ltsp local apps + nat + ....

[R. Scott Belford]

On Thu, Jul 23, 2009 at 3:24 AM, Ace Suares<ace at suares.an> wrote:
>
> In such cases, it would *really* help if there was a separate task for
> developers to incorporate small changes that are suggested by users, and
> that are for the good of the whole, into the software. For you or ogra
> it would be like 5 minutes work. Saying to such user: yeah, just add it
> to your branch and ask for a merge' simply doesn't work.
>
> In such cases, it *is* necessary for 'someone else to do the work for
> you'. I really wish small changes wouldn't be thrown back to the
> non-developers with a 'use the code, luke' attitude.

This issue, including whether we document the ThinClientNAT.... or
actually just modify the distro so that it is already set, as the
K12LTSP has done, goes back two years.

The fact of the matter is this, and I beg the kind and generous
*volunteer* Edubuntu developers to keep this in mind, there are many
kind and generous *volunteer* sysadmins out here trying to help their
communities, and they use Edubuntu and subscribe to this list partly
because of the following list description of the *edubuntu-users*
mailing list:

https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/edubuntu-users

"This is the Edubuntu User mailing list.

Edubuntu User posts focus on user issues around the Edubuntu product.

Edubuntu aims to be an Ubuntu variant suitable for classroom use. The
aim is to deliver a turnkey solution that enables time-poor educators
with mid-range technical skills to set up a computer lab and/or
establish an online learning environment with as few clicks as humanly
possible, then administer that environment without having to
significantly expand their technical skills. Centralized management of
configuration, users, and processes together with facilities for
working collaboratively in a classroom setting are its principal
design goals. Equally important is the gathering together of the best
available free software and digital materials for education under one
distro.

Edubuntu and Ubuntu are not meant to be seen as distinct projects;
Edubuntu is part of the Ubuntu project, and they are both part of one
development team that contributes to the whole. Edubuntu is Ubuntu
with a different default setup."

Please help me to understand how learning to submit bug requests is
consistent with the goal of, "...enables time-poor educators with
mid-range technical skills to set up a computer lab and/or establish
an online learning environment with as few clicks as humanly possible,
then administer that environment without having to significantly
expand their technical skills" ????  All I ask is that you consider
this:

The most successful and easy-to-use K12 gnu/linux distro with LTSP
integration was the K12LTSP, and the bug process was the mailing list.
 The kind and wonderful people like Jim McQuillan and Eric Harrison,
among others, listened to the input from the *USER* list and acted
accordingly.  This spirit and opportunity has been lost and even
discouraged on this *USER* mailing list.  It is hard to come forward
and say, 'hey, I know this is supposed to be easy, and I see that all
you smart people make it look that way, bu I feel stupid asking for
help, but, help?...."

Please note, and this has always confused me, Canonical provides us
with an edubuntu-devel mailing list for developers interested in
making the magic.  Why is it not the place for discussion, and why is
this list not mined for *trends* that clearly need attention?  The
description of the devel list is here:

"This is the Edubuntu Developer mailing list.

Edubuntu Developer posts focus on development and technical
administration issues around the Edubuntu product.

Edubuntu aims to be an Ubuntu variant suitable for classroom use. The
aim is to deliver a turnkey solution that enables time-poor educators
with mid-range technical skills to set up a computer lab and/or
establish an online learning environment with as few clicks as humanly
possible, then administer that environment without having to
significantly expand their technical skills. Centralized management of
configuration, users, and processes together with facilities for
working collaboratively in a classroom setting are its principal
design goals. Equally important is the gathering together of the best
available free software and digital materials for education under one
distro."

>
> The same for documentation. While it's feasible to edit a wiki or some
> other cms and add a small part of documentation, it's not feasible for a
> casual contributor to edit the main document structure and put the
> addition there. I has to be someone with more experience (and maybe
> clearance) that does these smaller things. When not, stuff keeps laying
> around in a wiki-jungle or gets posted to peoples own blogs. It is the
> reason why people post on their own blog some solutions that would go
> better into the main doc tree.
>
> Document Janitor? Code Janitor? Something like that is needed?

I've become a big fan of the the Floss Manuals Project.  There are so
many people who want to help, and to reciprocate, but cannot climb the
learning curve to become a quasi-developer.  It is a fact.  Adam Hyde
and those involved with this project have helped make documentation
sexy.  After all, there are lots of idealistic English Majors out
there who want to be a part, and they have the skills we must
accommodate.  Learning a Wiki can be too difficult for some, too.  If
you cannot understand this, then your lack of empathy does not entitle
you to speak for the Edubuntu Users Community.

>>
>> I'll be in #edubuntu, if anyone needs me :)

I'll be on the Users mailing list if anyone wants to hear from me/us.

>>
>> Cheers,
>> Scott
>>
>
> Cheers,
> ace

Aloha

--scott