Re: community managers

[Dave Neary <dneary gnome org>]

Hi Jon,

On 11/15/2012 09:12 PM, William Jon McCann wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 6:38 AM, Dave Neary wrote:
>
>     I think that as a project, we have had trouble communicating our
>     vision, because as a project we are not sure what it is.

I think this is the main thing I wanted to say. I have been involved in 
the GNOME project, albeit not as a core developer or module maintainer, 
since 2004. And I do not understand our vision. What is the dream that 
we're selling, and why should I be excited about it?

>     For instance, the insistence that
>     theming will damage our brand, or that Cinnamon is not GNOME 3, has
>     led to missed opportunities for the GNOME project, and has not got
>     grass roots support among the GNOME community (and I'm not talking
>     about users here, I'm talking about contributors - developers,
>     translators, user group co-ordinators, and marketers).
>
> Let's be clear then. Cinnamon is not GNOME 3.

I understand that is your position. And I understand that as the 
maintainer and primary designer of GNOME Shell, you have a lot of weight 
in holding that position.

I think it's a shame that Cinnamon users don't realise, for the most 
part, that they are using GNOME Shell, and the rest of the GNOME 3 
stack. I think that it's a shame that we have apparently gone out of our 
way to put a barrier between ourselves and the Cinnamon/Mint guys by 
saying "you're not GNOME 3". The message we're sending is, "your help is 
not wanted, we don't like what you're doing".

Personally, I think that it'd be cool to have our community be the 
community of people who can go wild on the platform - "let a thousand 
flowers bloom". That the core GNOME project is solid and useful, but 
that we encourage experimentation, respins, freedom for our users. That 
seems inconsistent with the current GNOME messaging.

> The discussion of brand
> was in relation to the stability of extensions and the impact on the
> user experience - and was taken out of context. Neither of these have
> led to missed opportunities. Continuing to misrepresent or misunderstand
> what we are trying to do and trying to say doesn't help us communicate
> our vision, does it?

I certainly misunderstand what you are trying to do. I don't think I 
know what the GNOME 3 vision is. Would you mind helping me understand 
better?

Thanks,
Dave.


--
Dave Neary, Lyon, France
Email: dneary gnome org
Jabber: nearyd gmail com