[Plugin: Improved Plugin Installation] [plugin bug] with “improved plugin installation” and WP 2.8

I have experienced the same exact thing – shame as this is a rly helpful plugin.

i’ve tried to install it in WP 2.8.5 (using PHP5) with NO problem…

Yes it seems to be deprecated. Code to install plugin is now at /wp-admin/update.php (line 83 – WP 2.8.6)

$upgrader = new Plugin_Upgrader( new Plugin_Installer_Skin( compact('title', 'url', 'nonce', 'plugin', 'api') ) );
		$upgrader->install($api->download_link);

And class for this object is in /wp-admin/includes/class-wp-upgrader.php.

So somebody can try fixing it?

Tal,

It’s an interesting topic and your request is obviously genuine.

I have had a similar experience with several other plugins. In the case where my blog heavily relied on one plugin – I have had to adapt. As WordPress evolves – as themes evolve – plugin authors aim to keep up. I think they’re a tremendous bunch and contribute much to the WP Community.

I say interesting because it touches on the subject of “How long will this piece of Open Source software be around for”. This is the risk of Open Source – WP and plugins alike – certainly In a business environment this holds true.

OSS is only ever as strong as the Community it builds around itself. WP currently has a loyal following and many give freely of their time and energy to make WP what it is. Plugins also gather a “crowd” – albeit smaller but still a community as such.

Some plugins – the “ants pants” couple years back are now all but dead (eg: WPG2 and Simple Tags). I know some folks that built their sites around WPG2 and are now finding It harder and harder to keep up with the versions. What do these people do? Migrations are a pain the neck. This is the nature of the beast.

The options you now have as I see it:

(based on what I have read – it is unlikely that this plugin is going to be revived by its author – it has only been downloaded 1300 times – has not progressed in 12 months since 1.0) :

1) Keep hoping that someone out there hears your call.
2) Pay someone to “fix it”.
3) Adopt the plugin yourself.
4) Drop the plugin and find an alternative.
5) Drop the plugin and learn to live without it.

The reward/benefit from OSS is access to quality/free software – the responsibility of OSS is to implement a balance between “taking” and “giving” – this principle of “give and take” applies to personal as well as corporate users of OSS.

(Apologies for the babbling)

If I was in your shoes I would probably consider options ‘3’ and ‘4’. Have you checked out any of the alternatives?

R

Hey guys, I’ve updated the plugin. See this post to read why it’s taken so long: http://www.improvingtheweb.com/im-finally-back/

Let me know if anything isn’t working.

Wesley