This list, suggestions, frustration

[Owen Taylor <otaylor redhat com>]

I think there's a fair bit of pent-up frustration on this list... people
describe their problems, they don't get a response from the core
developers. People make suggestions, create mockups, they don't get a
response from the core developers. I don't think I can really address
that frustration.... it's pretty much a consequence of the limitations
of our available time and attention, and of where we are in the
development cycle. But I wanted to point out a few things, that maybe
will help people understand the situation.

 * We're really busy working on finishing up for GNOME 3.0; while we
   read more than we respond to, we just don't have time to respond
   to every mail that people post here. Especially when the mails
   are long and detailed and would require a long detailed response.

 * We're really busy working on finishing up for GNOME 3.0; this means
   that we *can't* consider major revisions at this point. Yes, maybe
   the current design isn't the perfect design in all ways, but half
   finishing some other design won't be any better. GNOME 3.0 is not
   the final be-all-and-end-all of user interfaces. Just as the GNOME
   2.0 UI drastically changed between 2.0.0 and the current 2.30.0,
   the 3.0 UI will change as well.

 * You aren't a representative user. (How do I know
   this?  Because you are reading a mailing list on gnome.org; which
   puts your interest in technology and motivation well beyond most
   users.) Our goal is that GNOME 3.0 is better than GNOME 2.0 
   for *all* users, including you, but you need to be aware that
   changes have to take into account that larger set of users.

   Design changes also have to take into account how all the pieces
   fit together, including some pieces that aren't even there yet.

 * It's much faster to make a mockup than to code it. It's much faster
   to code a mockup than to take that code and maintain it.

   Right now, mocking up alternate ways that the shell could be designed
   is not a useful activity. We can't just change everything around, and
   then change it again when some other mockup comes out that is cool.

   If you want to get involved in shell design, *start small*. Find
   ways that a confined change can make things better. File your
   improvements in Bugzilla, or even better, jump on IRC and talk to us
   about them. (Wednesday afternoons, 18:00-21:00 UTC, say, are a
   particularly good time to find designers.)

   Once there's a working relationship, once you know how the shell
   works and we know that you have good ideas, then you can proceed to
   suggest larger changes. (Again, these few months aren't a good
   time for us to make large scale changes.)

 * This list is not:

    - Where we do design (that's mostly on IRC)
    - Where we take bug reports (bugzilla)
    - Where we discuss changes to the code (bugzilla, again)

   It's probably best to think of this list as a user forum - as a place
   for people testing out the shell to talk to each other, complain,
   rave, etc. 

- Owen