Lack of Connection Between Canonical and the Community

[Scott Kitterman]

On Monday, December 08, 2014 12:30:42 AM Ian Weisser wrote:
> And belkinsa was right: Some Ubuntu oldsters _do_ feel that their hard
> work has been ignored by Canonical. Part of the solution is that these
> volunteers need to reduce (not eliminate) their activities until they
> feel refreshed and recharged. Another part of the solution is that
> Canonical really does need some kind of personal award or recognition
> for community contributions. I'll throw my old 'annual awards' back into
> the ring there, though it does add an 'awards committee' under the CC.

I think I've been around long enough to qualify as an oldster.

I have reduced my activities, but to the extent I feel refreshed and recharged 
as a result, my energy isn't being directed back into Ubuntu.

When I started using Ubuntu [the Linux distribution, as I've mentioned before, 
the term is overloaded] (2006) and started in Ubuntu development (2007), 
Ubuntu was largely a regularly released, stabilized snapshot of Debian 
Unstable with solid infrastructure and security support behind it.

That's still what I want.  

As Ubuntu has diverged from that definition, it's been less interesting to me 
to me both as a system to use and a place to contribute.

I'm also interested in the larger FOSS ecosystem and getting more people using 
free software, regardless of their distribution of choice.  The more Canonical 
chooses to push Ubuntu towards unique solutions that add to confusion in the 
free software marketplace and separate Ubuntu from the larger free software 
world, Ubuntu is a less interesting place for me to contribute.

Ubuntu has definitely gotten a reduction in contribution from long time 
contributors.  I am highly skeptical of the notion that any new energy these 
people get after a break will come back here.

Scott K