Posts by nascent

    Glad it's fixed, but that was bad! Someone in the Slack channel lost a job because his potential client saw the SSL had gone down. So it's a big deal for some. And the fact there was absolutely no response is bad. This whole episode was bad!

    No one lost their job, only a client so let's not overstate the situation.


    How about we be glad, at least that Perch' reputation is now in the hands of a positive venture capital group.

    It's pretty critical to the people whose livelihoods and businesses rely on it. It's understandable that things go wrong, the concern could easily have been assuaged by some response from the team. The fact that this didn't affect millions of people doesn't change that this was not a good episode for Perch.

    The forum doesn't need a response, if an action has already been taken.


    The 'team' aren't here at the end-users' behest.

    About the Open Sourcing, thing. Probably not a good idea, as vested interest; rather than commercial or philanthropic procurement could become the norm, and I for one would rather development be in the hands of intelligent individuals, rather than anonymous people.

    I have some admiration for your optimism and loyalty nascent, but surely you can agree that this is a problem that can't be overlooked and that a fix is urgently needed!

    I do agree, allowing the certificate to expire is a bad thing, since it erodes confidence in the product.


    The fact that the forum still has a valid certificate, while positive; doesn't actually guarantee a stable situation going forward and the lack of a response on this matter in particular, promotes an environment where speculation may become rife.


    What I find difficult to understand though is, there was a great deal of positive communication from the new owners (I don't know if there is actually a company name available) but that appears to have all but evaporated, which I personally find annoying so one can only hope they are working hard on an update at least and we will hear some news in the near future.


    Saying that though, I did see Rachael come online once not long ago, and while I said nothing to her via the forum; it did make me think that there may still be some liaison at least between the old and new owners, meaning that the legacy of Perch is still in good hands.

    If I was choosing a new CMS I certainly wouldn't go for Perch as it stands. Most of us who are still using it are doing so because we have existing sites to maintain or haven't had time to learn a new CMS. Perch was a wonderful thing but unless there is a major change it looks like it's on the path to becoming abandonwear.

    I would dispute the 'abandonware' comment, while posing the question as to why would anyone want to purchase and develop the CMS if only to abandon.


    In addition, might I speculate that while the plug-in's are likely worth developing and upgrading to function with payment platforms; this is not a given and that the CMS itself could easily be rebranded but without the plug-in's, since the templates and PHP functions are absolutely sound in my view, as Drew left the CMS in an impeccable state.


    Also, the new developers did release a CMS update (notwithstanding a shop update) so I for one don't doubt their commitment to the platform and would recommend it to new users without a second thought.

    I am a Perch fan, and so I will say the templating language is very easy to use and understand.


    If you want to create a website that you can update months (or even years) down the track, without forgetting what you had written previously, code wise, then Perch is a good choice.


    My personal view of much of the negative commentary on this forum, is that a lot of people seem to have misunderstood Perch' purpose (I am not familiar with Runway); in that the notion of being a 'tiny' CMS is actually a strength since for me, it is for designers (read coders) and not so much e-commerce buffs or else integrators of existing sites that rely on some other CMS.


    In other words, if you want to start a website from scratch, while being in complete of your semantic HTML code, as well as CSS and client-side script, then again Perch is an awesome choice simply because you can use it to inject information from a MySQL database or otherwise from PHP directly.

    Let me be blunt, most if not all of the 'problems' are in relation to the plug in's, which are free anyway and come without guarantee.


    I agree with recent comments, regarding PHP 8 compatibility.


    Basically, if you don't use Perch, don't comment unless you plan to buy a license or already own one.


    Perch needs new users, not past users who have no vested interest in seeing it succeed into the future.

      • are you for real? perch was severely neglected long before the current owners! Do a forum search!!

    Unless you are wanting to start an argument, or have some vested interest; I respectfully ask that you refrain from further comment.


    Also, as a coder, one could reasonably assume that you know how to quote others' correctly.

    I believe one can deduce, that the reason why the handover is taking time, is because Drew and Rachael want to ensure that the product they are parting with, is well maintained going forward, which is reasonable considering the quality of the CMS in question.

    While I understand the sentiment(s) expressed above, I don't believe they are correct in the sense that if you read the last official statement; it stated unequivocally that the handover of the software was not yet complete so any comment from the new owners would only be qualified in terms of what has actually taken place.


    If I am wrong, then may I be corrected but if people want to try something else, then that is for them to decide.


    As to technical issues such as PHP 8 support, it is common knowledge that while a previous version remains supported, i.e., 7.4, then that would be the current supported version and anything further is likely speculative on the part of end users.


    Just my opinion of course!

    With the above, I believe I am in good hands, with the company in good stead.


    Suffice to say, I will be able to use the Perch CMS, for years to come, now that forward compatibility is confirmed.


    Onto more templating, for me!

    Absolutely. It's astonishing that so many have held on for so long. Goes to show how much people want/wanted Perch to work.


    The thread going a bit off the rails isn't the community's fault.

    I was actually referring to developer support of applications, not end user support.


    In any case, I still don't believe it is clear, what the actual problems are.


    May I suggest to the developers, that there be separate threads in relation to apps, since it would seem that most of the noise in this forum is generated as a result of those.

    It is also my forlorn hope that the current owners are still observing this thread and might be stirred to action. If this thread becomes inactive surely that's worse?

    It is my hope as well.


    I have put in major hours working on templates and as is the situation; I believe PHP 8 compatibility is assured, which was my primary concern but I understand and agree that so long as a product, e.g., Perch Apps still exist, they should be wholly supported, so in saying that I would like to know about specific issues because threads become lost very easily and this thread is about Perch' future.

    The direction this thread is taking seems to be born from the frustration of no communication from Perch.

    I can only say, list your grievances; not as alternative solutions but rather have them directly related to the Perch CMS, because this is a Perch forum and not everyone is affected by a specific issue.

    I am sorry your so easily offended others seem to find it worth discussing.


    there really is a lot more important things in the world to be “ offended “ by than a discussion on viable alternatives to a failing CMS. Lastly I believe I just responded to someone’s question i did not steer the thread this way.

    That may be so but there is a time and a place, particularly when opinions expressed; aren't shared unanimously.

    Yes thank you but as there is really not much Perch to talk about at least it keeps the conversation going. Plus discussing alternatives given the situation could be construed as Perch related.

    I don't think it is appropriate, and may be considered offensive; particularly considering that the post itself is about the Perch CMS.