Hello,
I write this post with a heavy heart...I have been using K2 for so so many years, and I have loved the component. I used it in every Joomla build I did for myself and my customers, and back in the Joomla 1.5 days, I even replaced the default Joomla articles with k2 items and used K2 for my info pages. K2 WAS the bomb back in the day!
When JoomlArt decided to drop K2 for EasyBlog, I personally protested and argued constantly, then I saw Gavick change to EasyBlog, and I protested again...I have been one of K2's biggest fan boys who has promoted K2 till I am blue in the face.
With that said, today I move to EasyBlog...I'll tell you why!
1) Joomla 3 does almost everything K2 does and it does it better and MUCH faster
2) If ALL a person wants is 1 blog (not team or multi blogging), then they don't need anything more than default Joomla articles and maybe disquss
3) The backend user interface is dated and doesnt look professional. K2 stayed with pretty much the same 'look' with its Joomla 3 implementation....This adds less professionalisim to our projects and it adds a different UI for customers to get accustomed to.
4) The front end user interface is horrible....if people want to use K2 for Team or Multi blogging, K2 simply is to much effort. Plus to get frontend editing actually working is to much of an effort...back when I started with K2, it took way to long to figure out how to get front end editing working...it should just be a check box, nothing more to enble front end editing...in fact, it should be enabled by default, especially with Joomla 3.
5) (this relates to 3 and 4)...K2 is only applicable for web designers or people who buy templates with K2 setup and styled. For anyone who is not a website developer, K2 is not an option. It is very ugly when you install it, and requires 'time' to style it. Therefore, K2 has cornered itself into the market of developers only...same goes for the front end and backend user interface. Compare this to EasyBlog, anyone can install this and not need to edit any code to make it look right.
6) K2 simply hasnt grown and adapted to give more than what default Joomla 3 articles can give. Look at the feature set difference between EasyBlog and K2? If K2 is to survive, it needs to adapt.
7) So K2 is a CCK, not just a blog! Yes, this is true...Lately, I have been trying to find any excuse to keep using K2, as I am so familar with it..I have tried to build business directories with it, a photography site with it, and much more....IK2 simply isnt flexible enough anymore for these things, there are better Joomla extensions out there that are designed for these exact things.
K2 is rather slow compared to default Joomla articles
9) K2 brings out maybe 2 updates per year...For a Joomla component that has won awards and has been used widely but many Joomla template clubs, the development of K2 has been very slow and very slow to bring out new features or just updates. updates are a sign of an active community.
10) For me lately, there have been to many show stopping bugs and things that don't work, which brings us back to no.9..with new versions of Joomla 3 coming out, we need updates. One example, is the Tags..selection based...When you choose a tag from the left list and then click ADD, NOTHING shows up in the right list...It is there, but it can't be seen. This has been a problem for almost 1 year now...this is ok for people like me that know its working, but for clients, It looked upon as a horrible mess up.
11) We are moving more and more into frontend editing, and as per no.4, K2 is quite awful. As a Joomla developer, I am personally ONLY interested in Joomla extensions that have decent looking and functioning front end editing capabilities. Clients are finally starting to use their sites more now and I am receiving less support phone calls asking how to edit this or edit that.
Guys, I know you provide a free component, but if you want K2 to endure, things must change, and they must change now. WIth Joomla template clubs like JoomlArt dropping support for you, it won;t be long before more drop support for you. etc etc....Template clubs are even dropping support for Virtuemart now, because Virtuemart won't provide a Joomla 3 version until it becomes LTS.
If you have to charge money, so be it....The JoomlaSphere has been changing to a subscription based model for extensions more and more lately, so why not do that?
Either way, I do write this with a heavy heart, and honestly I write this in hopes that you take what I write seriously and look to refresh K2 and bring the Joomla community back to K2...The trouble is, once you have lost people, its very hard to get them back....Its better to change when you have people, this way when you improve and provide great new features, customers love you even more and become even more loyal.
K2 has been great, but for me (and many others as it seems), we need to find something that caters to our needs better...
Sorry for this post, BUT I look forward to see where K2 goes from here!
Signed
X K2 Lover!