[ubuntu-art] Mandating usage of free tools - reflections

[John Baer]

Cory,

You are a well respected member of this team and your opinions and/or
concerns are appreciated. I believe your desire is the group of folks
who subscribe to this list and are collectively referred to as the
Artwork Team discover additional ways to add value to Ubuntu.

I support that desire.

IMO what ever we do must add value to the Ubuntu community or we should
stop doing it.

Mark Shuttleworth does a good job speaking of the importance of the
community in the following podcast.

http://ubuntupodcast.net/2009/04/02/ubuntu-podcast-episode-24-mark-shuttleworth/

The question becomes how do we build the Artwork Team to become a more
effective community.

I believe we start by stating "everyone is welcomed and encourage others
to join".

We should then add we support the larger community of Ubuntu, and the
greater community of open source.

Finally, we should state clearly the desires (goals & objectives) of the
team. Folks will contribute if they feel their contribution counts.

IMO using and advocating the use of open source products adds value to
Ubuntu. Using and advocating the use of open source products available
from the Ubuntu repositories adds more value. Logistically, there really
isn't any other choice other than open source products if an individual
chooses to work as part of the team.

By taking a leadership role in this area I believe your concerns will be
satisfied. If folks are not using the desired products we should see
that as an opportunity for change.

Thank you for bringing this forward and for your contributions to this
team.

John