>>>>> "Andreas" == Andreas Müller <amu@debian.org> writes: I just *have* to voice my concerns... Before I deal with the points in your mail, some general thoughts: Debian booths represent Debian. But what *is* Debian? What *image* does Debian have, in the community (and Debian *is* community-driven! Lose sight of that, lose the soul of the project), and among its users? What image does Debian want to portray of itself? Debian is a volunteer project. Debian is *not* a company. So, why should Debian look(!) "professional" (for some definition thereof)? Why should Debian try to emulate KDE (which targets a different audience, I think)? Debian is "the Universal Operating System", yes. But: what does this actually mean? Could mean two things: a) it's the OS for everything: server, workstation, desktop, embedded devices, you name it. b) it's the OS for everyone: poweruser, hacker, home network admin, big corporation admin... and the *clueless luser*. I'm all for a), but not for the luser part of b). b) is well-served by the SuSEs and RedHats out there. (I could rant about some more about this, but this is not the place). So, who is our target audience? Who do we *most* want to come to our booth(s)? First answer this, then go from there. [snip] Andreas> Establishment of a event group which ensures a Andreas> professional event appearance. I'm unsure about this group. Might work, but just forming a "group" (to me, debian-events-eu, this very list, *is* this "event group") isn't a magic solution to everything. I'm sure about the "professional event appearance". I don't like it. To be more specific, I don't like what people *mean* when they say "professional appearance". Look at the KDE booths. You want emulate them, it seems. If instead of "event appearance", you'd say "event planning", then I'm all for it. Andreas> Good hardware, it will be begun with finding sponsors, Andreas> who places identical hardware. I say "No" to that. It doesn't fit in with Debian, at least not the Debian I (and a majority of our users, I think) like. Debian is, among other things, *lots* of platforms. "identical hardware" would mean i386, probably. Would *look* "professional", but wouldn't look "debian". Andreas> Continues to be with a clear identification of the booth Andreas> personnel ..... Badges. That's it. Shirts? Well, either you get someone to sponsor them, or you demand people to buy them. So, an entry fee for helping with the booth would get established. I could rant on, but I think I've made my point... if anyone is interested in a *constructive* discussion (including "you see this wrong, and this is why:"), I'm game. Bye, J PS: I was booth personnel at LT '99 and 2000, and chatted up a number of visitors at both times, so I'm no outsider to Debian booth business. But I see a disturbing (only for me, I'm afraid) trend here... but that's not the primary reason I didn't do booth duty since then. PPS: I left Martin in the CC, since the image of Debian is something he should be / is concerned with. -- Jürgen A. Erhard MARS http://mars.jerhard.org "Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book; inside of a dog, it's very dark." -- Groucho Marx
Attachment:
pgp1Z1ogdzW0U.pgp
Description: PGP signature