Re: no external panels for gnome-control-center [was GNOME Feature Proposal: Backup]

[William Jon McCann <william jon mccann gmail com>]

Hi,

This thread has clearly jumped the shark but there is one point worth
responding to here.  (which is a shame because deja dup is really
pretty cool.  It is too bad the thread was turned on a tangent)

On Thu, May 12, 2011 at 9:28 PM, Luca Ferretti <lferrett gnome org> wrote:
...
> And note, while this is just an example, similar customizations are not
> rare in the real world. Preventing people "a priori" (professionals, not
> "kids in the basement") to use GNOME as a base to build something
> different IMHO means to fail as open source project.

As long as we're throwing around Latin phrases to sound fancy we may
as well use some French as well.

How about: raison d'être.  What is our mission, what is our reason for
existing?  Is it to provide a gummy base for others to adapt, modify,
and differentiate?

No.

It is to create the most beautiful computing experience we can
imagine, using free software, that helps provide access to a web of
enlightenment, freedom of expression, and connections to people you
would ordinarily never have in the physical/political world.
Something that, because it is free software, allows anyone to actively
participate in the future - rather than simply passively consume.
Feel free to call that what you like.  I call it an operating system.
It is what we've been working to create for a decade now.  We (GNOME)
have built nearly all of the modern Linux user-space subsystems to
facilitate this goal.  It is not new or novel.  It is why we are here.
 There is no point in being timid about this.  It is brave and it is
meritorious.

Does our work, by its nature, allow or encourage modification,
adaptation, and reinvention?  Absolutely.  Is that enough?  No.  We
expect more of ourselves and the world expects more from us.

Very pointedly, GNOME does not exist exclusively for the benefit of
derivatives.  The reason people react strongly to that suggestion is
that it is profoundly disrespectful to the hundreds or thousands of
people working passionately to craft a intentional and exceptional
user experience with GNOME.  We are building a thing and we've been
doing it for a long time and will continue to do so.

The fact that you can modify it is an artifact of the methodology and
is not our core purpose.  We care about what the user sees.  We care
about user experience and we take design seriously.  And to be
successful that is exactly what we must do.

> Well, of course I've another option. Switch to KDE as base system :)

If these goals do not align well with yours, you are free, of course,
to do as you wish.  But as you know such an exclamation is typically
considered, as with Godwin's law, to signal the end of a conversation.
 And I hope it is.

Love,
Jon