[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-promo
Subject:    Re: [kde-promo] nepomuk / baloo naming implications
From:       Tassos Koutlas <tassos.koutlas () gmail ! com>
Date:       2014-02-20 20:29:30
Message-ID: 1758013.dEBVLPvW0F () pixie
[Download RAW message or body]

Hello all,

I know this comes out of the blue but I have decided to weigh in this \
debate,  sorry but it turned out rather long. I am a KDE user since the \
RH6.5 days back  in 1999. I've experienced first hand the evolution of KDE \
and all the  controversy surrounding the 4.x release, the bad press on \
nepomuk and so on. I  have been however in numerous occasions presenting \
KDE software to students  and professional groups and I have been outlining \
its merits, vision of the  future and cutting edge technology included in \
each release.

But let's step back a bit and think about KDE as software. What has always 
been its number one advantage over other desktop environments (DE)? I \
believe  it's been primarily consistency and platform integration and \
secondarily a  unified UX (a distant third IMHO was stability but remember \
back in the day you  had to recompile Xfree86 from source to be able to \
play DIVXes so stability  for non technically inclined people is out of the \
question). People are using  or switching to KDE to experience consistency, \
integration and unified  experience in a FOSS desktop environment. In my \
opinion regardless of trolling  and early criticism the 4.x releases \
strengthened KDE in those respects.  Recently there was an article showing \
KDE having a concrete 30% of use in a  very fragmented market.

Having said that, my initial reaction at the Baloo announcement over at 
planetkde was a sense of relief; I guess bad feelings on nepomuk overwhelm \
me  too. However my next reaction was a sense of disappointment feeling \
that we  yet again rush new technology when in fact should spend our time \
strengthening  KDE's core values (consistency and integration). Please note \
however that  these were my personal immediate reactions and they don't \
necessarily reflect  reality. I understand that Baloo will be better than \
nepomuk in those respects  and that it would be able to provide all \
integration nepomuk was destined to  do. I also don't want in any way to \
diminish Vishesh's contributions on  building a better and more suitable \
tool, he is doing a great job advancing  KDE on that front.

But we, as a community, have to understand that technology developed in the \
 context of KDE ultimately aims to serve people. Let's face it as far as 
software goes, a DE is as people-centric as software can get. People care 
about solutions and products that deliver them. Please note that product in \
 this context is used as an entity in a competitive market claiming market 
share, not necessarily reflecting monetary attributes, after all a product \
is  much more than a price tag. As a product, KDE, is destined to be \
something  more than the underlying technology, it must have a unified \
front presenting  itself to others in terms of narration, a set of core \
values and principles, a  certain community ensuring continuity.

The above serve as a compass when arguments arise. Developers may change \
and  users may increase or decrease, the project as a whole, however, can \
continue  to fill market needs as it always did and it can expand \
incorporating new  narrations based on values and principles. How these are \
presented to people  matter. They matter because they define how people \
perceive the project and how  the press perceives the project. For instance \
if our core values are  consistency/integration/stability then marketing \
Baloo as anything different  than the continuation of nepomuk is invalid. \
If, on the other hand, we want to  be perceived as a project where cutting \
edge technology is presented to the  user as soon as it is available then \
keeping nepomuk brand alive is invalid.  But we cannot do both at the same \
time.

If we ultimately care about people and how KDE is offering solutions to \
people,  then we have to treat it as any other technology product. There \
are three  distinct characteristics in a technology project targeted at \
                different 
audiences: 
(a) technology related matters targeted at developers, 
(b) marketing related matters (including product/user relationships, 
distribution/promotion matters, copywriting material and so on) targeted at \
 people, 
(c) and community related matters target at people to ensure project 
continuity.

So there is a question, given that KDE is an advanced project in terms of 
technology and technical vision how can this can be communicated back at 
people both in terms of users and press?

First and foremost kde-promo mailing list is a very good step at \
coordinating  efforts made, as are the development of the Visual Design \
Group (VDG) and the  Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) group. But these \
alone are not enough. The  cornerstone of these efforts is to distil and \
decide the core values of the  project in terms of its audience. Then to \
change our idiosyncrasy towards the  project given those values and \
principles. What that ultimately means is that  instead of feeling that \
each component of KDE is vertically aligned we should  change to a more \
horizontal approach. Developers may have authoritative  control over the \
technical merits of a component, identity characteristics  however should \
be vested in people with expertise in the marketing/promo space  and the \
usability space.

To conclude with my thesis, I would like to thank you all for your efforts 
building KDE, an indispensable part of my everyday computing experience. My \
 thoughts above have been piling up for quite some time now. I don't know \
if my  expertise is adequate enough to contribute at the marketing/promo \
space of  such an important project as KDE, but I indent to get more \
acquainted with  efforts so far and participate more.

Best regards,

Tassos

-- 
Think before you speak

_______________________________________________
This message is from the kde-promo mailing list.

Visit https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde-promo to unsubscribe, set \
digest on or temporarily stop your subscription.


[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]