NET24 - Case Study - Typo3

by Diane Russell

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Total of 17 page in web site and one download

In 1999 I first came across this website while researching Content Management Systems (CMS). At that stage Kasper, the founder, was very much in front line development. Much of the online discussions were related to his frustrations as a programmer and his ideals about internet sharing.

As a programmer of very large web sites he found he was repeatedly writing the same modules for clients. As most of the projects were commissioned proprietary software he would have to start from scratch with each new client. This meant delays in building on what he had already developed. He was also very aware of the potential of working within a community of like minded people and that together they could be greater than the sum of their parts.

With this in mind he set about building a system to perpetuate the system.

He built the Typo3 Content Management System as a tool for drawing together like minded people and to act as a focal point and repository for new ideas and modules/components to add on to the system. It was a mammoth task but after he published the initial site it attracted the primary community where people began contributing. Kasper’s vision took on its own momentum.

The project is now global with people contributing and communicating both on and offline. The contributions range from complex programming to support documentation and translation as well as simple online help in the discussion forums.

Until now I have not had reason to look for the early documentation on the project and unfortunately much of it is no longer available but if and when I do find some of it I will publish it to this site.

Founders page - Kasper Skårhøj