[IAEP] [Marketing] idea for consolidated Sugar feedback + a new name for our "users"

[Eben Eliason]

2009/5/26 Sean DALY <sdaly.be at gmail.com>:
> Sugar, to me, represents the courage of starting from scratch to build
> the best learning environment for kids there is. With the associated
> risks - of being different, being in unfamiliar territory, doing
> things in untraditional ways.
>
> I can't bring myself to call my kids "users" of Sugar. Yet, a name for
> their role when they are doing/making Sugar is appropriate... they
> have a place, they have a colored symbol of themselves... a shared
> experience with others who are there to do something very similar.
>
> We find it normal to class people by what they do: "Chess players
> practice openings." "Knitters often prefer purl stitching."
> "Bicyclists often wear bright colors to be more visible." In each of
> these cases, the role of the person is in some way defined by the
> necessary objects - Chess players with a chessboard and pieces (and
> usually another chess player), knitters with needles and yarn,
> bicyclists with their bikes. It's obvious that these labels are
> reductive, but what is gained is that they are precise - they are
> descriptive in a way "users" can't be, it's too generic.
>
> The idea behind "users" is to be all-inclusive, since computers are
> general-purpose data processing machines. I would submit that Sugar is
> a special case because its "users" are children... and I appreciate
> Jonas when he says that we grownups don't need our roles to fit into
> traditional descriptors either. That's outside-the-box thinking in my
> view.
>
> To Eben - on the contrary, I think it's important to publicly
> complement our Activities (capital A since collaborative applications
> specific to Sugar) with Learners (capital L since users with a role
> specific to Sugar). I don't think this nomenclature will confuse
> anyone, but instead clarify Sugar's positioning and differentiation.
> Teachers will understand it right away I think.

Yeah, I buy that.

Another reasonable term (in keeping with Activities) would be Actor,
but unfortunately that's already a term overloaded in a number of
ways, both in the specific sense of the thespian, or in a wholly
generic sense of an actor in a system (which has pretty negative
connotations with regards to our Learners!). I think it will be clear
enough that the term Learner relates most directly to children, but by
proxy to all other individuals engaging the Sugar UI, such as
teachers, developers, etc., so I like it.

It might take some getting used to, though, and it still might be
friendlier in some cases to say "When a child does x, the interface
does y" instead of "When a Learner does x, the interface does y." But
I can see Learner having god applications, and particularly in the
aggregate: "The Sugar community wants Learners to grow through their
interaction with Sugar..."

Eben


> Sean
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> On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 9:04 PM, Jonas Smedegaard <dr at jones.dk> wrote:
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>> On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 02:02:40PM -0400, Samuel Klein wrote:
>>>Docs that don't use familiar language can be a turnoff.  'User' is a
>>>familiar nuisance.  'Supporter' might also be apporpriate, since some
>>>people who follow and care about sugar do not use it day to day and
>>>are passing on the opinions of others, or their observation of others.
>>
>> I really like the term "Learners".  It indicates awareness - active
>> participation.  The term "Users" to me is more related to "Consumers"
>> (not the word itself, but its use in my part of the world).
>>
>> I agree that there are others involved in Sugar than Developers and
>> Learners.  But as I see it, the examples raised - Supporters - are not
>> Users either :-P
>>
>> I do not consider myself a Sugar Developer, and not a Sugar Learner.  I
>> consider myself a Sugar Packager and (as representative of Debian) a
>> Sugar Distributor.
>>
>>
>> Oh, and while we are at it: I suggest calling it "Authors" instead of
>> "Developers".  Developers tend to emphasize the techies which is quite
>> unfair especially to a project like Sugar: Authors include both code
>> Programmers, graphics/interface Designers and content
>> Writers/Composers/Illustrators.
>>
>>
>> Authors → Packagers → Distributors → Deployers → Administrators →
>> Learners
>>
>> (arrgh - too long to fit a single line :-( )
>>
>> ...and alongside all of those are Supporters, which includes
>> Fundraisers, Managers and Inspirators.
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>  - Jonas
>>
>> - --
>> * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist og Internet-arkitekt
>> * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/
>>
>>  [x] quote me freely  [ ] ask before reusing  [ ] keep private
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