Re: Website ideas

[Ross Golder <rossg cpd co uk>]

Joakim Ziegler wrote:
> 
> On Sat, Nov 18, 2000 at 01:28:23PM +0100, Roel wrote:
> > Ryan Muldoon <rpmuldoon students wisc edu> wrote:
> 
> > I think you have a nice, comprehensible structure worked out. A few
> > comments:
> 
> >> -->new gtk software (?)
> 
> > I would choose not to include 'normal' gtk-only software any more. This
> > will probably be not so nice for those that currently announce their
> > software on gtk.org. A quick look at www.gtk.org/apps shows that a lot of
> > the software there is old (1999 or earlier), and that most of the newer
> > software has at least optional gnome support. I think it is better to have
> > a high quality list with only robust and/or actively being developed
> > software then a list with outdated software and broken links.
> 
> If we're doing the GTK+ site, then we need to do this. If you disagree, I
> suggest you go on a GTK mailing list, and suggest they should all use GNOME
> just because they're using GTK+. Be sure to keep a fire extinguisher handy.
> 

I've been 'put right' before when I offered to help Gnomify someone's
GTK+ application, assuming that this was what they wanted to do ;) These
GTK+ guys can be fairly religious.

Without meaning any disrespect to them, I'd like to suggest that Gnome
applications are kept distinct from GTK+ applications (in terms of
software maps/searches) somehow. To promote GNOME as a viable
alternative to commercial desktops, applications must be GNOMified to
appear in the main software map. However, where a GNOMified application
doesn't exist for a particular purpose (or in case the GNOME one doesn't
fit), the GTK+ applications could be listed secondarily.

The trouble with GTK+ applications is that GTK+ is mostly only a widget
set, so the other 'desktop framework'-type interfaces provided by GNOME
are often fulfilled with other dependent libraries, which the user also
needs to locate, download, install (and sometimes configure).

Sorry for wandering off-topic, but I'm just thinking in terms of some of
the people I would like to refer to the new website to get started with
Linux/GNOME (e.g. my mum and dad!). Some of them wouldn't want to deal
with tarballs etc, and would get confused if the familiar 'File,
Edit...Help' menubar options, and statusbar etc didn't appear in the
applications they downloaded and installed.

-- 
Ross

Battening down the hatches for the impending barrage of abuse.