[SoaS] updating the draft decision panel report

[Sebastian Dziallas]

Caryl Bigenho wrote:
> Hi...
>
> It's sort of like root beer...
>
> You can buy A&W or Barq's or other private labels... or make your own.
> It is still "root beer."

I'd like to object to this example.

When you get into your supermarket or where ever you get your root beer, 
you know what you want, what you get. Root beer. Simple as that.

Some sorts are probably better, some are worse, but it's still good old 
root beer.

> Sugar on a Stick is really exactly what it says, Sugar running on a usb
> stick. It is a very descriptive label. To call other distributions of
> Sugar on a usb stick something else would be confusing. However, calling
> it say, "Blueberry Sugar on a Stick by Sugar Labs" or "Orange Sugar on a
> Stick by Skunk Works" would distinguish the developer and variety
> without being confusing and still tell folks what it is.

And here's the difference. Imagine you went to sugarlabs.org...

> Then they could tell one another... "get the Blueberry by SugarLabs,
> it's much better than Skunk Works' Orange."

...and were presented a list with dozens of different incarnations, all 
listed under the Sugar on a Stick brand. But you came because *the* new 
"Sugar on a Stick" was announced. So you're confused. Because you 
expected one solution, something ready-to-go.

> Remember your, generally, technologically innocent (not all of them)
> intended end user.

I don't believe that providing various solutions under the same brand 
will help the general end user - it'll not avoid confusion, it'll cause 
it. So I'm very much in favor of a separated list of Sugar Live images 
(or however those are called). But this is, again, different from SoaS.

On a side-note a quick example: Fedora has had these issues, too. 
They're doing a "default spin". That's what people download when they 
click the big button. It's because there needs to be some kind of 
default, something which the "end user" can pick without worrying. When 
looking for different things, the wiki is certainly your friend, though.

--Sebastian

> Caryl
>
>
>
>  > Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 12:31:33 +0000
>  > From: martin at martindengler.com
>  > To: cbigenho at hotmail.com
>  > CC: dmc.sugar at filteredperception.org; tabitha at hrdnz.com;
> soas at lists.sugarlabs.org
>  > Subject: Re: [SoaS] updating the draft decision panel report
>  >
>  > On Sun, Nov 01, 2009 at 11:08:22PM -0800, Caryl Bigenho wrote:
>  >
>  > I'm having trouble squaring this with your earlier
>  > statement[1]. Aren't you saying both:
>  >
>  > > > [let's allow lots of "Sugar On A Stick" products]
>  >
>  > and[2]:
>  >
>  > > [too many names are confusing]
>  >
>  > Please can you explain how to reconcile both [1] and [2].
>  >
>  > > Caryl
>  >
>  > Martin
>  >
>  > 1.
>  > > > Hi... I guess I've become the minority. I still believe that the
>  > > > name "Sugar On A Stick" should be allowed for all distributions of
>  > > > Sugar on a usb stick or even a live CD. Sugar Labs can control
>  > > > and identify their special builds in a special way... "SoaS by
>  > > > SugarLabs" or whatever, but the term has already become so generic
>  > > > that trying to make it exclusive at this point seems to be a waste
>  > > > of time and energy.
>  >
>  > 2.
>  > > Having many different names for different versions of Sugar on a usb
>  > > stick will only confuse them.
>  >
> =