Hopefully, this will have a solution soon.
About different CMS.
Good to hear from you @ozfiddler. The perspective some have outside about CP is that it is an unofficial version of WordPress, which they don’t feel comfortable using.
We need to figure out a way for people to see and understand what CP is and what it’s doing.
As others have pointed out, version 1.x is supposed to be a drop-in replacement of WordPress 4.9 with long-term support (LTS). This version needs to be backward compatible and critical things should be backported.
However, version 2.x should and will start moving in its own direction where it can be considered its own CMS. This version will have breaking changes. Version 2.x was supposed to include integration with our Directory, replacing the WordPress repository. This is a major move in its own direction.
Giving the roadmap page some TLC might be a good idea. Helping visitors understand what’s happening with the project.
Also, the homepage copy (especially the Community First section) could be worded differently to bring more focus on the fact that CP is its own CMS and not an unofficial version of WP.
Another thing to keep in mind, we need to be mindful and supportive of WordPress plugins that officially support ClassicPress. It’s not an easy thing to do and they placed their trust in ClassicPress. For example, Shield Security and Beaver Builder. When CP introduces breaking changes, we would want them to continue supporting CP. I love Beaver Builder and would hate to see them not support CP. Will they support CP after breaking changes are introduced? I don’t know, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Lastly, we need to be aware of our own resource limitations. We only have a few core contributors, volunteering their time to help push CP forward. We all want a lot for CP and see it succeed, but we have to gradually introduce things. Look at the current 1.3.0 version, which got stalled for a while. As we get more core contributors, it will get easier to introduce new features and reduce backports from WP. We have to be smart about it with limited resources. Backports help reduce the time needed to code a new feature or fix a bug. We can eventually stop backporting, but until we have a healthy team of core contributors pushing out new releases backports are necessary.