Paul Wisehart wrote:
> On Thu, Aug 27, 2026 at 12:52:00AM +0000, David Uhden Collado wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'd like to propose switching the x11/motif port from the old ICS
>> Open Motif 2.3.8 release to Jon Trulson's Motif fork and updating it to
>> 2.3.9:
>>
>> https://github.com/jontrulson/motif
>>
>> Jon Trulson is one of the main CDE maintainers, and this tree is based
>> on the existing Open Motif 2.3.8 code while incorporating a number of
>> fixes intended to keep it building on modern systems.
>>
> 
> I saw this one recently:
> https://github.com/thentenaar/motif
> 
> Do you have an info about comparing them?
> 
> thanks,
> --
> Paul W
Hi Paul,

Yes, I looked at both before choosing Jon's fork.

Tim's fork is certainly interesting, and it appears to be the more
ambitious project in terms of long-term development. It includes
substantial refactoring and more active development, and Tim is
accepting bug reports and patches.

I chose Jon Trulson's fork because it is the more conservative option.
Its focus is primarily on keeping the existing Motif code working on
modern systems, with relatively limited changes to the original
codebase. Jon is also one of the main CDE maintainers, so his tree has
a fairly direct connection to one of Motif's most important remaining
users.

The way I see it, Tim's fork is somewhat analogous to XLibre relative
to X.Org: it is a more actively developed continuation that is willing
to make larger changes and refactor the codebase. That is not
necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think it is the best fit for what
I was trying to achieve with this OpenBSD port update.

For OpenBSD, I thought the conservative fork was the safer choice:
keep Motif working, fix compatibility issues, and otherwise minimize
unnecessary changes. That seems more consistent with OpenBSD's emphasis
on stability, correctness, and security rather than adopting a fork
mainly because it has a higher rate of development.

So I am not suggesting that Tim's fork is worse. I simply considered
Jon's tree the lower-risk and more conservative replacement for the
currently unmaintained 2.3.8 source used by the port.

Thanks,
David.