Remaining issues for the multi desktop DVD (was: Re: Dear Fedora board, please open your trac)

[Máirín Duffy]

Hi Seth,

On Wed, 2011-01-12 at 15:05 -0500, seth vidal wrote:
> On Wed, 2011-01-12 at 14:51 -0500, Máirín Duffy wrote:
> > Each instance of putting our name on something that is clearly
> > unpolished compromises our brand. Why risk this when it is so easy to
> > clean it up?
> 
> 1. if it is so easy to clean it up then why all the ruckus?

I wish I knew; it was suggested months ago now and still hasn't happened
and there's no indication of why. Board members are being asked to give
their stamp of approval and I'm attempting to state clearly why mine
will not be provided in hopes that my concerns could finally be
resolved. A bit more and clearer communication from the folks involved
in the effort would probably help.

> 2. I still don't understand this assertion that something unpolished
> compromises our brand. 
>     a. I'm not certain we are known for polish
>     b. I'm still unpersuaded that this compromises our brand even if we
> are known for something.
> 
> Why don't we ask our brand-specific people:

(our = Fedora or Red Hat? For Fedora it's me and Ian.)
> 
> 1. what our brand is recognized as
> 2. what is a brand-compromising action

"With every decision and action you take, with every message you
communicate, you build your brand. Those decisions, actions, and
messages will appeal to some more than others and in so doing will
determine who your clients will be. Ultimately it’s your brand decisions
that choose your clients."

http://www.vanseodesign.com/online-business/choose-your-clients/

Our vision right now is

The Fedora Project creates a world where free culture is welcoming and
widespread, collaboration is commonplace, and people control their
content and devices.

Our chosen 'clients' right now are those who are 

Someone who (1) is voluntarily switching to Linux, (2) is familiar
with computers, but is not necessarily a hacker or developer, (3) is
likely to collaborate in some fashion when something's wrong with
Fedora, and (4) wants to use Fedora for general productivity, either
using desktop applications or a Web browser.

Are we going to create a world where free culture is welcoming and
widespread with a reputation for being unpolished? Are we going to
attract our chosen 'clients' with unpolished, confusing material?

Just because we're not particularly known for polish doesn't mean we
shouldn't be. If we're looking to make free culture more widespread
having polished materials to make it accessible to a wider audience will
certainly help. Having a brand associated with overly-technical,
difficult-to-understand, and unpolished materials will undermine our
efforts at spreading free culture widely and making it more welcoming
for our target audience, no? 

I think "compromising our brand" somehow came across as a much more
grave matter than intended and for that I apologize. That being said
there is no major technical barrier or unreasonable hardship involved in
addressing the concerns I stated (we certainly make allowances for these
all the time) so I simply can't condone the proposal as-is.

~m