Re: [ubuntu-art] theme teams
On Tuesday 02 September 2008 06:43:45 Rico Sta. Cruz wrote: > Hi Ken, > > How useful! > Should be ping you in case of any updates to our themes? :) Yes! Any changes to the themes can be sent directly to me - I will then update the PPA and inform everyone of the changes. For instance, last night the New Wave theme was updated a couple of times :-) Once you have the package installed the update manager should take care of telling you about any updates. -- Ken -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] theme teams
Hi Ken, How useful! Should be ping you in case of any updates to our themes? :) -Rico Kenneth Wimer-5 wrote: > > On Monday 01 September 2008 18:40:42 Kenneth Wimer wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> Today I put Kin, Dust, and New Wave into my PPA so that people can >> install >> and test them. Please, don't flip out if it is not the very latest >> version >> or such; I simply picked the latest stuff I could find on the wiki and >> put >> it in. I'll modify this as needed once we have discussed it a bit. > > Perhaps I should explain what this really means :-) > > https://launchpad.net/~kwwii/+archive is the url for my PPA. A PPA > (Personal > Package Archive) is a place in which I put source code and it gets > automatically compiled and is then available for others in an easy > fashion. > > What that means is that if you add these as sources in Synaptic Package > Manager... > > deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main > deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main > > ...you'll be able to install the packages and see when they get updated. > > 1) start synaptic (System->Administration->Synaptic Package Manager) > 2) enter password > 3) Synaptic opens, add the repository in Settings->Repositories->Third > Party > Software, click on the Add button at the bottom left > > Naturally you can also just edit /etc/apt/sources.list with sudo rights > and > then apt-get update to have it check for new packages on the command line. > > If I have missed anything or anything is confusing feel free to ask for > help. > > -- > Ken > > -- > ubuntu-art mailing list > ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art > > -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/theme-teams-tp19257600p19264044.html Sent from the ubuntu-art mailing list archive at Nabble.com. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] theme teams
On Monday 01 September 2008 18:40:42 Kenneth Wimer wrote: > Hi all, > > Today I put Kin, Dust, and New Wave into my PPA so that people can install > and test them. Please, don't flip out if it is not the very latest version > or such; I simply picked the latest stuff I could find on the wiki and put > it in. I'll modify this as needed once we have discussed it a bit. Perhaps I should explain what this really means :-) https://launchpad.net/~kwwii/+archive is the url for my PPA. A PPA (Personal Package Archive) is a place in which I put source code and it gets automatically compiled and is then available for others in an easy fashion. What that means is that if you add these as sources in Synaptic Package Manager... deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kwwii/ubuntu hardy main ...you'll be able to install the packages and see when they get updated. 1) start synaptic (System->Administration->Synaptic Package Manager) 2) enter password 3) Synaptic opens, add the repository in Settings->Repositories->Third Party Software, click on the Add button at the bottom left Naturally you can also just edit /etc/apt/sources.list with sudo rights and then apt-get update to have it check for new packages on the command line. If I have missed anything or anything is confusing feel free to ask for help. -- Ken -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
Well, Troy this can be a start. To create a responsible team to keep a rhythm, to have some public places, a team which can start writing specifications and guidelines for what can be a great thing. -> about the default theme - this community move around the Earth because a new brand look is really needed. And is better to come from inside, like $MS or Sun. This is the big point I supposed. Finally, why not "default theme"- I see some peoples here with talent and determination, the only missing thing is a well tempered workgroup (like Inkscape and Gimp already has). Also Mark will be glad to see this job by the Ubuntu community. And maybe, on the road, we can try to implement some new features, maybe a new theming engine. About your proposals all 3 points are pertinent. SorinN Troy James Sobotka wrote: > Who wrote: >> 3. We shouldn't get hung up on being the default theme. We gain >> freedom of design by NOT being default, and we can still reach many >> people (Epiphany team doesn't stop because Firefox is deafult... Why >> should we ONLY concentrate on the default theme) > > With a little regular cleanup and such, this would probably be > a great starting point for a 'Blueprint' at Launchpad. > > For those that are unaware of Launchpad and its potential > for keeping people 'in the loop' on discussions like this: > > 1) Create a wiki page as an outline of your idea. > 2) Create a Blueprint at Launchpad. Create a Team. > 3) Attach the wiki page to the Blueprint and sign the > team up. > > Now you can keep the ongoing and pertinent discussions on the > wiki in a tidy area. Not only that, but every change that > is _not_ marked as "Trivial" will be automatically sent > an email update. > > Who, maybe you can gauge response to the idea by the size of > the team and keep things organized? > > Sincerely, > TJS > > -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
Who wrote: > 3. We shouldn't get hung up on being the default theme. We gain > freedom of design by NOT being default, and we can still reach many > people (Epiphany team doesn't stop because Firefox is deafult... Why > should we ONLY concentrate on the default theme) With a little regular cleanup and such, this would probably be a great starting point for a 'Blueprint' at Launchpad. For those that are unaware of Launchpad and its potential for keeping people 'in the loop' on discussions like this: 1) Create a wiki page as an outline of your idea. 2) Create a Blueprint at Launchpad. Create a Team. 3) Attach the wiki page to the Blueprint and sign the team up. Now you can keep the ongoing and pertinent discussions on the wiki in a tidy area. Not only that, but every change that is _not_ marked as "Trivial" will be automatically sent an email update. Who, maybe you can gauge response to the idea by the size of the team and keep things organized? Sincerely, TJS signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
Thats my opinion. Thank you! Am Samstag, den 05.01.2008, 16:54 +0200 schrieb Nemes Ioan Sorin: > I personally take this Civitas Forum in a semi-serious mode. > Why ? > > I put here on this community some questions - in time - and I add some > points in discussion. > > Responses, generally - just disappoint me. Where I talk about serious > problems such a programmatic way to rethink UI elements design - giving > some examples, other peoples respond me they don't like the color of my > example [ where the color was not the problem on topic ] - so I see some > discussions are done in parallel - some peoples talk about something - > other peoples understand everything else -> so being parallels they will > not meet in the next gazillion of years. [this is not about Ken - I > observe Ken has a good background, knowledges and leader qualities - > this is good ]. > > So regarding your question Sebastian - I am designer - I respect my job > rules - for some applications I have to design custom graphics for form > elements, and UI. I do Plex WT theme for XP few years ago. > > I can design elements for a new Ubuntu theme. But also I see here some > talented guys that can do the same. Not a single problem here with > designers. But with decision power. > > How I can help when I say "the things should be on this way(), from > Usability point of view" and other one after me will say "no, you're not > right" ...so where my expertise can go ?. Is not important that I have > some experience with this kind of things. Anyone will say NO and the > problem is solved. ...waste of time, believe-me Sebastian - until the > decisional mechanism is solved. Right now anyone is equal to anyone. > > This is the perfect terrain for the entropy rules (sad joke). > > For example shadowh511 said : > > I think of a clean, simple OS. the color brown > > represents cleanliness and simplicity, while blue represents sadness and > > fear. If we want to have people download hardy, why not give them a > > nice theme such as union and give them the desktop cube and the wobble > > windows and all of that eye candy > > How could I can take this seriously ? Regarding colors - the problem is > solved before we born - so when he "think", some peoples could affirm > precisely where the problem is. Also a lack of maturity -> > "why not give them a > > nice theme such as union and give them the desktop cube and the wobble > > windows and all of that eye candy" > > From his point of view all problems are solved with some wobble and > some eye candy. That's all. No problem with the enterprise user - which > has other rituals / values - no problem that Ubuntu must penetrate > there, eyecandy and wobble will solve all... even healthy problems maybe. > > Well - this is a complex product with long term effects. But some > peoples want just to see how their dreams come true - not important if > this is in benefit of all (or almost all users) or not. > > Also we not need a theme - there are a lot - we want to do "default > Ubuntu theme" (with minimum 3 color variations). That's the point. Hardy > will be LTS. > Hardy will go on enterprises and offices. > That mean thousands of peoples with vary ages. > Hardy is not just for few peoples with free time. This theme must cover > a social demand - to be easy received by all that peoples / to be easy > to work with / to be visually pleasant. > To be clean, useful and distinctive for Ubuntu. > This is not so easy to obtain - anyhow some proposals will not go too > far with diagonal stripes on the scrollbar OR semitransparent buttons > (on scrollbar on others sides) - at least corporate users will hate that > because affect the look focus - also those stripes does not represent > anything if favor of "clean" principle, being from start a complication. > > Here must be a distinction about how we like and what is good. But this > mean maturity and professionalism - not just "I like this - I think that > ..and so". > > Professionalism mean clear states in every domain "Yes and No" not "I > think this could be.. " or ".. Maybe...", or with states as "Me, then > Goethe...". > > So when I'll see a clean Idea in which I can believe OR when I'll see a > structure where I can collaborate [anyhow you need to create a > decisional structure - democracy, democracy but until when ?] - be sure > I will participate with work and knowledge - on the mean time I am > member of other Ubuntu teams and I have to fill daily bug reports and a > lot of other stuff ... > > I will put some considerations about the Ubuntu 8.04 default theme in a > later (maybe tomorrow) mail. We will see after that. > > Good luck - best wishes for everyone - and ..be minstrels not kings guys ;) > > SorinN > > Sebastian Billaudelle wrote: > > Well said! > > > > I think that many people don't take us (you?) seriously. The current > > theme is years old... > > Nobody uses the default t
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
In summary of my response 1. This plan aims to begin to set up clear leadership structure in a team: having team leaders who ARE in charge of there theme (if you like design and are experienced, please lead a team). By being NOT default we gain a lot of freedom (but we still have to follow the Ubuntu rules about timing and deadlines) 2. You explain that an LTS will be used by many people. I agree, and that is why producing more than one theme is a good idea. 3. We shouldn't get hung up on being the default theme. We gain freedom of design by NOT being default, and we can still reach many people (Epiphany team doesn't stop because Firefox is deafult... Why should we ONLY concentrate on the default theme) 4. You say there are many good themes around. This is true, but it takes someone to collate them, pout consistent elements together and package them for Ubuntu. A theme team leader can do this! SorinN: Can you clarify: were you suggesting we DO or DON"T try and do our own community themes this release? On Jan 5, 2008 2:54 PM, Nemes Ioan Sorin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I personally take this Civitas Forum in a semi-serious mode. > Why ? > > I put here on this community some questions - in time - and I add some > points in discussion. > > Responses, generally - just disappoint me. Where I talk about serious > problems such a programmatic way to rethink UI elements design - giving > some examples, other peoples respond me they don't like the color of my > example [ where the color was not the problem on topic ] - so I see some > discussions are done in parallel - some peoples talk about something - > other peoples understand everything else -> so being parallels they will > not meet in the next gazillion of years. [this is not about Ken - I > observe Ken has a good background, knowledges and leader qualities - > this is good ]. > > So regarding your question Sebastian - I am designer - I respect my job > rules - for some applications I have to design custom graphics for form > elements, and UI. I do Plex WT theme for XP few years ago. > > I can design elements for a new Ubuntu theme. But also I see here some > talented guys that can do the same. Not a single problem here with > designers. But with decision power. This process aims to put the decision power into the hands of the people that know they can do it - like elsewhere in free software we are asking people with ability to step up and make the decisions. Obviously, this comes at the expense of being the default theme, but being a community theme in an LTS release still has significant user impact. Realistically, I believe we can only expect to have _significant_ and serious design control or influence of _community_ themes - especially until we prove the team can be organised enough to work WIHTIN Ubuntu's schedules and produce high quality work. THEN we can talk about affecting Ubuntu's default. > > How I can help when I say "the things should be on this way(), from > Usability point of view" and other one after me will say "no, you're not > right" ...so where my expertise can go ?. Is not important that I have > some experience with this kind of things. Anyone will say NO and the > problem is solved. ...waste of time, believe-me Sebastian - until the > decisional mechanism is solved. Right now anyone is equal to anyone. > Theme Teams give clear leaders, and the leaders can set out people below them with other responsibilities. Ken has to report to Mark and has a bunch of constraints on him that stipulate how he must work...what he can do... In a way I think that community themes DON'T - Kwwii - can you comment on your thoughts here? You know better than me! > This is the perfect terrain for the entropy rules (sad joke). > > For example shadowh511 said : > > I think of a clean, simple OS. the color brown > > represents cleanliness and simplicity, while blue represents sadness and > > fear. If we want to have people download hardy, why not give them a > > nice theme such as union and give them the desktop cube and the wobble > > windows and all of that eye candy > > How could I can take this seriously ? Regarding colors - the problem is > solved before we born - so when he "think", some peoples could affirm > precisely where the problem is. Also a lack of maturity -> > "why not give them a > > nice theme such as union and give them the desktop cube and the wobble > > windows and all of that eye candy" > > From his point of view all problems are solved with some wobble and > some eye candy. That's all. No problem with the enterprise user - which > has other rituals / values - no problem that Ubuntu must penetrate > there, eyecandy and wobble will solve all... even healthy problems maybe. > > Well - this is a complex product with long term effects. But some > peoples want just to see how their dreams come true - not important if > this is in benefit of all (or almost all users) or not. > > Also we not need a theme - there are
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
I personally take this Civitas Forum in a semi-serious mode. Why ? I put here on this community some questions - in time - and I add some points in discussion. Responses, generally - just disappoint me. Where I talk about serious problems such a programmatic way to rethink UI elements design - giving some examples, other peoples respond me they don't like the color of my example [ where the color was not the problem on topic ] - so I see some discussions are done in parallel - some peoples talk about something - other peoples understand everything else -> so being parallels they will not meet in the next gazillion of years. [this is not about Ken - I observe Ken has a good background, knowledges and leader qualities - this is good ]. So regarding your question Sebastian - I am designer - I respect my job rules - for some applications I have to design custom graphics for form elements, and UI. I do Plex WT theme for XP few years ago. I can design elements for a new Ubuntu theme. But also I see here some talented guys that can do the same. Not a single problem here with designers. But with decision power. How I can help when I say "the things should be on this way(), from Usability point of view" and other one after me will say "no, you're not right" ...so where my expertise can go ?. Is not important that I have some experience with this kind of things. Anyone will say NO and the problem is solved. ...waste of time, believe-me Sebastian - until the decisional mechanism is solved. Right now anyone is equal to anyone. This is the perfect terrain for the entropy rules (sad joke). For example shadowh511 said : > I think of a clean, simple OS. the color brown > represents cleanliness and simplicity, while blue represents sadness and > fear. If we want to have people download hardy, why not give them a > nice theme such as union and give them the desktop cube and the wobble > windows and all of that eye candy How could I can take this seriously ? Regarding colors - the problem is solved before we born - so when he "think", some peoples could affirm precisely where the problem is. Also a lack of maturity -> "why not give them a > nice theme such as union and give them the desktop cube and the wobble > windows and all of that eye candy" From his point of view all problems are solved with some wobble and some eye candy. That's all. No problem with the enterprise user - which has other rituals / values - no problem that Ubuntu must penetrate there, eyecandy and wobble will solve all... even healthy problems maybe. Well - this is a complex product with long term effects. But some peoples want just to see how their dreams come true - not important if this is in benefit of all (or almost all users) or not. Also we not need a theme - there are a lot - we want to do "default Ubuntu theme" (with minimum 3 color variations). That's the point. Hardy will be LTS. Hardy will go on enterprises and offices. That mean thousands of peoples with vary ages. Hardy is not just for few peoples with free time. This theme must cover a social demand - to be easy received by all that peoples / to be easy to work with / to be visually pleasant. To be clean, useful and distinctive for Ubuntu. This is not so easy to obtain - anyhow some proposals will not go too far with diagonal stripes on the scrollbar OR semitransparent buttons (on scrollbar on others sides) - at least corporate users will hate that because affect the look focus - also those stripes does not represent anything if favor of "clean" principle, being from start a complication. Here must be a distinction about how we like and what is good. But this mean maturity and professionalism - not just "I like this - I think that ..and so". Professionalism mean clear states in every domain "Yes and No" not "I think this could be.. " or ".. Maybe...", or with states as "Me, then Goethe...". So when I'll see a clean Idea in which I can believe OR when I'll see a structure where I can collaborate [anyhow you need to create a decisional structure - democracy, democracy but until when ?] - be sure I will participate with work and knowledge - on the mean time I am member of other Ubuntu teams and I have to fill daily bug reports and a lot of other stuff ... I will put some considerations about the Ubuntu 8.04 default theme in a later (maybe tomorrow) mail. We will see after that. Good luck - best wishes for everyone - and ..be minstrels not kings guys ;) SorinN Sebastian Billaudelle wrote: > Well said! > > I think that many people don't take us (you?) seriously. The current > theme is years old... > Nobody uses the default theme (except of me, I think...). > If anybody woullead a team, I would join in. (I could do things like a > new GDM-theme...). > > Let's fight;-) > > Am Samstag, den 05.01.2008, 11:23 + schrieb Who: >> All, >> >> On my schedule for this (potential) process, today was the day to >> de
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
Well said!
I think that many people don't take us (you?) seriously. The current
theme is years old...
Nobody uses the default theme (except of me, I think...).
If anybody woullead a team, I would join in. (I could do things like a
new GDM-theme...).
Let's fight;-)
Am Samstag, den 05.01.2008, 11:23 + schrieb Who:
> All,
>
> On my schedule for this (potential) process, today was the day to
> decide whether or not we wanted to do this. Very few people have
> answered... Please answer.
>
> As it stands, with one suggested theme and no leader for it, we can't
> go ahead. There is just no point. Is there any support for this idea,
> or are people only here because they want to design the default theme
> (serious question, not an attack! ...please answer)
>
> In summary, here is why I think it is a good idea to do this
> * If you want your design to be available to Ubuntu users, this is the
> only certain way to do it
> * In the past, this team has had most success developing community
> themes (my opinion, but see below)
> * If we want to be taken more seriously as a team in the future,
> getting good stuff done well without offiicial hand-holding is
> important
> * Developing these themes is fun, seeing people using your theme is great
>
> But if we don't get people able to run them/do design we can't go
> forward. It is only sensible for me to drive a process like this a
> certain amount (i.e the leaders need to want to do it!, and do does
> the team)
>
> It occurs to me that if we can't even make a complete theme of ANY
> style to a good standard, we shouldn't expect to be taken seriously
> when we ask to design the default theme!
>
> Happy answering,
>
> Who
>
> On Jan 3, 2008 9:59 AM, Frank Schoep <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > On Jan 3, 2008, at 9:42 AM, Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen wrote:
> > > To all the new people around here - please pay attention to Who, he
> > > has been around here for a good while and knows the drill. …
> >
> > Absolutely – there are a few people on this list who've been around
> > for quite some time. I think this list is very fortunate to still
> > have experienced people like Who and Troy around, but it's also good
> > to see a lot of new enthusiastic people sharing their vision.
> >
> > > …
> > > We came close to the real deal once, was it Dapper?, where we got a
> > > few community themes, bundled, but not enabled, by default.
> >
> > I think you are referring to Edgy, as the Theme Teams were introduced
> > in that release. Eventually three themes ended up in universe, being
> > Blubuntu (Who / PingunZ), Peace (Chuck Huber) and Tropic (Viper550).
> >
> > While varying in quality and polish, the mere fact they were included
> > was a sign that independent small community groups could work towards
> > their own vision *and* meet the hard deadline constraints that were
> > set for them.
> >
> > > This happened solely because of two things:
> > > * A few people stood up and took responsibility for creating themes
> >
> > Indeed. There was a deadline for Theme Team applications a few weeks
> > into the release cycle so that the theme leaders needed to be
> > involved from the start up through a few weeks before release. For
> > Edgy, four leaders stepped up with a serious proposal.
> >
> > During the development period, we regularly discussed progress and
> > problems and where possible I tried to help out either myself or by
> > getting the right people in touch with each other.
> >
> > > * Daniel Holbach saved our asses with a lot of packaging work we
> > > really should have done our selves
> >
> > Daniel has historically helped out with a lot of packaging work,
> > indeed. For the Edgy Theme Teams, we made sure he only had one final
> > version to package per theme with room before the deadline, so they
> > wouldn't burden him much.
> >
> > > I think it would be very valuable to have a "History Page" on the wiki
> > > outlining the success and Failures of the art team. That would
> > > probably help to make it clear how we are doomed to repeat history
> > > unless people step up an take responsibility.
> >
> > While I can't say much about Feisty, Gutsy or Hardy-in-progress, I
> > could tell you about Edgy. As far as I know, Edgy was the first (and
> > last?) release to actively try and use community input as a viable
> > source for distribution artwork.
> >
> > Postmortem I did an interview with Linux.com on the Edgy cycle, and
> > there's some half-decent comments from Slashdot, too:
> > http://www.linux.com/feature/58477
> > http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/14/2241255
> > ('Stroep' [sic])
> >
> > It seems that all the history we built on the Wiki has been shoveled
> > elsewhere or been dumped in a landfill altogether, but if you can
> > find it, you might be able to reconstruct a decent timeline along
> > with the mailing list.
> >
> > It was pretty high traffic during those days (July - October 2006)
> > and the ML / Wiki combination seemed to w
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
All,
On my schedule for this (potential) process, today was the day to
decide whether or not we wanted to do this. Very few people have
answered... Please answer.
As it stands, with one suggested theme and no leader for it, we can't
go ahead. There is just no point. Is there any support for this idea,
or are people only here because they want to design the default theme
(serious question, not an attack! ...please answer)
In summary, here is why I think it is a good idea to do this
* If you want your design to be available to Ubuntu users, this is the
only certain way to do it
* In the past, this team has had most success developing community
themes (my opinion, but see below)
* If we want to be taken more seriously as a team in the future,
getting good stuff done well without offiicial hand-holding is
important
* Developing these themes is fun, seeing people using your theme is great
But if we don't get people able to run them/do design we can't go
forward. It is only sensible for me to drive a process like this a
certain amount (i.e the leaders need to want to do it!, and do does
the team)
It occurs to me that if we can't even make a complete theme of ANY
style to a good standard, we shouldn't expect to be taken seriously
when we ask to design the default theme!
Happy answering,
Who
On Jan 3, 2008 9:59 AM, Frank Schoep <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Jan 3, 2008, at 9:42 AM, Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen wrote:
> > To all the new people around here - please pay attention to Who, he
> > has been around here for a good while and knows the drill. …
>
> Absolutely – there are a few people on this list who've been around
> for quite some time. I think this list is very fortunate to still
> have experienced people like Who and Troy around, but it's also good
> to see a lot of new enthusiastic people sharing their vision.
>
> > …
> > We came close to the real deal once, was it Dapper?, where we got a
> > few community themes, bundled, but not enabled, by default.
>
> I think you are referring to Edgy, as the Theme Teams were introduced
> in that release. Eventually three themes ended up in universe, being
> Blubuntu (Who / PingunZ), Peace (Chuck Huber) and Tropic (Viper550).
>
> While varying in quality and polish, the mere fact they were included
> was a sign that independent small community groups could work towards
> their own vision *and* meet the hard deadline constraints that were
> set for them.
>
> > This happened solely because of two things:
> > * A few people stood up and took responsibility for creating themes
>
> Indeed. There was a deadline for Theme Team applications a few weeks
> into the release cycle so that the theme leaders needed to be
> involved from the start up through a few weeks before release. For
> Edgy, four leaders stepped up with a serious proposal.
>
> During the development period, we regularly discussed progress and
> problems and where possible I tried to help out either myself or by
> getting the right people in touch with each other.
>
> > * Daniel Holbach saved our asses with a lot of packaging work we
> > really should have done our selves
>
> Daniel has historically helped out with a lot of packaging work,
> indeed. For the Edgy Theme Teams, we made sure he only had one final
> version to package per theme with room before the deadline, so they
> wouldn't burden him much.
>
> > I think it would be very valuable to have a "History Page" on the wiki
> > outlining the success and Failures of the art team. That would
> > probably help to make it clear how we are doomed to repeat history
> > unless people step up an take responsibility.
>
> While I can't say much about Feisty, Gutsy or Hardy-in-progress, I
> could tell you about Edgy. As far as I know, Edgy was the first (and
> last?) release to actively try and use community input as a viable
> source for distribution artwork.
>
> Postmortem I did an interview with Linux.com on the Edgy cycle, and
> there's some half-decent comments from Slashdot, too:
> http://www.linux.com/feature/58477
> http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/14/2241255
> ('Stroep' [sic])
>
> It seems that all the history we built on the Wiki has been shoveled
> elsewhere or been dumped in a landfill altogether, but if you can
> find it, you might be able to reconstruct a decent timeline along
> with the mailing list.
>
> It was pretty high traffic during those days (July - October 2006)
> and the ML / Wiki combination seemed to work somewhat satisfactory.
>
> All in all, Edgy was edgy to me – as you can read in the interview
> the idea was to try something new, community artwork by default, and
> since there were no trodden roads available I did my best to get and
> keep things rolling in an enjoyable fashion.
>
> I think it worked out pretty well in terms of community involvement,
> enthusiasm, commitment, process structure and raw output. Slightly
> missing was the desired art *direction* but somehow I don't think
> that problem's been res
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Teams. Moving Forward. Making Stuff!
On Jan 3, 2008, at 9:42 AM, Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen wrote:
> To all the new people around here - please pay attention to Who, he
> has been around here for a good while and knows the drill. …
Absolutely – there are a few people on this list who've been around
for quite some time. I think this list is very fortunate to still
have experienced people like Who and Troy around, but it's also good
to see a lot of new enthusiastic people sharing their vision.
> …
> We came close to the real deal once, was it Dapper?, where we got a
> few community themes, bundled, but not enabled, by default.
I think you are referring to Edgy, as the Theme Teams were introduced
in that release. Eventually three themes ended up in universe, being
Blubuntu (Who / PingunZ), Peace (Chuck Huber) and Tropic (Viper550).
While varying in quality and polish, the mere fact they were included
was a sign that independent small community groups could work towards
their own vision *and* meet the hard deadline constraints that were
set for them.
> This happened solely because of two things:
> * A few people stood up and took responsibility for creating themes
Indeed. There was a deadline for Theme Team applications a few weeks
into the release cycle so that the theme leaders needed to be
involved from the start up through a few weeks before release. For
Edgy, four leaders stepped up with a serious proposal.
During the development period, we regularly discussed progress and
problems and where possible I tried to help out either myself or by
getting the right people in touch with each other.
> * Daniel Holbach saved our asses with a lot of packaging work we
> really should have done our selves
Daniel has historically helped out with a lot of packaging work,
indeed. For the Edgy Theme Teams, we made sure he only had one final
version to package per theme with room before the deadline, so they
wouldn't burden him much.
> I think it would be very valuable to have a "History Page" on the wiki
> outlining the success and Failures of the art team. That would
> probably help to make it clear how we are doomed to repeat history
> unless people step up an take responsibility.
While I can't say much about Feisty, Gutsy or Hardy-in-progress, I
could tell you about Edgy. As far as I know, Edgy was the first (and
last?) release to actively try and use community input as a viable
source for distribution artwork.
Postmortem I did an interview with Linux.com on the Edgy cycle, and
there's some half-decent comments from Slashdot, too:
http://www.linux.com/feature/58477
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/14/2241255
('Stroep' [sic])
It seems that all the history we built on the Wiki has been shoveled
elsewhere or been dumped in a landfill altogether, but if you can
find it, you might be able to reconstruct a decent timeline along
with the mailing list.
It was pretty high traffic during those days (July - October 2006)
and the ML / Wiki combination seemed to work somewhat satisfactory.
All in all, Edgy was edgy to me – as you can read in the interview
the idea was to try something new, community artwork by default, and
since there were no trodden roads available I did my best to get and
keep things rolling in an enjoyable fashion.
I think it worked out pretty well in terms of community involvement,
enthusiasm, commitment, process structure and raw output. Slightly
missing was the desired art *direction* but somehow I don't think
that problem's been resolved ever since, no flame or offense intended.
If you'd ask me now, sure I'd do things different based on the Edgy
experience and the knowledge I've accumulated since then, but I think
the Edgy cycle already showed a lot of potential for the future
although it never got tapped into afterwards.
Tell me if I'm wearing rose-colored glasses, thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Frank
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