A forward look at KDE4 (was: "A look at GNOME 2.14...")

[Kurt Pfeifle]

On Wednesday 22 February 2006 16:47, Janne Ojaniemi wrote:
> On Wednesday 22 February 2006 11:20, Philip Rodrigues wrote:

> > So, in summary, there *is* room for improvement, and the best way to help
> > that improvement come about is to put in the work. The existing KDE
> > developers are able and willing to help you get started, so get involved!
> 
> Well, there is a problem here then. Many KDE-users are not coders. Myself 
> included. 

Me too.

> I have zero coding-skills.

I have *some*. But it is limited to simple Bash scripts (if that 
also counts as some minor degree of "coding").

> Does that fact then mean that   
> feedback/suggestions from me (or someone else who can't code) are by default 
> less valuable that suggestion from someone who can and does code?

No.

I know quite a few people in and around the KDE project whose 
suggestions are highly valued, but who are also non-"coders".
Hmm... but when I think of them, most are contributing *lots*
and lots and lots of non-coding time and effort, some of them
since many years. Their names are hardly known to the outside
world, though.

(And surely, if someone does *forever* only make suggestions 
on all kinds of topics, without ever contributing something
practical, at least *my* attention level de-creases over time
whenever that person tries to make himself heard).
 
> Believe me, if I had the skills, I would absolutely LOVE to submit tons of 
> patches and code to KDE. But I'm no coder. But I try to help in other ways. 
> And my help does not include patches. Does it mean that my help is less 
> appreciated?

No. But it needs to turn into some practical help, at some point
in time. If it is not code, there is not just the one alternative
to talk about GUI suckiness details. And even here, in many cases
actual *mockups* could help. Plus (definitely a non-complete list): 

* combing through bugs.kde.org:
   * remove duplicate but entries (a.k.a. close them as duplicates)
   * verify valid bugs, back them up with more detailed infos
   * close invalid bugs; closed fixed bugs
   * report bugs into bugs.kde.org; do it properly; give details

* writing documentation:
   * raw authoring: manuals; howtos; tutorials; articles; ...
   * semi-coding: "WhatsThis"-help items; tooltips;
   * nitpicking: proofreading; verifying correctness+completeness;
   * spell-checking:
   * converting raw ASCII input into DocBook

* promotion work:
   * writing articles; conducting interviews; ...
   * giving talks at FOSS and general IT events;
   * hold classes, trainings, tutorials at these events; ...
   * find your own ways of guerilla marketing;

* helping the KDE websites:
   * authoring: checking+contributing content; proofreading; ...
   * webmastering: PHP+whatever coding; CSS; 
   * designing: artwork

* (system) administrator-ing:
   * server maintenance: mailing list administration+moderation;... 
   * creating a distributed compile farm;
   * helping with a remote NX testing facility;

* translating+l10n-ing:
   * translate GUI;
   * translate documentation;
   * translate websites;
   * translate articles, howtos, tutorials, interviews;
   * spellcheck+verify translations;

* practical usability+accessibility testing:
   * contact www.openusability.org;
   * get in touch with our accessibility folks;

In short: turn your desire to help KDE into some practical help!

Hey!, and there are even examples such as one "non-coding" contributor
who (over time) not only became a mother of five, but even learned C++
and Qt coding on her own, and who now contributes very regularly to 
KDE (docs as well as code)... Those I admire most. They are heroes!

Cheers,
Kurt