App duplication again (Re: new project in kdemultimedia)

[Neil Stevens]

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On Saturday May 04, 2002 07:17, Hetz Ben Hamo wrote:
> > > OK, meanwhile I was told that this new CD burner (k3b) in
> > > kdemultimedia adds another 700+ strings which means that we now have
> > > something like 2000 strings for CD burning apps alone for each and
> > > every of our 50+ translation teams. Even if we can re-use a lot of
> > > these strings I think the situation is getting absurd. And I'm not
> > > only talking CD burners here.
> >
> > If translators don't wish to translate the new app, nobody's forcing
> > them to do so.
> >
> > Why should translators get a double super veto over what goes into
> > KDE?
>
> And why not finally have a vote page for the following applications:

Because KDE isn't a democracy.  Developers are under no obligation to 
implement the result of a vote.  That is, KDE has no leverage to force the 
developers if the result doesn't go the way they want.  KDE can only 
enforce a negative - removing apps and reverting commits.  It can't force 
developers to "team up," or force a developer to move into CVS and comply 
with KDE CVS rules.  It can't force developers to add features and 
redesign UIs.

This is a good thing.  User feedback is important, but to have users make  
decisions is to ask them to take over some of the developer 
responsibility.  The average user is not necessarily inclined nor 
qualified to make release decisions in a way that is in line with KDE's 
goals and previous success.

Further, to put these up for a vote assumes that the options in each vote 
are interchangable.  They are not.  Hetz, you and I clashed at least twice 
on whether CD Bake Oven or KreateCD would be better for KDE.  We both 
argued that one was better for a particular group of users.  So, just as 
we have KWrite and Kate for different kinds of users, why not have CD Bake 
Oven and KreateCD for different kinds of users?

Lastly, any online vote would just hand the results to whoever has access 
to the most IP addresses to vote from.

- -- 
Neil Stevens - neil at qualityassistant.com
"I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding
because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they
have not a single political argument left." - Margaret Thatcher
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