On Mon, 04 May 2009 16:52:30 -0500, Alberto Passalacqua wrote:
Il giorno lun, 04/05/2009 alle 19.44 +0000, Jim Henderson ha scritto:
On Mon, 04 May 2009 13:57:39 -0400, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
Are there that many of us actively using computers/linux/opensuse to be offended by associations with ww2 ???
It's not those who are currently/actively using it (at least not exclusively) but the audience to whom we wish to appeal to.
That audience is appealed by quality releases. I really doubt they will think to codenames that much.
I think you might've misunderstood me. Of course a quality code release is important and is "appealing", but having a name that is offensive in some way detracts from the appeal. Since one of the goals of the project (presumably) is to expand the user base of openSUSE, it seems likely that not picking names that are even mildly offensive to a larger prospective user base wouldn't be desirable. I think we can agree that if we were to target names after vegetarian painters, that might seem innocuous enough, but (and realising I'm invoking Godwin's law here), I think we could all agree that naming a release "Hitler" would be just a bit of a problem for much the same reasons.
At this point avoid any kind of codename, because it is really easy to be against someone sensitivity, even with colours or animals. But maybe people will be less vocal about those.
I don't think colours or animals would be a problem, personally. It is possible to go overboard with Political Correctness, but that doesn't mean that it's appropriate (in my view) to completely disregard opinions and viewpoints that may be valid, either and just say "deal with it."
Also, talking more in general, and not only on the specific case, which IMHO is not important at all, maybe one day openSUSE will stop changing ideas because of a few users comments, and will keep going on following its way. ;-)
I hope that never happens - the day it does is the day the distro ceases to be a community-driven distro. But as I often point out to customers (and friends) at work, just because a decision doesn't go your way doesn't mean it wasn't listened to, either. Just because people express opinions doesn't mean giving in to every little demand for a change, either. But it does mean considering the point of view and making an informed decision - and being willing to say "gee, we didn't consider that and it was a mistake to move forward" when a mistake has been made. Not saying a mistake has been made, just providing an alternate point of view. Jim -- Jim Henderson Please keep on-topic replies on the list so everyone benefits -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse-project+help@opensuse.org