Etherpad is a hosted web service that allows really real-time document collaboration for groups of users.
Etherpad is open source; you can host your own Etherpad by downloading the source code or try Etherpad for free on one of the Public Sites.
The Etherpad Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the development of the Etherpad project.
On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 6:00 PM at The Skills Matter eXchange Peter M from the Etherpad Foundation on Etherpad Lite
This is a must see event and only the second time Peter (The original author of Etherpad Lite) has given a public presentation about Etherpad Lite so attendees will be treated to some behind the scenes info and an insight to some of the amazing projects the foundation is involved with.
Our road map is designed to give users, developers and site admins the ability to see where the Etherpad Community is going with Etherpad and what areas we need help with.
Replace Etherpad (“legacy”) completely with Etherpad Lite.
Write some User Documentation.
Complete a Plugin Framework.
* Create a group Management Plugin.
* Create a rich Text plugin.
Completely support full migration from V1 to V2 including saved revision
support.
Implement optional natural language processing.
Implement optional Distributed bug tracking.
If you feel you can help then please get in touch We need all the help we can get!! Thanks
We’re having a bit of a reflection period at the Etherpad foundation lately. A big issue for all of us is the name “Etherpad Lite”. We really messed that up. Etherpad Lite isn’t Light for the users, Etherpad Lite is light for the admin and the business’ bottom line.
We made the code base 80% lighter, the application requirements 80% lighter, the system requirements 80% lighter but we kept the majority of the functionality.. In fact, we introduced more via an API. More potential for developers.. We also made it wayyyy easier for developers to get started as we reduced the whole 3 language stack(scala, java, javascript) down to just one language.
So why Lite and why not V2?
We didn’t want to upset any foundation members. We knew we had a bunch
of talented Java guys we didn’t want to upset and lose so we took the 1/2
cocked descision and tried to keep everyone happy. In hindsight, this was
a terrible mistake. We are now 100% sure that the pure JS approach is the
future, adoptions are up, performance is up, all of the indicators the
foundation committed to from day one are showing positive signs.
We’re a family focused on making the collaborative web better. A group of people made this call and the same group of people are committed to finding a good solution.
Like any organization or individual we know that we have to correct our mistake so we’re on the hunt for a better name for Etherpad Lite.
A consideration is “LinePad” which would stand for Lite Is Not Ether..
Pad…
Another consideration is NodePad, also Etherpad V2, also Etherpad N (N
for Node), also Etherpad JS…
So many choices, how do we make the right one?
