Holger, I think you understood me. It´s not to my mind to leave out users who aren´t professionals. This would be unfriendly, unfair and in my eyes not the right way. I wrote another mail to the mailinglist. In this mail is a concept to make openSUSE good for both user groups. Hope you can understand me now ;) regards, kdl -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- From: Holger Hetterich Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 6:26 PM To: opensuse-project@opensuse.org Subject: Re: [opensuse-project] What's the latest on the strategy discussion? Am Freitag, den 12.11.2010, 17:48 +0100 schrieb Kim Leyendecker:
Well I think a "professional" is a person who can install Linux on his or her own. You maybe laugh about this sentence, but I know people who can´t install Windows. They aren´t professionals I think. If they can´t install Windows, the maybe can´t install Linux too. A professional should know things like this:
- *What´s a swap-partition? - *Where´s root? - *Why I can´t running my Windows applications without wine or something other?
Yes, that are questions they are important to me. A professional should be an advanced or power user. I think that´s say all.
Kim, your definition of an advanced user or "professional" is perfectly fine to me. I am in doubt that a strategy statement using "professionals" or even "advanced users" is a good idea, as this will leave out all those who don't know what a swap partition is. And why should openSUSE not attract those people too? One of the suggestions says "We Create and Distribute". If openSUSE manages do to exactly that, openSUSE will attract developers. (and I personally think openSUSE has all the ground technology to be able to). Power Users, or "professionals", or advanced users will follow automatically to where development takes place, as those are following software development better than others. At leasts that's my thinking. There's no reason to leave those out who are not professional. In fact I believe a good portion of them are future contributers, once they discovered the power of linux. Cheers, Holger
Regards, kdl
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- From: Holger Hetterich Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 8:32 AM To: opensuse-project@opensuse.org Subject: Re: [opensuse-project] What's the latest on the strategy discussion?
Am Freitag, den 12.11.2010, 00:41 +0100 schrieb Pascal Bleser:
On 2010-11-08 17:42:09 (+0100), Holger Hetterich <hhetter@novell.com> wrote: [...]
[...] The "world's most usable Linux" is something that depends on the users look at it. I, as a user, see the whole phrase as something like: "Ok, they want to be usable, even for my grandma, and by the same time create something new, innovative, and maintain it !".
"Usable", as Martin wrote, is really a bad term to use IMHO. It is unclear, and everyone will have her own interpretation of that term. Some may even understand it as "accessible" (as in a11y).
You will always have a personal interpretation of an individual on any terms you have in a strategy statement. For example, what defines someone being a "professional" (used in other suggestions)? What will a "professional" from the film industry expect from a linux distribution for professionals?
Also, I don't have a problem in that someone understands it as accessible as in a11y, and having those in the target audience included.
The mission statement must be short and precise.
It is already short. The more precise you get, the more possible users will be lost. Is that the idea?
I wholeheartedly agree with the "explaining is losing" that was cited on this thread.
You will always have to explain it. There's no way around it.
And actually, that's the distribution I am looking for, both from the POV of a user or a developer.
But that is specifically what we do _not_ aim for, as of the strategy.
Again, having a strategy and defining a target audience does _not_ mean that openSUSE isn't usable for less or inexperienced users (my girlfriend and my daughter use it too, and neither of them are computer wizards).
I never had doubts on that.
It just means that our focus, during development and when we have to take decisions that can only go one way or another, we take the decision that favours our target audience.
And that would be to decide for the solution that provides the best usability, while trying to maintain a good platform for development and innovation. What is the problem?
Linux isn't exactly known for being usable for the masses. I think a distribution showing it can be usable is a remarkable goal.
Holger
cheers
-- Holger Hetterich, hhetter@novell.com, SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, GF: Markus Rex, HRB 16746 (AG Nürnberg) Maxfeldstr. 5, 90409 Nürnberg, Germany
-- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org
-- Holger Hetterich, hhetter@novell.com, SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, GF: Markus Rex, HRB 16746 (AG Nürnberg) Maxfeldstr. 5, 90409 Nürnberg, Germany -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org