change your opinion on the matter, simple isn't it?

How is the compatibility worked out?

Simple. An author registers a gem (optionally linking it to RubyGems.org) and lists a version. For that version the author declares the compatibility of his gem or plugin against the available criteria, as "Works", "Doesn't Work" or "Don't Know". The plugin and gem is then published and the community can vote if the plugin or gem works as advertised.

If the author states "Don't Know" for the compatibility with a criteria, then the group opinion takes over. If the users say "It works" then the gem or plugin is listed as working. If the users say "It' doesn't work" then the gem or plugin is listed as not working. If there is a big conflict of opinion, then the compatibility stays at "Don't know".

You as a user, or an author have one opinion per version, per gem. You can change that opinion at any time. The idea being that the author will attempt to fix the problem, and then comment on your opinion letting you know that it now works or has improved or debug why it is not working. You can then implement the author's directions and then change your vote as appropriate.

If an author states a plugin is working, but users say it doesn't, then the author gets a grace period of four weeks to either release a working version, or get the users who disagree with his opinion to change their mind. At the end of four weeks, the system will change the owner's opinion to "Don't Know" which then allows the group opinion to take over. If everyone agrees that the plugin does not work, for the specified version and criteria, then it will be listed as "No".

Linking to RubyGems.org

We are a friendly bunch, so as Gem authors, you can opt to have your gem linked up to RubyGems. Then whenever you push a new version to RubyGems, RailsPlugins.org will create a new version of your gem automatically for you and inherit the compatibility for your previous version, emailing you a notification. You can then log in and modify the compatibility if it has changed.

This also means if you change things like Project URLs, Bug Trackers etc at Rubygems, your changes will migrate over to RailsPlugins.org on your next version release.

ATOM Feeds

Yes, we have ATOM feeds everywhere. There are three types of feed:

• Site Feed: If you subscribe on the home page or the browse plugins page, then you will get a feed listing all activity for the site.
• Plugin Feed: If you subscribe on a plugin page, then you will get a feed limited to the activity of that plugin.
• User Feed: If you subscribe on a user page, then you will get a feed limited to any activity of that user.

How can you help?

This is a community driven site, and like any community site, it has a voracious appetite for help:

• Register your Plugin: If you are an author, list your gems and plugins and declare their compatibility
• Cast Your Opinion: Go through all the gems and plugins you use in your app and vote if they are working or not
• Fork and Patch It: Find gems and plugins that you know are not working and offer to help, fork the gem, or submit patches.
• Comment: Help people who have commented that something doesn't work when it is just a configuration problem, and help them fix their implementation and change their opinion.
• Propose: Suggest ways we can improve the site, seriously, we are interested. Best way is via our Rails Plugins mailing list.

Where to leave feedback?

The best / easiest way is to join and post to the RailsPlugins.org mailing list. That way all suggestions can be discussed with people who care.

Who made this thing?

Engine Yard have sponsored the entire site, including all design, development and (of course) hosting of RailsPlugins.org.

Paul Campbell and Brian Flanagan are responsible for the design and initial implementation. Mikel Lindsaar then took over development after the initial launch adding features and a full test suite.

Ongoing Rails development, and maintenance now provided to the Ruby on Rails community by rubyx.