<div class="gmail_quote">On 9 August 2010 11:02, Mikus Grinbergs <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mikus@bga.com">mikus@bga.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
> in general I think it's entirely appropriate to expect<br>
> that people asking for help do so via the correct channels<br>
<br>
I believe that "asking for help" should not be the only supported<br>
motivation for contacting developers.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Not at all, but it's a significant one. </div><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
In my opinion, developers of a product ought to be interested in<br>
learning about shortcomings perceived in that product by users.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Looking into the original case - we had people on a public forum[1] expressing frustration that yum fails to work among other things.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way - but are G1G1 laptop owners considered the target market? If a user installs Skype on an XO-1, only to find that it kills the sound, then I think it's okay for OLPC to abstain from taking responsibility. Fora such as <a href="http://olpcnews.com">olpcnews.com</a> attracts very motivated individuals who experiment. That's great, but once they leave the realm of the product, peer support takes over.</div>
<div><br></div><div>In practice, it seems that genuine issues from these comments do find their way to the surface, albeit in roundabout way. OLPC & Sugar Labs are now aware that yum doesn't seem to work.</div><div>
</div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
Are "the correct channels" any different than blinders ?<br>
<br>
mikus<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I'm not sure I understand what you mean by blinders. Do you mean blinkers? [edit: Wikipedia says yes]</div><div><br></div><div>In many ways that's true, but the metaphor doesn't transfer exactly. Each channel (Trac, wiki, mailing list, local user group) deals with a different type of problem. They e simply to block unintended knowledge. However, it's likely that some people will be put off - which means that they become fairly blunt filters. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Where the metaphor does fit is using a system to create focus. It's important to recognise that OLPC & Sugar Labs have very constrained development resources. Therefore, systems that reduce load on developers increases time on development. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Tim</div><div><br></div><div>[1] <a href="http://www.olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=4867">http://www.olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=4867</a></div></div>