Re: New name: Call for opinions
I think I understand your frustration but be patient. Free software is on the
rise. When people understand free software, they will understand any
language Debian uses.
I like the word "Customization" and think it conveys the correct meaning.
There's also more than one kind of customization going on. Debian Medical is
a Professional Customization. Debian Junior is an Educational Customization.
Terms like that emphasize Debian's universal character but let people know
that there are programs that are useful for specific tasks.
The key internal concept is, "You push a button and you get dozens of programs
the community thinks are useful for a particular purpose." External projects
seek the same thing but offer an independent installable package with more or
less Debian compatibility.
Dish is nifty but it understates the magnitude of what is delivered and is a
little abstract. The goal is not a dish, but a menu of excellence. Being
from New Orleans, I can offer an example:
http://www.commanderspalace.com/new_orleans/index.php
The dishes, like all food, reflect community input which may be impressive but
there's more to it than that.
No name will be obvious to users of commercial systems and they may be
difficult for users of other distributions. Metapackages are a powerful tool
that take advantage of Debian's excellent package management system and
software freedom. These are hard concepts to get across to people who are
used to per seat licensing and shrink wrap. Users of commercial
distributions may still not understand that the power of free software comes
from community input. People who are unable to understand those
fundamentals will stumble on details.
It took me years to discover and understand the potential of meta packages.
I'm still learning. Any way you go is cool with me but I hope my perspective
has been useful.
On Monday 18 August 2008, Andreas Tille wrote:
> Well, OK, this is actually a bad trade. Marketeering the current name
> just consumed all of my energy. Believe me, I hate the renaming - but
> over five years experience with the former name I lost any hope that
> there is any chance to educate people about the name. I seriosely
> tried and continuosely failed.
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