[ubuntu-studio-devel] PR & Support: Where to fish for contributors?

[Ralf Mardorf]

>> The reasons might help to find contributors (and to win more users):
>> 
>> - Ubuntu is the most known major distro
>> - Ubuntu has got a past and a future [1]
>> - Ubuntu follows the user-friendly approach with all it's pros and
>>  cons. For Linux beginners just the pros of the user-friendly approach
>>  counts, so it makes sense to contribute to Ubuntu, to spread Linux.
> 
> This is a great start to 3 potential posts on http://ubuntustudio.org It
> would be awsome if you could develop these 3 points further and post it
> here!!

1. Ubuntu is the most known major distro
=============================
It doesn't matter what distrowatch claims, since the number one "Mint" is neither user-friendly, nor well supported. If Mint users need help, they send requests to the Debian or Ubuntu Mailing list. People who know nothing about Linux have heard the Name Ubuntu, a lot of clueless people think that Ubuntu is Linux.

2. Ubuntu has got a past and a future
===========================
Ubuntu isn't just a one-hit wonder. When I started using Linux, Ubuntu wasn't released. Ubuntu is around now for 10 years, in the meantime several multimedia distros come and go. Even the few focused on audio only, that were based on Ubuntu/Debian and could be used with the official Ubuntu or Debian repositories failed after a while. Some might still exist, but could cause issues with official repositories.

The downside of Ubuntu's future is related to a few facts and rumors, so I only will explain why the facts are not much important for a user-friendly approach distro. What is considered as Ubuntu spyware are features wanted by many clueless users. Facts are several data sharing applications that indeed are a PITA for some of us, but for e.g. Windows refugees those usually are not a problem at all.

Regarding a poll Arch and Ubuntu are the most used distros by pro-audio users and Ubuntu Studio is a flavour that exists for several years, sure it's not that old as Ubuntu is, but it already is established. Perhaps CCRMA is noteworthy too, but Ubuntu still is more known by the averaged population.

3. Ubuntu follows the user friendly approach with all it's pros and cons
===================================================
The distro I prefer for me is Arch Linux. Arch is not user friendly, but much friendlier for my computer usage. If I should recommend a distro to averaged computer users, I wouldn't recommend a distro that requires a deep understanding of computers, such as Arch does.
The averaged user needs something that doesn't come with a complex learning curve and this is what's provided by the Ubuntu policy.

4. Why Ubuntu and not Debian, Suse or another user-friendly major distro?
======================================================
Ubuntu provides free as in beer space and supports so called "flavours". Other than Debian or Ubuntu derivatives, a flavour is an official part of Ubuntu, this rules out the well known issues caused by derivatives.

Regards,
Ralf