[Snowy] Snowy FAQ & alpha invite email

[Paul Cutler <pcutler gnome org>]

Hi,

I started working on an email we could send to those who we invite to
the upcoming alpha test and it also morphed into a FAQ.  (Yes, I'm
feeling very optimistic the Sysadmin team will get our VM up for us so
we can launch the alpha!

I've attached a text file with the first draft of the email.  It has a
couple of FIXME's at the beginning that I'll update when we get closer
with how to create an account and configure Tomboy and then the FAQ.

I've also put the FAQ on the wiki here:
http://live.gnome.org/Snowy/SnowyFAQ

I'm usually a fairly dry writer, so I've tried to inject some humor into
the FAQ - if any of it is not funny, please just update the wiki and
I'll migrate that into the email when we're closer.  Oh, and check to
make sure the content is right too.  :)

Thanks!

Paul

Congratulations on being selected for the Tomboy Online private alpha!  You are one of the lucky few given the chance to lose all of your data.  Ok, we're kidding, well, we're really not.  This is an alpha release, and the opportunity for your notes stored on the web could be lost due to a bug or a system upgrade.

Your Tomboy notes store on your computer should be just safe and sound, so you can always re-sync.

INSTALLATION

Activate your account by folllowing these directions:  FIXME (Talk about logging in via Oauth too)

Configure Tomboy to use Tomboy Online to sync:  FIXME

Autosync: FIXME


FAQ

Why am I receiving this email?

The Tomboy and Snowy developers thought you might be interested in helping test Tomboy Online allowing you to sync and share your Tomboy notes on your computer to the web.

What is Tomboy Online and Snowy?

Snowy is the server that powers Tomboy Online.  Snowy is free software, licensed under the GPL, and anyone can run their own Snowy server.  Tomboy Online is GNOME's first web service.  We thought we'd help users who want to sync and share their notes by hosting a service for them so they don't have to run their own server if they don't want to.  We call it Tomboy Online.

Could I really lose my data?

Maybe - but just the notes saved on the web.  We could do a server upgrade that might cause a compatibility issue, or a bug could crop up, or something else.  That's why we call it an alpha.  Your notes stored on your local computer should be just fine.  We think.

Are there any security risks I should be aware of?

Not that we know of.  Yet.  But one might crop up, and if it does, we'll upgrade the server and send an email to our users.  This is an alpha, so it could happen, and we recommend not syncing any super confidential, classified top secret type data.  Unless you have the blueprints to Iron Man, because we'd really ike to see those so we could build our own suit.  Or the location of the rebel base, we know someone who is looking for that.


When will Tomboy Online be ready for beta?

We have a goal to get to beta with the release of GNOME 3.0 in late September, 2010.  But that's a ways away and subject to change.


When will Tomboy Online be launched? 

Can we get out of alpha into beta before we start talking about that?  Thanks!


Can I join the alpha?

No, the alpha is by invite only at this time.  Thanks for your interest though!


Can I join the beta?

Yes, we plan on running an open beta.  Details to come when we get closer.


Can I brag to my friends that I'm in the super-secret alpha? Can I share screenshots?

You sure can!  Blog away - there's no NDA here.  We're free software so it's not like we have any secrets anyway.  Well, we may know who Superman's secret idenity is, but we're not telling.


How can I help?

File bugs if you see anything from a typo on a webpage to having a sync fail.  Share feedback on the mailing list.  File more bugs.  Check out the code from the Snowy project on GNOME's git server and submit a patch.  File more bugs.  Tell you're friends you're testing the coolest software ever.  And then file some more bugs.

What language is Snowy written in?

Snowy is written in Python using the Django framework.