Drupal Metafilter Discussion

There was a discussion about Drupal on MetaFilter that was inflammatory, but is still worth reading:

I mean, we don’t have shit-flavored corn flakes on the shelves

That’s it. That’s the title.

I’d like to understand what forces keep the Drupal market alive, when it’s such a profoundly unpleasant piece of software for user and developer alike. It seems like simple market forces should’ve buried it years ago. Sure, it seems to be on the decline – but it’s still very much around.

There are many detractors and defenders in the ensuing discussion, and lots of CMS history, which I love.

I did reach out to Dries Buytaert, the creator of Drupal. We was gracious enough to respond.

People have called Drupal a mess for almost 20 years. Many people don’t realize that Content Management Systems can be very complex systems, and are quick to call such systems a “mess”. But Drupal is more extensible, more accessible, more inclusive, more usable, more performant, more scalable, and more secure than many other web technologies.

[…] I value the different opinions, and always look for constructive feedback. But with that many users and opinions, it’s also paramount to stay focused on the facts, and the facts are this: the number of contributors and contributions to Drupal continues to grow.

Love or hate Drupal, no one can say it’s not wildly successful.