Hi, On Fri, 16 Dec 2005, Juergen Weigert wrote:
openSUSE allhands meeting 2005-12-14
[very selective comment, lots of stuff not quoted, not reflected]
1) Chances ==========
* openSUSE could be a central repository for OSS. Not for hosting source, but as "DistForge".
This would be a good motor of the community aspect. We need a "build host" architecture and a "hidden mirror source", nothing more. I guess almost every SUSE mirror will share his resources for the distribution.
* openSUSE could become the driving force behind all Novell Linux products.
It already is, as it is the successor/base of SUSE-Professional. And it would even be it without any new community partitipation because Novell/SUSE has always used the Professional series as the base for SLES, and staff is still the same. ;-))
* We define a new standard for collaborative packaging and distribution building.
Please do. Not much work if you invoke a committee out of the suse-user ("suser") packager from "your" apt community.
* become an open platform, suited for experimenal development
Already is. See ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/suser-*/.
* strengthen the "SUSE Linux" brand.
Why not. Maybe you need to turn the chamaeleon (gecko) once more, 90 grades this time, with a silly grin and a rolling stones tongue coming out. ;-))
* Create the world's very best Linux distribution -
Yes. Don't forget that "world domination" has to be your goal, even for small steps in this direction (but I guess SUSE is already in front since a long time). So the universality of your concept is important: don't forget anything, don't neglect anything.
* and finally: - rule the World (any volunteers?)
Who not? But see above. Not brute force (money), but the better ideas please.
2) Risks ========
* The openSUSE project fades away (both, inside and outside of Novell), or does gain momentum soon enough.
In my guess, "openSUSE" is just an effort to integrate what has lived aside since a long time. Just listen to the suser-* packagers, and you will reach the goal blindly.
* It is unclear, how the community can participate.
Reporting, requesting, discussing, packaging.
* We try to change everything except ourselves. (Ouch, this one went deep! Thanks Henne)
Wow! A brain inside! Harakiri is a splendid celebration for the public. But only if you have more than 10 years of mental experience with it. ;-))
* openSUSE causes fear, uncertainty and doubt at some places inside and outside Novell.
This is a matter of "simplicity in communication" only. You need a very simple "migration model" for press releases: the "professional" team simply has "opened" towards the community, but still is able to do all the necessary work without any help. The next sentence should contain "feedback"...
* Hosting turns out to be more difficult than expected. (e.g. time delay between Nbg and Provo)
Please solve this internally. Userids with the right privileges at the remote location. At least this is easier than everything else.
* openSUSE may create so much diversity (in packages and distributions) that clarity gets lost. How do we address that?
Don't forget that the openSUSE community alredy is existing, for years. Just monitor apt4rpm-suse@lists.sourceforge.net and www.linux-club.de...
Hosting -------
- A new naming idea surfaced. We are not a 'SourceForge', but a 'BinaryForge' as we host (RPM) Binaries. -> 'DistForge'?
Forget all associations to existing environments. You are creating something new, and even if not totally new, you have to have the goal of "world domination".
Rear Cover ----------
Stefan responds with these rules of thumb:
* We may disclose as much and as early as we feel safe ourselves. When in doubt, inform the upper management beforehand, but do not wait for any objections longer than a week.
Very good. You need an OK from upstream, but once you have it: a very good policy.
5) Next Steps =============
Short-Term Action Items -----------------------
* Make a Christmas-Theme or just some greeting for the Wiki. (AI: Henne, put some nice snow into the graphics)
Very important, at least seen from the long-term strategy. ;->> Cheers -e -- Eberhard Moenkeberg (emoenke@gwdg.de, em@kki.org)