Re: Revamping Friends of GNOME: help with web page text (with updated text!)

[Brian Cameron <Brian Cameron Sun COM>]

Claus:

> Thanks for your suggestions, I really appreciate it.

Thanks, I hope that some of my comments are useful.  I think it is
good, at the very least, to discuss these ideas a bit and make sure
that we are doing the best job we can.

> Let me explain some of my decisions:
>
>  * 'Less links': The goal of this page is to make people donate. But 
>    every link is a possible distraction for a potential donator. We
>    should use nearly no links if possible.

In this regards, I politely disagree with you.  I think it is very
common for people to want to do research and get a full understanding
of where their money is going before giving it away.  As an unrelated
example, some people who are pro-life will not donate to a charity that
gives away birth control and people who are pro-choice will not donate
to a charity that has a policy to avoid giving birth control assistance.
Many people do a lot of research before donating money to make sure that
the organization fits in with their political, and moral perspectives.

The GNOME community doesn't have a pro-life or pro-choice issue to
worry about, but I imagine that potential donors would still be more
comfortable giving money if we provide them with enough information
to understand why giving money to a free software project like GNOME
is a good idea.

Considering how hard it is to explain things like what a "Desktop"
means, it is hard to imagine that many people wouldn't want to do
research before donating money.  In the past, the GNOME Foundation
has mostly gotten money from people who are already involved with
GNOME and do not need this sort of information, but I think we should
really try to expand beyond this circle and seek money from people
with a general interest in benefiting humanity.  How can we do that
without explaining how Free Software, and GNOME specifically, benefits
people?

The current text does not yet explain any of the libertarian aspects
of why free software is a good idea.  Some governments around the world
(e.g. Germany) have enacted legislation that they will only use free
software for government purposes with the idea that this gives the
people of that country more control and saves them tax money in the
long run.  We could appeal to this sort of common-sense politics and
highlight that giving money to GNOME helps to encourage this sort of
sensible politics.

I am not sure how the proverbial mother or grandmother would understand
why GNOME is a good charity unless we highlight things like the One
Laptop Per Child program, our efforts to translate GNOME to 3rd
world languages, and accessibility.  Projects which are all done via
volunteer efforts which do benefit from giving money to the GNOME
Foundation.

>  * Millions of people: As Dave already wrote, there's good reason to 
>    say 'millions'. See also the 10x10 page on live.gnome.org [1] for 
>    an older estimation by me.

Thanks for clarifying.  I think it is good to be able to cite sources
when making claims, so this might be a good place where a link or a
cite reference would make people understand that we are using concrete
numbers rather than just using smoke and mirrors.

>  * The rest of the first paragraph: It is meant to act as a 
>    synecdoche [1]: Examples stand for the whole thing. In fact,
>    I'd rather use even more concrete examples if they'd exist.
>    There's no need to explain all the details like the 'One Laptop Per
>    Child' program, existence of chat and IM programs, etc. These just
>    distract.

On one hand you say we should give concrete examples, but then you say
the One Laptop Per Child program example is a distraction.  I'm not
sure I follow, but that's okay.

Personally, I think it would be good if we could get testimonials from
people who benefit from GNOME a11y, the One Laptop Per Child program,
people who use computers in 3rd world countries in their 3rd world
language who otherwise couldn't afford to use computers, etc.
Testimonials are a great way to highlight such particular examples in a
more personal way.

>  * The second paragraph: Repetition [2] is a classical technique. This
>    is not source code or maths where you try to avoid redundant stuff.
>    It's meant to remind people that they also benefit from GNOME.

I think that there are two types of people we should be trying to
encourage to donate:

- People who receive benefit from GNOME.  Such people are typically
  people who distribute GNOME, work on GNOME, or use GNOME and do
  not need a lot of help to understand what GNOME is or why it
  benefits people.
- People who would consider donating if they understand that by helping
  GNOME, others also benefit especially people who are disabled,
  underprivileged, who lack resources, or who speak languages that are
  not supported by proprietary operating systems.  Many such people with
  an interest in helping others may not understand what GNOME is, or how
  GNOME helps others.  So, by explaining, we help them to consider
  donating to us.

While the existing text does a good job of encouraging the former to
donate, I do not think it reaches out enough to the latter.

> Overall, the intention of the text is NOT to inform people; it's
> meant to encourage and motivate people -- namely to spend money. ;)

As I said, it is my opinion that people generally want to be informed
when they give money away.  If two people approach you on the street,
one with his hand out saying "I need some money" and the other with
a clipboard with a stack of information explaining who will benefit
and how, most people would be more likely to give money to the person
who is able to explain in good detail where the money is going.  If
we don't do a good job explaining, then it is likely that people will
just donate their money elsewhere, to organizations who do a better job.

> If you want to inform people, there are other places and opportunities
> I believe.

True, but that's why simply using some well considered links can point
the reader towards those resources.  Perhaps the website could have a
section with links to such resources for people who need to learn more
information to consider before parting with their money.

Having said all that, I am not a marketing expert, and these are just
my opinions.  If I am alone in my thinking that this is important then
you can feel free to ignore my suggestions.

Brian