Suggestion for dapper -- scrap kubuntu.

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Fri, Nov 25, 2005 at 12:01:56PM +0530, Rohan Dhruva wrote:
> I am not a maniac, and i am kde fan. The idea i am going to suggest is not
> as radical as the subject claims.
> 
> I think that the word "kubuntu" really causes the excellent distribution to
> somehow "lose" its identity. It doesnt "feel" like ubuntu.
> Half the world knows what "ubuntu" is, but tell them that "I use kubuntu",
> and they will ask "Yelch, is this is a fork ?"

Our view is that derivatives are a healthy part of the distribution
ecosystem, and that they should be encouraged rather than feared.  In time,
the community will adjust to this, and the "yelch" reflex will fade.

> Even fedora, suse, provide both kde and gnome, but dont name it differently.

They provide both, but in reality, only one of them receives first-class
treatment in each case.  The idea of Kubuntu is to maintain a space for KDE
as a first-class desktop environment within the Ubuntu community, while
still benefiting from the work done on the Ubuntu core.

> Really, what is the need to name kubuntu differently ?
> Even the website claims that it is ubuntu. Kde packages are in ubuntu's
> repo. Then why ?

Currently, the differences are simple, but crucial: for example, CD images
are produced which contain KDE and install it by default, and the selection
of packages is geared for KDE users and their preferences.

In time, it is possible that they will diverge further, in areas where the
KDE user community has different needs or preferences than the GNOME user
community, and we will support that growth.

-- 
 - mdz