Drupal as a Relationship with a Happy Ending

Notes from the presentation by Julia KM:
http://www.juliakm.com/drupal-love-story

Great security
modular
core very lightweight
(
used by lots of smart, helpful people

The Rough Period
not all modules are created equal - must evaluate quality
CRM + E-commerce = Pain

Hacking core until
i decided to write my own menu system - not a good idea
always a good idea to work within the constraints of Drupal

Highly, highly customized design = Pain
for most CMS, don't try to control each pixel - we're not creating brochures

stayed away from Drupal for 6 months

started working in fantastic nonprofit, AASHE

board members could see some content, etc.

-
used by major businesses and nonprofits

Three lessons
1. Drupal is not always the right tool.
2. Listen
- to client requirements
- to Drupal community - there's people out there with really good advice, see what other people are doing - see how many people have downloaded or used the module
3.
give as good as you get
when something breaks, file a bug report
when you add functionality, file a patch
give money to the Drupal Association
help someone in person or on a forum