A few personal thoughts on the developments of the last few weeks in the TYPO3 universe!

At the 10th General Assembly of the TYPO3 Association (T3A) last Tuesday in Essen, it was voted for a professionalization of the Association’s structures and generally for a stronger business background in the TYPO3 project. As I have been contacted by many people over the last few days, questions have arisen and it seems that my opinion and viewpoint is in demand, I would like to briefly explain my own personal opinion and viewpoint on the matters before us.

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A choice for scenario 3 – and now?

First and foremost, it was decided that the Association should develop a concrete, feasible plan to restructure itself. This measure should basically ensure that the TYPO3 products can be permanently further developed and that all commercial aspects demanded by the market can be offered. I know that sounds very conceptual. To be honest, I don’t yet know what this will look like in detail. Scenario 3 is initially a vision. How far we can go and what will be feasible is still unclear at the moment. Olivier and I, together with the Board and EAB, have put a lot of energy into finding out over the last few months what the members’ base really wants and we think that the majority of them want scenario 3. Fortunately, the election has confirmed this quite clearly.

It is not about replacing what we have had in the community up to now with professionalization and the move towards more commercial topics. On the contrary. We want to bring the commercial side into the project, simply because it is obvious that you have to do this in today’s market environment in order to survive in the long term. However, it is equally important to retain and further develop the existing values.

So we will see over the next few months what crystallizes out of this momentum and what we can do with it. I, and I think my colleagues on the Board and EAB, will work hard over the next few months to achieve something good. And the first very positive approaches have already emerged on Friday, for example around the topic of funding.

And suddenly, it feels like TYPO3 is reactivated!

The timing of the GA was also extremely fortunate. Mathias and Benni had put an incredible amount of work into CMS over the last few months, getting a lot done, rebuilding and, almost more importantly, getting people involved again. We can already see with Mathias that the Full-Time Product Owner concept is fruitful. And he is an extremely lucky man. At the beginning, I underestimated what kind of drive this could bring. And how quickly that would affect customers’ perceptions. A few days before the GA, I had a phone call with a representative of a potential client, where one of the topics was CMS. When I mentioned TYPO3, she said: “Ah very good, there’s a lot going on again right now.” Of course, this is an isolated example, but an incredibly motivating one.

So the Dialogue Days and the decision are falling on fertile ground. In the last 3 days, I have been contacted by TYPO3 people who were previously strangers to me. Occasionally, people have also congratulated and thanked me, which is embarrassing because I see myself and Olivier only as advocates of change, integration and peace. We believe that very different people can focus on what they have in common and achieve great things together.

You have to be very clear: The strategy of building a successor to CMS did not work out, instead we now have 2 CMS and all these discussions without results about positioning and how to continue with CMS paralyzed the further development of this community significantly. And the T3A had not managed to resolve the smouldering conflicts in the community.

Actually, we never wanted two CMS, we wanted TYPO3 on a new basis with modern features. The lack of clarity in recent years has brought us into this downturn and Neos has unfortunately not managed to carry the torch for the entire community. Nevertheless, Neos is a product that is very interesting and has gained recognition.

 

Neos?

Will there be a separation? Honestly, it’s been around for a long time. There are fewer and fewer Neos people at TYPO3 events, and Inspiring is a (very cool) separate conference. I have the feeling that the formal is lagging a little behind reality. And there is this underlying conflict between the T3A and the Neos team, which has complicated many discussions since the budget cut a few years ago. I don’t hold that against the Neos people at all (even as a representative of the T3A). On the contrary. The T3A of recent years with its conceptually prescribed inactivity (Piggy Bank) was indeed a partner with whom it was almost impossible to deal successfully. I am therefore all the happier that this period is over. You shouldn’t make the mistake of confusing today’s T3A with the T3A of 5 years ago. There are completely different people at work today, with a completely different philosophy. And for a few months now, there has also been a spirit of optimism again.

Back to Neos: Before Easter, I organized a meeting on the topic of “CMS, Neos and the T3A”. First of all, it was about resuming the dialog with each other and I think that worked quite well for the time being. I learned that day that there are many good ways to work together, far removed from two-product strategies, fronts, groups and organizations. And I was strengthened in my conviction that we have to find a solution to the conflict and the future together. Then it will work out well. A unilateral decision and solution, on the other hand, will probably have bad consequences for everyone. A follow-up meeting is currently being planned. Anyone who would like to attend and has something constructive in mind is cordially invited.

Claim to leadership

The T3A now has a claim to leadership, so to speak. That sounds threatening at first, but it’s not at all. This is because we decided in our strategy session that we understand leadership in the sense of service. We are committed to the concept of servant leadership. This means that all of our leadership activities consist of ensuring that community members can work and live better. We do this by creating services for our members where no one is willing or able to step in and/or where synergies can be created between teams. We also do this by allocating money and resources to further development in the future. The goal must be to combine volunteer work and paid work in such a way that we can advance core work and marketing on a daily basis. And also to combine them in such a way that the majority of people are comfortable and it’s fair for everyone. Yes, of course that’s a challenge.

At the same time, the T3A should take big steps towards grassroots democracy so that the entire community can be decisive in many small decisions. That hasn’t been the case so far. And yes, that is also a challenge. Organizationally and culturally.

A new era

If I could wish for anything regarding TYPO3, it would be that we manage to enter a new era. An era characterized by collaboration, communication, honesty, drive, massive success in the market and an environment where new and young people can join and experience the spirit of the TYPO3 community. And that we expand internationally. The basis for this is a mutual respect that allows everyone to speak their mind and be heard. Respect, but also to forgive when things have not gone well, without making the same mistakes again. In order for us to move into this era, we need to be able to leave the past behind us in a good way and think in new ways. And finally do it again. Many have already started again and I hope that as many people as possible will get involved again and make sure that TYPO3 becomes what it should be again: A leading international open source project in the CMS sector.