How are we compelling?

[Travis Reitter <treitter-dev netdrain com>]

Hi everyone!

I hate to interrupt all this awesome w.g.o work, but here's a topic I've
thought about for a long time, and still haven't figured out. And I
think it's important that we have great answers for it.

How are we compelling to regular people?

Every time a technical friend asks me to explain to them why they should
use Linux/FOSS/Gnome, etc., I think I can answer fairly well. We're
working together to create awesome software that lets us get the most
out of our computers, without arbitrary restrictions, like DRM. We want
open formats, so our data won't disappear when our software providers
do. We want to advance Free Culture in general, where sharing and
community are central.

The most fundamental advantages we have over closed software, I think,
are our community and our powerful demands for openness. Our community
tends to create solutions to our most pressing issues (without
compromising our freedoms) and with much greater efficiency than closed
source development allows. If we're going to become successful, we need
to emphasize our strengths that closed software can _never_ achieve by
its nature.

We can point potential users to things like Gaim's multi-protocol
support, but if all of someone's friends are on Yahoo and MSN, and the
official apps can now communicate with each other, the user might not
care that Gaim is open source. They just found a solution, and they
didn't have to pay for it.

Talking to a friend at a sizable, very propriety company, his critique
of FOSS is that it just breeds users who want free hand-outs. He didn't
think our users care or would care about anything but that. How do we
counter this point?

How do we get people to value our fundamental strengths, and not
superficial advantages, like a powerful feature that may show up in the
next version of Windows or OS X (or some app)? If our users value what
we truly value, then they won't disappear when someone provides them a
shinier version of feature X.

Perhaps more importantly, if we can get users of closed systems to value
freedom, they'll overlook our (temporary) superficial inadequacies,
we'll gain clout, developers, and funding exponentially (or, at least,
even more rapidly than we are now) in a positive feedback loop. And
within a few years, we'll be caught up on most of the features that
matter (and pave the way with a whole lot of features that closed
systems don't provide).

By the point you may realize I'm just talking out loud - but I'm really
fishing for answers.

How are we (or can we be) more compelling to average users than Windows
and OS X? (Ignoring that Gnome does not provide the low-level OS - I'm
talking about our larger goals). Do we market ourselves as producing
security patches much more rapidly than our competitors? As connecting
people better than they can in other systems (is this even true right
now)? As treating them with respect in an otherwise DRM and
copy-protection-infested environment? As being advertisement free (not
forcing "negative features" on them). Giving them what they actually
want, in a presentable format? Not leaving them behind (i18n, a11y) just
because they aren't "cost-effective"? (By the way - do we need to avoid
"going negative"? How could/should we bring up the majority of these
last points without making implications about our competitors?)

How are we really compelling to our target audience - everyday people?

-Travis