KDE 4 problems highlight shift from community users to consumers
Posted by: Anonymous
[ip: 24.253.108.249]
on July 16, 2008 09:17 PM
I've been using KDE 2 and 3 since 2001. I have not yet tried version 4. This is my first comment on the situation. I'm a user, not a developer, so I fit into the camp on the outside of the inner circle.
I don't want to switch to version 4 until I feel it implements all the features I currently use in version 3. That is not a problem for me. Version 3 isn't going away any time soon.
I have watched the discussions about all of this for some time. Much of it is hyperbole. Some of it is justified. The only part that really bothers me is when I hear developers say they don't need users. Without users no project can be influential. Some developers may not care, but I never heard of a developer that did not like the idea of working on a project that received much attention, or of one that stuck with a project long after realizing it would never have users.
When I heard some of KDE's developers saying they don't need users, for the first time since I started using it, I seriously considered switching to a different DE. I don't know if I want to use someone's software when they have such disdain for users. Hearing such remarks makes me feel like an unwelcome intruder on someone else's territory and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
It's true that developers don't have to accommodate user requests for features. It's true that they don't have to like users. It's true that they can say anything they want about users. It's also true that what they say and do will follow them, whether good or bad.
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KDE 4 problems highlight shift from community users to consumers
Posted by: Anonymous [ip: 24.253.108.249] on July 16, 2008 09:17 PMI don't want to switch to version 4 until I feel it implements all the features I currently use in version 3. That is not a problem for me. Version 3 isn't going away any time soon.
I have watched the discussions about all of this for some time. Much of it is hyperbole. Some of it is justified. The only part that really bothers me is when I hear developers say they don't need users. Without users no project can be influential. Some developers may not care, but I never heard of a developer that did not like the idea of working on a project that received much attention, or of one that stuck with a project long after realizing it would never have users.
When I heard some of KDE's developers saying they don't need users, for the first time since I started using it, I seriously considered switching to a different DE. I don't know if I want to use someone's software when they have such disdain for users. Hearing such remarks makes me feel like an unwelcome intruder on someone else's territory and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
It's true that developers don't have to accommodate user requests for features. It's true that they don't have to like users. It's true that they can say anything they want about users. It's also true that what they say and do will follow them, whether good or bad.
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