Let's drop the 'ubuntu' clause

[sparkes]

I know this is going to be unpopular, but I am not here to be popular 
but to provide the best possible documentation for ubuntu.  So this is 
me with ubuntu turned on but speaking for the best of the community. 
Start of rant ;-)

We need to stop using the ubuntu clause, you know when we say isn't that 
the ubuntu way, in discussions.  I have done it myself and now regret 
it.  Ben used it in the resent discussion and I am sure once he hears 
what I am about to suggest he will have pangs of regret as well.

What we are doing (this is everyone who has used this get out of jail 
card) it using it as an excuse not to provide the best possible document 
or user experience.

It's all well and good being nice to each other and we have a great 
community that is respecting others feelings and generally getting along 
but we are using the ubuntu clause to support arguements that are 
technically weak in most cases.

Ubuntu wouldn't be a strong distro without the fact that developers can 
argue out the best solution to a problem based on techical merits and 
not on the promise of ubuntu.  I haven't seen the ubuntu card played on 
the developer list yet ;-)

We need to find the *best* solution to problems, simpily *good enough* 
should not be good enough for us.  We should strive for excellence.  We 
are working on, what I believe, is currently the best linux distro and 
is based on a strong free software stance.  Why should we weaken that 
because we don't want to upset each other when reaching the best solution.

Take a look at the lists for some of the large projects we are utilising 
in this project.  You see some absolute wars break out on the linux and 
debian lists (although you might want to avoid debian-legal ;-) ) but 
they tend to reach the right conclusion in the end.  I don't want to 
weaken the ubuntu docs by not having the strength to fight a corner 
until the best possible solution is found.  We are far too often 
aggreeing to disagree just because it is easier than defending a position.

I doubt the developers of our upstream partners would think that 
agreeing to follow a technically weak path when 'the right way' (tm) is 
just as easy to follow is a good stratagy.  We have a good community but 
by being nice to each other when we have such diametrically opposed view 
points when we should find the right solution is weak.

I am not saying that every discussion should have a winner and a loser. 
  I don't think in terms of winning and losing generally and think that 
as long as the community grows from each discussion everybody wins.

Sometimes it's best to follow two stratagies.  I think the choice to 
write two books is the best one for the community at the moment.  I 
believe that we are best to start with debian docs and others don't.  As 
the discussion progessed it was descided to gpl the new docs with the 
immediate impact on the discussion that the arguement was over.  The 
debian docs are gpl, the new docs are gpl.  We can combine the two at 
any point to get a better solution.  Win win.

Unfortunatly the majority of discussions seem to be leading nowhere in 
particular.  We discuss something, put off coming to an aggreement until 
the meeting and then go on our own ways doing our own things.  I can't 
remember us making a decision on the list, perhaps this is just my 
fubared memory.

I am not suggesting we stop being respectfull of other people.  That is 
not just ubuntu but generally good manners what I am suggesting is we 
continue to provide the best possible solution to any given problem.

It's no good bitching about the wiki when the documentation is a much 
larger project than our primary choice of wiki markup.

Rant over ;-)

I hope I managed to get my point across without looking like a pillock 
here but I am attempting to push us in the right direction and out of 
the potential quakmire we are looking towards.

I also hope I didn't use this rant to put my own view across but have 
presented a balanced argument to what I see as a potential show stopper 
here.

Don't bother arguing about the technical arguements in this mail, it 
isn't a technical mail, it's a philosophical one.  I would love to get 
some feedback on this so we can start working on doing the right thing 
again.

oh and if you are repling to this, don't top post! urrgghh that one was 
personal ;-)

thanks for your time

sparkes
-- 
<davee> "Sparkes, the Pete Best of LugRadio"