Blogging Roller

Some have noticed that FreeRoller has become JRoller and some have started to wonder just what in the blue blazes is going on. Fear not Java bloggers, good things are happening. The JavaLobby will probably be making a more formal announcement at some point, but now that the cat is out of the bag, I'll give you my take on this story.

Now that the Roller software that drives the site has proven itself, JavaLobby is stepping in to support, administer, and nurture the JRoller community. JavaLobby is putting in place scheduled backups, issue tracking (via everybody's favorite: JIRA), and customizations to tie JRoller into the JavaLobby community. I'm going to take an active role, along side other JavaLobby volunteers, in the support of JRoller.

Here are a couple of anticipated FAQs:

Why is the JavaLobby doing this? Blogging fits in perfectly with the JavaLobby charter because it gives individual Java developers a voice and a platform for sharing, learning, activism, and community building.

What does this mean to JRoller users? With JavaLobby backing and support, JRoller users can expect better levels of service and better support. JRoller will remain free and there are no plans for adding or allowing advertising on user weblog pages or RSS feeds.

What does this mean to the Roller Weblogger software? As before, Roller will remain a separate an independent product and project, but Roller releases will now be tested on JRoller (as we did with Roller 0.9.8) before they are released on SourceForge. JRoller will remain on the bleeding edge of Roller development, sound like fun?

What about the links to my blog, will they be broken? FreeRoller founder Anthony Eden has agreed to continue to point the FreeRoller domain at JRoller so that FreeRoller links will remain valid, but requests are are now being redirected to JRoller.com. I encourage you to start using the new name JRoller and the new URL in your links to JRoller based blogs.