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

List:       kde-promo
Subject:    [kde-promo] KDE League; celebrity worship
From:       Jonathan Singer <jsinger () genome ! wi ! mit ! edu>
Date:       2001-02-09 23:18:02
[Download RAW message or body]

So, what is the KDE League doing? Anything? The only press release on their
web page is the one announcing its formation. Also, looking at the
membership application <http://www.kde.com/league/form.php>, it's not clear
to me whether developers can join without having to pay the $5000 fee.

And for crying out loud -- if you're running the web site for a public
image campaign, learn the difference between 'its' and 'it's'! It looks
like CmdrTaco is writing copy there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------

On an entirely different note -- one of the things that limits KDE
promotion is the absence of recognizable names. People referred to the
ZDNet article about Gnome and Nautilus. Note how the story is hung on
Miguel de Icaza as an individual? Having him as a front man is crucial to
Gnome's image, both because it provides a convenient hook for journalists
and because users feel good about using a product that allows them to
associate themselves with a celebrity.

Linux has the same advantage over the BSD's. (How many people can name the
leader of the FreeBSD project?) Enlightenment may be slow, buggy and memory
intensive but it has a much higher profile than WindowMaker, or even
Sawfish, because its leaders are Slashdot celebrities.

As a (very minor) developer, I enjoy the way KDE works. I'd have less
motivation to put in effort if I saw some front man getting all the credit
for it. But the reality is that KDE is perceived as a monolithic, faceless,
corporate project while Gnome is seen as the product of a crew of rebel
hackers. Despite the fact that the opposite is much closer to the truth.

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