Thomas Adam wrote: > On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 10:54:25AM +0100, Michael Großer wrote: >> Dan Espen wrote: >> > <msib...@crosswire.com> writes: >> >> Perhaps I'm making a bad >> >> assumption. Is increased usership a goal of the FVWM development team? >> > >> > Fvwm is for users that want complete control of their desktop with >> > minimal resource use and ultimate flexibility. >> > >> >> "http://www.fvwm.org"; should contain a link "target group" to a page >> with such kind of definition. > > God no. FVWM is not elitist. People will either use it, or not. People > can have ideas, and do. People will have opinions and share them. Or not. > But if/when they do, we'll discuss them, and sometimes good things come of > them. > > This isn't endemic to this project, and other projects have many more > opinions floating around. Just look at OpenBSD for that. > > -- Thomas Adam
Initially, I didn't intend to speak verbosely to explain strategic way of thinking. But, now there seem to be at least two people who misread my thoughts. Let me explain: I simply define a target group as a group of people who all have the same class of wants (the same wishes, the same issues and the same desires). This is not elitist. A target group can also be a group of people who belong to the underclass according to my definition, and an underclass surely can't be considered as an elite. "Elite" and "target group" are defined that differently. Take my example: I want my computer to be powerful. Since 1992/1993 I wanted complete control of each computer I owned. I expect my computers to be powerful, efficient and quick. With these demands, I have some kind of interest profile. Together with other people who share the same interest profile, I constitute a "target group". The homepage of "www.fvwm.org" starts with this sentence: > FVWM is an extremely powerful ICCCM-compliant multiple > virtual desktop window manager for the X Window system. When I read this, then I think: "Extremely powerful? Yes, this is what I'm looking for! Multiple virtual desktops? Hey! This is the whole idea what makes a computer useable for me!" But, people who don't open the first page of "www.fvwm.org" know nothing of this. When I mention "FVWM" somewhere, people say: "FVWM? Is this the old window manager that nobody uses anymore?" I think, this is the wrong message! The association in the heads of people out there shouldn't be "that nobody uses anymore?" but rather "the window manager that people prefer who are looking for power rather than for gimmicks". Here, http://www.jumping-blue-turtle.com/online-shop/0005_lenny/debian/fvwm/index.html I tried to explain (in my native language) why FVWM is better than other solutions: - FVWM is fast - other solutions are heavyweight and unnecessarily plump - FVWM is powerful - other solutions are castrated (restricted) and close-minded - FVWM is functional - other solutions aim for gimmicks and optical dalliance - FVWM is for working people - other solutions frustrate - FVWM can be downright programmed - other solutions can't be used without a mouse People who agree with all the statements in that table constitue the target group of that web page. People who do not agree simply belong to other target groups. The only drawbacks of that page are that it is in German and that I want money there. Both aspects will change later. If the FVWM community would manage the trick to bring the message "FVWM is for people who are looking for power" even into the heads of non-FVWM users, then all the people who indeed are looking for these qualities would take notice of FVWM, and this would bring the FVWM community a new kind of momentum. This is a simple message: The more clearly the FVWM project communicates these values the more people who actually share these values will be attracted by this project. OK, I really spoke verbosely now. I hope, somebody will understand this idea better than before. I don't want to bother you any further with that if nobody is interested. Just seize this idea or forget it. - Michael -
