[kde-community] finding a clear vision for KDE - final version

[Thomas Pfeiffer]

On Mittwoch, 30. März 2016 20:55:24 CEST Alexander Neundorf wrote:
> Quoting from the main article:
> "The Plasma 5 release looks, to distributions, like a similar experience.
> KDE's mission still "remains pretty much an unspoken mystery" and there's no
> way for distributors to easily cut through that mystery."
> 
> And some of the commenters agree to this.
> 
> I think those people might even feel reaffirmed that there is no direction
> in KDE if we now publish only the vision, which I do like, but which
> (explicitely) doesn't give any direction.

On the contrary: I think that in the current situation, we need to show the 
world that we're actually making progress! Finding a common vision is a very 
important step, so we need to tell the world "Hey, we're serious about this 
thing, we've managed step 1 and now we're on to step 2!"

Let me bring up the tired old comparison once more, because they are what 
we're being compared to in that email thread:
"GNOME’s mission [is] to bring free and accessible computing to everyone" [1]

Our vision is at least as precise as GNOME's mission, so why would people 
think it gives us less direction than their mission gives them? 

To quote the last paragraph of the LWN article:
"The discussion did not lead to any dramatic changes of direction on KDE's 
part, at least none that are visible now."

That's why I think we should make our efforts visible. Clearly not as "Mission 
[ha ha] accomplished", but really as a definitive sign of progress. 

I'll send another email to reignite the flame on the mission effort right after 
this one, but unless more people speak out against it, I'll also start working 
on a Dot article about the vision (and the ongoing effort to create a mission) 
tomorrow.

Best,
Thomas