[Fedora-spins] Board SWG questions for Spins SIG

[Jeroen van Meeuwen (Fedora Project)]

On 02/15/2010 03:46 AM, Matt Domsch wrote:
> As you may be aware, the Fedora Project Board is trying to set a more
> clear vision for what Fedora is, and should be going forward.  One
> aspect of this conversation is Fedora's target audience.  As Spins and
> Remixes specifically seek to use Fedora to reach a particular audience
> or cater to specific use cases, we seek your input to help guide our
> thinking.
> 
> Your responses to these questions would be appreciated.  Fellow Board
> member Colin Walters and I have agreed to poll the Spins SIG and
> report back to the Strategic Working Group and the Board as a whole.
> 
> Board-level Question:
> Can Spins/SIGS or Fedora remixes define their own target audience?
> 

Yes, they can now, and the Spins SIG would want the Spins to be able to
define such target audiences for themselves in the future.

Spins are specifically aimed at one or more target audiences, which may
or may be a niche target audience.

If you look at the Appliance OS spin, then obviously the target audience
is less broad then with, say, the XFCE Spin. The very same goes with the
Design Suite Spin, the Electronic Labs Spin, etcetera.

The liberty for each Spin to define its own target audience is key to
the success of having Spins as part of the Fedora Project in general,
and a Spin's success particularly.

To match any target audience of a Spin with the target audience(s) of
the Fedora Project as a whole would just be added overhead and
bureaucracy, especially since we're unaware of any existing or
definitive target audience(s) as of yet.

> Board-level Question:
> Can Spins/SIGS or Fedora remixes change the code enough to meet their
> goals?
> 

The Spins are not allowed to change code in terms of patching. Either
the spin uses what is available in Fedora, or the spin is not accepted
(and might go the Re-Mix route). If fixes need to be performed, the
proper way is through "bugzilla.redhat.com" and "cvs.fedoraproject.org".

> Questions for Spins and the Spins SIG
> 
> Given the present situation:
> 
>    1. Has any Spin found the present situation unduly restrictive?
>          1. If so, how specifically? 

Up and until now, no genuine Fedora Spin has ever had trouble with the
technical requirements and semantic restrictions set forth in the Spin
Guidelines.

>    2. Has any Spin found they cannot address their target audience
>          properly?

I've not heard of a Fedora Spin that has had any problem reaching their
target audience, related to the Fedora Project. The new spins.fp.o
website has helped spin maintainers and enthusiasts reach their
respective target audiences way better then ever before, though.

>    3. How are you addressing this today?
>    4. How would you like to address this in the future?
>    5. Are the resources you would need readily available?
>          1. If not, what would you need to properly address this? 
>    6. Is the transition from "Spin" to "Remix" onerous?
>          1. If so, what can be done to make it less so? 
> 

Remixes are completely out of our purview. The sole purpose of the Spins
SIG is to facilitate, maintain and develop the Spins processes, from
mainly a technical point of view (kickstart and test cases).

Kind regards,

Jeroen van Meeuwen