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On 08/27/2010 10:47 PM, Bob Arendt wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:4C78408C.7010403@rincon.com" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Actually I think Fedora <b class="moz-txt-star"><span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span>should<span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span></b> articulate who the users are, basically
design and express who and what Fedora is designed for. If you poll
"users" - people who download Fedora - and cater to their stated desires
for the sake of market share, then market forces will start to drive the
shape of the distro. Populist market forces would tend to force everything
to a gray mushy mass of similar distros.
(see <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelling%27s_law">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotelling%27s_law</a>).
I think it would be much better for Fedora to decide what it <b class="moz-txt-star"><span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span>should<span class="moz-txt-tag">*</span></b> be,
specifically what the Fedora userspace should be, and excel at that.
Don't follow the "market" or worry about being the most popular distro
(unless that's really a goal ..?) Decide the niche, and be strong in
that niche.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
I see no difference in the market directly affecting the shape of
the distro or a corporate entity which is driven by the market which
then shapes the distro to it's need to feed that market. <br>
<br>
We have a clear cut example what can happen ( The Oracle and
OpenSolaris case ) so first and foremost we need to make sure that a
single corporate entity does not<big> have</big> control over the
project which means that no corporate entity may have majority of
it's employ in boards, steering committees, SIG etc. to prevent that
corporate entity seizing control over the projects, steering it's
directions to it's will and for us as a community not being too
depended on that corporate entity should that corporate be bought or
otherwise be controlled by individuals that do not share the same
vision as the community. <br>
<br>
It's not far from reality that Red Hat will get bought by a company
like Oracle so what's preventing us to get the same treatment as
OpenSolaris got? <br>
<br>
What happens to all the work the community has done, the fruits of
our labour? <br>
<br>
The first and foremost mission that the project should be doing at
this point is to make dam sure we are ready for it encase Red Hat
will not be there tomorrow or it's there but not in the same form
that we all love. <br>
<br>
To make sure that all the countless hours and for some years of
contribution which have grown and make up what Fedora is today will
not be for vain encase that happens and the community continues to
thrive and stay strong.<br>
<br>
The first mistake we did was trying to label end user since it's not
up to the project in whole to decide which end user type it's
target. <br>
<br>
It's should be up to individual community SIG's to decide what user
base they are targeting and the form they will present that to the
end user in live cd or a predefined installation option be it with
the latest and greatest bits of their product or a not which may or
may not be influenced from feed backs from the micro community they
have established around the product they ship. <br>
<br>
The Fedora project in whole should give equal access to those bits
and devote equal amount of marketing resources to promote them. <br>
<br>
Simply allow the casual user that walks in the Fedora garden to pick
what ever fruit he chooses that grew from the labour of the
community to taste and enjoy.<br>
<br>
Unfortunately that is not how things are being done in the Fedora
garden today instead we force one vision ( Desktop ) and with one DE
( Gnome ) which greatly overshadows all the good work that's being
done in other corners in the lcommunity like in server applications
and KDE XFCE and LXDE and willingly or unwilling hinder the growth
in the micro community around those Desktop Environment, hiding them
like some rotten apples from infested tree in a shed in the back
yard. <br>
<br>
It's going to be interesting to see if we ever reach the point when
a end users would like to search for a certain application for a
certain task he needs to perform and the only application he's
offered will be the Gnome ones. <br>
<br>
How many new developers do you honestly think we attract to the
community when the playing field is this and the only game that your
allowed to play is Gnome Desktop.<br>
<br>
JBG<br>
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