install profiles

Has anyone been working on an indymedia installation profile?

http://drupal.org/node/92630 - THIS one is the biggest usability issue I've come across and we have a great simple fix, just needs some momentum behind it and needs it fast! It's got Steven's stamp of approval but needs some more voices.

http://drupal.org/node/104763 - Define page and story in default.profile. This patch also changes page's workflow to not promote to front page and have comments disabled.

Are there any existing guidelines or best practices when it comes to developing specific install profiles and distributions? As far as I can tell, I don't see info on this type of contribution (http://drupal.org/node/22286) or a means to set up a project similar to how you'd do it for a module or theme (http://drupal.org/node/7765).

I think this question is relevant to the context of this group. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

It's looking like there's already a ton of interest and excitement pertaining to install profiles and distributions. As Drupal groups seem to be an ideal platform for collaboration, I'm thinking we should continue to figure out/define some best practices or rules of the road pertaining to keeping the communication open while keeping the signal to noise ratio high.

I'm assuming there are no clear answers or set guidelines, but here are some questions...

My name is Gus Austin. I'm a musician, self-taught web designer/developer, and relative newbie to Drupal.

Using Capistrano for Drupal deploying. Sounds cool, and should be possible. Lets talk about hos this should be done, and if this is feasible.
I plan to drop the sympal-scripts -which, in fact want to be a capistrano-only-for-drupal-in-PHP- in favour of a good working capistrano drupal thingie.

What's an install profile and why is it important?

An install profile is a way of pre-configuring drupal right out of the box for a specific purpose or community. You can think of it as a template for a new drupal site. After you install drupal, the site will be pre-configured and customized out of the box (i.e. it will install and configure modules for you). The whole idea is to help you get from point A to B much faster. So if you are a band or musician looking to use drupal, you don't have to worry about figuring out how to download, install, and configure each module from scratch. You pick the install profile closest to your needs, and wham! Instant, functional site, with virtually no setup. Of course you will still have to know how to configure and customize Drupal to fit your specific needs if you want to make changes, but it sure will save a ton of time during installation and setup.

This is important for art and music communities - especially those that are non-technical - because it provides rapid deployment of very useful Drupal sites and minimize the headaches associated with installation.