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List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] Re:  Re:  Re:  Re:  WSJ Strikeout and TypeHeads [LONG]
From:       Neil Stevens <neil () qualityassistant ! com>
Date:       2003-04-15 4:10:46
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On Monday April 14, 2003 08:49, Navindra Umanee wrote:
> Neil Stevens <neil@qualityassistant.com> wrote:
> > > Sorry for the late response, but speak for yourself please.
> > 
> > Oh sorry, all hail George Staikos, without whom KDE would be a fvwm
> > theme.
> 
> You might not take pride in your own work, but other people do.  And
> *everyone* who contributes to KDE help makes the project what it is,
> whether they are European, North/South American, African, or whatever.
> I've said it before and I'll say it again...  if you think you can do
> better than George, Mosfet, Charles, I or anyone else, then go ahead
> and do it!  KDE still wins, whether you are European or not.

There's a difference between being proud of one's work, and losing sight of 
the bigger picture of KDE. Of course we can find individuals who do stuff 
for KDE.  Here and there we can find an active non-European.  But where 
*can't* you find several Europeans taking part?

> So what makes KDE intrinsically a European project?  It was founded
> and initially developed largely by Europeans -- sure you made your
> point and nobody disagrees -- but KDE is still 100% an international
> effort and welcomes any and all.  Contributions are received from any
> and every where.

What makes KDE European?  Most of the people are in Europe, the major 
meetings are in Europe, the primary developer association is German, over 
the last couple years we've had a no-patents EU flag on www.kde.org.  

What part of KDE *isn't* European?

> I'm not saying lie and say that KDE was written by Al Gore or anything
> like that -- not at all.  All I'm saying is that it may be beneficial
> to make KDE more palatable to American companies, users and
> developers.  If this means thinking the American-way, that is,
> marketing the American-way to Americans or addressing American
> concerns or targeting functionality that the American market needs --
> then so be it.  This only makes KDE stronger, not weaker.

That's fine, make pitches that appeal to Americans.  Sure, trot out 
American developers, American users, American-made applications, and all 
that good stuff.  Slap on Rob's American color style, maybe even ship it 
in kdeartwork.  One can do all that without attempting to minimize the 
European character of KDE.

To me, to try to cover up the European origins of KDE would be sending a 
signal that there's something un-American about using KDE, that there's 
something to be ashamed of, that it's something that *should* be hidden.

Depending on the context, it might even be insulting to both European 
contributors of KDE and American users of KDE.  The European majority gets 
swept under the rug, and Americans get patronized with the implication 
that we all judge everything European because of the actions of a few 
prominent politicans.

> So if strong-feeling Americans want to boost KDE usage and development
> in their own country, then by all means they have my support.  If
> someone has a master plan for KDE-America.org: look no further, we've
> got the server space.

Rather than do that, why not just revive/restart worldwide.kde.org?  If 
anyone has the original code around, i'd be happy to rewrite it to the new 
kde.org format.

That map, before it went down, showed that the KDE effort is international, 
despite a European majority.

- -- 
Neil Stevens - neil@qualityassistant.com
"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the
sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him
for the same act as the destroyer of liberty." -- Abraham Lincoln
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