How many users does Fedora have?

[Ben Cotton]

On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 6:36 AM, Alec Leamas <leamas.alec at gmail.com> wrote:
> Feedback why this is impossible isn't really helpful here, most of us are
> aware of the limitations. Given that we agree on the overall goals (?),
> useful input is what can be done, and how.

I don't think it's fair to say we agree on the overall goals,
considering no goals have been explicitly stated. You mentioned that
the number of users a package has would "be a great input for any
packager", but the follow up question is: "to what end?" Assuming we
agreed to a definition of "user", I'm not sure a straight count of the
number of users a package has would provide much in the way of usable
information except the reassurance that someone is actually making use
of your hard work (which is an important reminder, especially when
you're working for free).

That's not to say that there aren't useful questions that could be
answered, but so far they haven't been asked. I think if you start
with the right question, it will be easier to find a route to the
answer.

(As an aside, the various reasons that reliably measuring usage is
impossible make for interesting discussion, so I'm glad you brought
this up. Hopefully whoever lands in the community action & impact lead
position can help come up with good questions to ask and ways to
answer them.)


Thanks,
BC

-- 
Ben Cotton