Have you ever worked with concrete5 CMS

[phpdeveloper82]

Hello,

 

Recently I got an enquiry abt a project in  concrete5 CMS. ( http://www.concrete5.org/)

 

When I go through their official site, I came to know that the CMS is good than Joomla & Drupal ( I don't believe so)

 

ANy member of phpfreaks worked on this CMS ? Is it easy to master it ? How is the job opportunity of this CMS?

 

I would like to master some opensource package which is simple and getting popular someday in future.

 

Thanks Team.

[xylex]

Hey- I checked it out before, not a big fan of either the codebase or the company.  They're based in Portland, Oregon, local to me. 

 

A few months after they open sourced the code base, I went through the codebase and found a ton of SQL injection spots and other basic security holes.  I e-mailed them about it, and posted the issues on a blog a couple weeks after that.  A few weeks later, I got a series of public rants back from the Concrete "CEO" on my blog.  I just didn't think it was an appropriate way to respond, so that turned me off to the company quite a bit.

 

As for the codebase, it's another flavor of a heavyweight MVC framework, without a whole lot of structure of files, classes, or where something happens, so it can be confusing to work through at times.  Whether or not it's a growing project, the stats at Sourceforge should give you an idea.

[1042]

Concrete5 is a fine CMS with a growing user base.

 

The structure is well defined, it is very easy to theme and create custom modules and is very expandable, i have work with Drupal and Joomla for a few years now and after i tried Concrete5 i switch to them, the security issues have been fixed but as with any web application nothing is 100% secure although the concrete guys are fast to fix issues and release security patches, i mean look at Drupal and their issues;

 

http://secunia.com/advisories/search/?search=drupal

 

Concrete5 was a commercial product before they release it as open source so the company actually got paid to make it better, unlike Drupal or Joomla.

 

The forums are very supporting as well, anyway i encourage you to give it a try, it doesn't hurt to learn something new and i really think Concrete5 will soon be very popular. just my 2 cents.

 

 

[kingjames457]

Concrete5 is a great CMS and is growing rapidly.  In a few years it may pose a threat to Joomla and Wordpress.  The security issues mentioned above have been taken care of.  I use the CMS on a number of large sites (thousands of users) with no security problems.

 

However, I have to agree with the earlier post about Franz Maruna, the CEO of Concrete5.  Maruna is a terrible leader that talks down to his group of core users.  When someone brings up an issue/problem or critique Maruna is overly defensive, when someone generates an idea or a new way of doing something, he dismisses it.  I think Concrete5 is the best CMS out there but I'm worried about its future.  I can't see the CMS growing with Frnz as the leader.

 

Here is a prime example of a post regarding the design of Concrete5:  http://www.concrete5.org/community/forums/chat/just-curious-your-vote/?displayStyle=flat

 

In the post, ChadStrat, a talented developer who is often overly emotional during bitch battles with Franz asks for a vote on Concrete5.org's design.  Many people chime in that Concrete5.org's design and usability is lacking and that it is odd that a CMS aimed at marketing people and designers fails so miserably with their actual website design.  Keep reading and you will see how Franz dismisses the concerns of his forum members and does not place it high in his priority list.

 

This is a common pattern throughout the Concrete5 forums.  Someone raises an issue/critique and Franz brings the axe down on their neck.  Maruna demonstrates huge ego and a lack of leadership.  If he doesn't change his behavior and begin considering the opinions of his community and core user group then he is going to lose his developers and Concrete5 will flounder and die.  It is the community that makes a CMS better, that spreads the word, that uses the CMS on sites around the world, that develops add ons and provides support.  Community = growth. Without a change in the open source culture at Concrete5, starting with Franz (not all are innocent), Concrete5 will wither.  Maruna needs to wake up and value his community, put the ego aside and begin communicating and leading like Demming (read up on him Franz).

 

If he doesn't, his developers are going to take his previous comment seriously about simply taking the open source code and building it up under new leadership and a better environment where developers and designers are valued, call it Concrete6 or Concrete7 Franz's CMS will be toast.  All the developers would leave Concrete5 and sell their add ons on a good marketplace, on a good looking site where critique is valued and where they actually know how to market a CMS.

 

Starting January 1st, 2011 you better shape up Franz, or we developers are going to rebel, take the source code and build something better elsewhere.  If this does happen, don't worry, you can join our forum and unlike you we will listen to your input on not dismiss it out of hand.

 

 

 

[KevinM1]

This isn't the place to air dirty laundry about, or issue ultimatums to another community.

[kingjames457]

My bad Moderator.  I figured it was relevant to the topic.  I have used Concrete5 before and it has served me better than Joomla and Wordpress but the major negative is Franz's behavior.  I should have kept my last post a bit less longwinded.

 

Here's the gist

 

Concrete5= Great CMS

Concrete5 Leadership = Not so great

[ChadStrat]

agreed.  "Overly emotional"...point well taken...I can be on 11 from time to time :-P

 

I think the main point is this:  Concrete5 is fine CMS.  Andrew is constantly making it better..and it is an extremely flexible CMS.

 

I use C5 for ALL of my projects for the following:

 

- Wordpress is NOT a CMS

- Joomla is NOT user friendly and easy to train.  I have had clients come repeatedly for support to do BASIC things. this does not happen with C5

- Drupal is overly complex imo. (my Opinion, I am entitled to)

 

C5 is easy to install, easy to update, easy to program with, and super easy to deliver to the client for THEM to maintain.

 

I can make pretty much anything I want Addon wise very quickly.  And overall, it's a joy to work with.

 

To King's point however, Franz and I do disagree on many things.  But we also agree and many things.  I do support him, and wish him the best...and certainly have no ill feelings towards him.  In fact...it is my goal to find ways to be of some help. But I do agree with Kings, Franz could study up on Leading people, and not just managing them in my opinion.

 

best,

 

ChadStrat

[Adam]

I couldn't really care less about all this banter about who's emotional, but phpdeveloper82, I wouldn't rely on "mastering" any one particular CMS for a steady supply of work. To be honest I wouldn't rely on any CMS knowledge. From what I've seen, experience with a particular CMS a company uses is considered a plus - not essential. If you have strong programming abilities then you'll pick up a CMS as you go along.