[ubuntu-art] Kyūdō: Mesage

[Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen]

2008/10/6 Thorsten Wilms <t_w_ at freenet.de>:
> Hi!
>
> I worked on the message a bit:

One thing that struck me just now is that in order to get Kyudo across
it is of utmost importance that the designers actually read the entire
documentation. And to be honest this is not a thing FOSS enthusiasts
are renowned to be good at.

That said I think you are already doing a great job on making the
Kyudo docs readable. The comments I make here are with the special
emphasis to make the documentation an easier read.


> Impression on sight, not necessarily using it. Ubuntu is:
>
>      * distinct from other offerings. The design language needs to be
>        distinct. There can be unique aspects or a unique combination of
>        aspects.
>      * a viable alternative. A perception of value beyond mere
>        difference. Stand out not like a clown, but a winner.
>      * is desirable. Something between chocolate and a sports car.

I do not necessarily agree that Ubuntu *is* these things all the way
through, but I agree that this is some of the things that we *want*
Ubuntu to be. Regarding the actual items allow me to comment.

Item three definitely stands out in a good way. The good things about
the wording in 3 is: Short. Very clear. Friendly, non formal, tone.
Good picture to describe the idea.

Regarding these things 1 is worst and 2 is somewhere in the middle.
Maybe they could be reformulated to be more in the style of 3?

One item I personally miss a bit (that is partially covered, but not
entirely) by the other items is something like

 * Professional. While Ubuntu is partly driven by volunteers it is
professional in execution

> On use, trust must be established. Ubuntu is:
>
>      * trustworthy
>      * straightforward
>      * reliable
>      * forgiving

Maybe scrap one of 'trustworthy' and 'reliable'. I know they are not
exactly the same but they do overlap to some degree. Keeping the list
concise should be top priority.

> Extended Message. Ubuntu is
>
>      * based on cooperation and sharing
>      * global
>      * about software freedom

How about:

 * Forthcoming/Welcoming ?


> While I do have some more ideas, I would like to here everyone's
> thoughts about possible additions and especially the means that could be
> used to get each point across.
>
> For example: What do you think how Trustworthy looks like?

Interesting task :-) Here's my simplified train of thoughts...

 * My first thought was a chain of metaphors. Trustworthy. Animals.
Horse, elephant, dog. Then scrap dog and elephant because they are
highly culturally dependent. Horses are held in high esteem in most
cultures. Hmmm... Horses can not be the base of a design idea for a
desktop... What else do we have?

 * Banks? No not in these times ;-)

 * Family? Friends? Very abstract concepts. Hard to visualize.

 * Try something else. What's the converse of Trustworthy?
 - Somebody trying to trick you. These people will often:
   o Try to impress you
   o Try to distract you
 - Someone furthering their own needs with disregard of other people
 - Hard to perceive
 - Changing from time to time

 * So to approach "Trustworthy" one could try to achieve the opposite
of the above (ie. a double negation):
 - Don't try to impress
 - Simple without distractions
 - Be there 100% to help the user, don't show of how cool you are with the Gimp
 - Easy overview of the screen
 - Keep strong visual coherence between releases of Ubuntu

That's where I stopped. Hope it is useful.

-- 
Cheers,
Mikkel