Swap the websites (and by extension, community) so that pear2.php.net is the way PEAR is perceived, interacted with and contributed to.
How?
Multiple options:
Sudden cutover - redirect traffic to pear2.php.net; use the migration pain to inspire contributions and improved functionality.
Phased migration - component by component swap processes such as PEPR over to feed into pear2; co-brand the pear.php.net front page experience; end of life unsupported packages.
Change of focus - pear channel index
Sudden cutover
Benefits
Immediately achieves PEAR2 launch
Sequence/Tasks
Move pear.php.net to old.pear.php.net
Replace pear.php.net with pear2.php.net
Create rewrite rules for old content to direct inbound traffic from 404 pages on pear.php.net to old.pear.php.net
Add a prominent link to the old site in the header
Risks
Represents a fork - potential for high attrition rate of developers
Reduces capabilities (bug tracking, pepr)
Requires high pressure/time critical investment to deal with any regression (broken main pear channel if not done right); coupled with existing community apathy
May: Kill off news from pear.php.net1); or replace it with a new pear blog2)
May: Tweak PEPR to be a new package process for pear2
June: Enable both the PEAR and pyrus installer to understand “I have migrated to another channel”
July: Kill old packages from pear.php.net. With fire. Put them in an archive channel or other location
August: Improve the awareness of pyrus - from screencasts to tutorials to shiny visual lures.
Risks
We have declining interaction from contributors, this requires coordination of multiple senior pear developers with karma. Historically, we've tried parts of this but have not achieved consensus or consistent effort.
People/Roles
Daniel O'Connor, sponsor, developer pear1 site, pepr; archive