Feedback and User requests

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Fri, 21 Apr 2017 22:20:11 -0600, Keith Hayward wrote:
>Feedback 01 - Submitting feedback on user experience
>Apparently to provide feedback on the Ubuntu experience you have to
>sign up to a mailing list via a web interface I have not seen since
>the 1990's. Compared to other organisations like Sun Micro-systems,
>Google, Microsoft, Valve, Kellogg, General Electric, Samsung,
>Electronic Arts, and Comcast this approach seems behind the times.

Hi,

FLOSS communities usually provide mailing lists and chats
( https://wiki.ubuntu.com/IRC/ChannelList#IRC.2FChannelList.2FDiscussion.Ubuntu_channels_for_discussion
) to get 24/7 in contact with users, powerusers, developers, packagers,
maintainers ..., they usually also provide forums, but those are less
frequently used by developers, packagers and maintainers. Apart from
this just giving feedback by opinions doesn't gain that much,
participating by e.g. reporting bugs to a distro's bug tracker, writing
Wikis, in the case of Ubuntu e.g. joining an Ubuntu flavour team or
just helping with development without becoming a team member, is better
feedback, since FLOSS is done by a community and little or nothing is
done by salaried staff. FLOSS communities follow completely different
interests, than all the profit-orientated companies, that there is the
need to have a different kind of network, that is known to work for
this approach. On of the ways that works best, are mailing lists. If
you join a mailing list, you will notice that also conferences and
video conferences happen.

Btw. I only use distros that maintain mailing lists. For me it's the
ultimate show-stopper, if a distro doesn't maintain mailing lists.

SICR: Using HTML for emails was done in medieval times, when people
were not aware that HTML formatted emails gain absolutely nothing,
since e.g. the formatting looks different on each machine. One reason we
are using plain text nowadays, because monospace fonts ensure a good
formatted email. IOW sometimes we stay with old school and sometimes we
decide to migrate from something newer back to old school, to fulfil
the target of evolving something new, being innovative.

New is {,not} always better

Ted:    Wendy! I'd like to buy my friend a drink.
        What's your oldest Scotch?

Wendy:  Glenmckenna, aged 30 years in oak casks.

Ted:    Amazing. And what's your newest scotch?

Wendy:  Jumbo Jim's Grape Scotch. Don't let it touch your skin.

Ted:    Your call, buddy.

Barney: A glass of the J-Jumbo Jim's Grape Scotch sounds lovely.

Regards,
Ralf