Another thought is Kid and Grown-Up. If we called our users Kids it would emphasis that we are always thinking about our age range when we work on Sugar. We are building a tool especially for kids and the grownups (teachers, parents etc.) who help them learn.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">2009/5/26 Sean DALY <span dir="ltr"><<a href="http://sdaly.be">sdaly.be</a>@<a href="http://gmail.com">gmail.com</a>></span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Sugar, to me, represents the courage of starting from scratch to build<br>
the best learning environment for kids there is. With the associated<br>
risks - of being different, being in unfamiliar territory, doing<br>
things in untraditional ways.<br>
<br>
I can't bring myself to call my kids "users" of Sugar. Yet, a name for<br>
their role when they are doing/making Sugar is appropriate... they<br>
have a place, they have a colored symbol of themselves... a shared<br>
experience with others who are there to do something very similar.<br>
<br>
We find it normal to class people by what they do: "Chess players<br>
practice openings." "Knitters often prefer purl stitching."<br>
"Bicyclists often wear bright colors to be more visible." In each of<br>
these cases, the role of the person is in some way defined by the<br>
necessary objects - Chess players with a chessboard and pieces (and<br>
usually another chess player), knitters with needles and yarn,<br>
bicyclists with their bikes. It's obvious that these labels are<br>
reductive, but what is gained is that they are precise - they are<br>
descriptive in a way "users" can't be, it's too generic.<br>
<br>
The idea behind "users" is to be all-inclusive, since computers are<br>
general-purpose data processing machines. I would submit that Sugar is<br>
a special case because its "users" are children... and I appreciate<br>
Jonas when he says that we grownups don't need our roles to fit into<br>
traditional descriptors either. That's outside-the-box thinking in my<br>
view.<br>
<br>
To Eben - on the contrary, I think it's important to publicly<br>
complement our Activities (capital A since collaborative applications<br>
specific to Sugar) with Learners (capital L since users with a role<br>
specific to Sugar). I don't think this nomenclature will confuse<br>
anyone, but instead clarify Sugar's positioning and differentiation.<br>
Teachers will understand it right away I think.<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
Sean<br>
</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
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On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 9:04 PM, Jonas Smedegaard <<a href="mailto:dr@jones.dk">dr@jones.dk</a>> wrote:<br>
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> On Tue, May 26, 2009 at 02:02:40PM -0400, Samuel Klein wrote:<br>
>>Docs that don't use familiar language can be a turnoff. 'User' is a<br>
>>familiar nuisance. 'Supporter' might also be apporpriate, since some<br>
>>people who follow and care about sugar do not use it day to day and<br>
>>are passing on the opinions of others, or their observation of others.<br>
><br>
> I really like the term "Learners". It indicates awareness - active<br>
> participation. The term "Users" to me is more related to "Consumers"<br>
> (not the word itself, but its use in my part of the world).<br>
><br>
> I agree that there are others involved in Sugar than Developers and<br>
> Learners. But as I see it, the examples raised - Supporters - are not<br>
> Users either :-P<br>
><br>
> I do not consider myself a Sugar Developer, and not a Sugar Learner. I<br>
> consider myself a Sugar Packager and (as representative of Debian) a<br>
> Sugar Distributor.<br>
><br>
><br>
> Oh, and while we are at it: I suggest calling it "Authors" instead of<br>
> "Developers". Developers tend to emphasize the techies which is quite<br>
> unfair especially to a project like Sugar: Authors include both code<br>
> Programmers, graphics/interface Designers and content<br>
> Writers/Composers/Illustrators.<br>
><br>
><br>
> Authors $B"*(B Packagers $B"*(B Distributors $B"*(B Deployers $B"*(B Administrators $B"*(B<br>
> Learners<br>
><br>
> (arrgh - too long to fit a single line :-( )<br>
><br>
> ...and alongside all of those are Supporters, which includes<br>
> Fundraisers, Managers and Inspirators.<br>
><br>
><br>
> Regards,<br>
><br>
> - Jonas<br>
><br>
> - --<br>
> * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist og Internet-arkitekt<br>
> * Tlf.: +45 40843136 Website: <a href="http://dr.jones.dk/" target="_blank">http://dr.jones.dk/</a><br>
><br>
> [x] quote me freely [ ] ask before reusing [ ] keep private<br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Caroline Meeks<br>Solution Grove<br>Caroline@SolutionGrove.com<br><br>617-500-3488 - Office<br>505-213-3268 - Fax<br>