I can see pros and cons. If you want to pursue this, propose some ideas on fedora-docs-list and we'll discuss.
Was wondering if it might be a good idea to add links pointing to free media sites on the default Fedora home page?
My reasoning is that most people use their computer purely as a device for office, web browsing or viewing media. The first two of these we have well covered out of the box but most people coming from windows will be disappointed if they can't buy/download mp3s from emp3finder, itunes etc so why not make it really easy for them to find *free* content online from magnatune, jamendo etc.
Would be a good opportunity to help increase their awareness of licensing issues as well and what less restrictive licenses can achieve, not just in software.
Jon
On Tue, 2007-04-17 at 12:46 +0100, Jonathan Roberts wrote:
I can see pros and cons. If you want to pursue this, propose some ideas on fedora-docs-list and we'll discuss.
Was wondering if it might be a good idea to add links pointing to free media sites on the default Fedora home page?
My reasoning is that most people use their computer purely as a device for office, web browsing or viewing media. The first two of these we have well covered out of the box but most people coming from windows will be disappointed if they can't buy/download mp3s from emp3finder, itunes etc so why not make it really easy for them to find *free* content online from magnatune, jamendo etc.
Would be a good opportunity to help increase their awareness of licensing issues as well and what less restrictive licenses can achieve, not just in software.
This is already a feature of the F7 release. Refer to this URL:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/7/Bookmarks
Great idea no matter how many times it comes up! Thanks to the way this package works, midstream updates should be possible if a site pops up that takes the community by storm.
On Tue, 2007-04-17 at 09:01 -0700, Paul W. Frields wrote:
This is already a feature of the F7 release. Refer to this URL:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/7/Bookmarks
Great idea no matter how many times it comes up! Thanks to the way this package works, midstream updates should be possible if a site pops up that takes the community by storm.
I'm not sure if I get your read on Jonathan's idea. Are you saying, as I think Rahul did in a separate list, that this is already covered in the default bookmarks?
If that is what you mean, the reason I asked Jonathan to bring it up here is:
* We could really give attention to some sites we want to give a marketing boost to
* We can remove them later, just draw attention to them for launch and a while afterward
On the other side of the argument ...
* Do we want the homepage to become an advertising medium? This seems a step in that direction. Maybe that is OK, maybe not ...
I think I like the idea, but I'm a bit concerned about people losing faith in the homepage because it seems advertising v. informative.
- Karsten
On 18/04/07, Karsten Wade kwade@redhat.com wrote:
On Tue, 2007-04-17 at 09:01 -0700, Paul W. Frields wrote:
This is already a feature of the F7 release. Refer to this URL:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/7/Bookmarks
Great idea no matter how many times it comes up! Thanks to the way this package works, midstream updates should be possible if a site pops up that takes the community by storm.
I'm not sure if I get your read on Jonathan's idea. Are you saying, as I think Rahul did in a separate list, that this is already covered in the default bookmarks?
Lol yes, my idea was for an actual presence on the homepage...
If that is what you mean, the reason I asked Jonathan to bring it up here is:
- We could really give attention to some sites we want to give a
marketing boost to
...and that will provide an improved end-user experience of Fedora and encourage people to discover more about Free Culture (as I like to call it) in general - at least is my take.
- We can remove them later, just draw attention to them for launch and a
while afterward
On the other side of the argument ...
- Do we want the homepage to become an advertising medium? This seems a
step in that direction. Maybe that is OK, maybe not ...
I wouldn't think pointing to one or two sites which are arguably related to the goals of the fedora project would equal advertising - at least not in traditional sense which would lead to your next conclusion.
I think I like the idea, but I'm a bit concerned about people losing faith in the homepage because it seems advertising v. informative.
Jon
On Wed, 2007-04-18 at 19:49 +0100, Jonathan Roberts wrote:
On 18/04/07, Karsten Wade kwade@redhat.com wrote:
- We could really give attention to some sites we want to give a
marketing boost to
...and that will provide an improved end-user experience of Fedora and encourage people to discover more about Free Culture (as I like to call it) in general - at least is my take.
+1
- Do we want the homepage to become an advertising medium? This seems a
step in that direction. Maybe that is OK, maybe not ...
I wouldn't think pointing to one or two sites which are arguably related to the goals of the fedora project would equal advertising - at least not in traditional sense which would lead to your next conclusion.
I think I like the idea, but I'm a bit concerned about people losing faith in the homepage because it seems advertising v. informative.
There are two aspects here -- our goals and perception.
For our goals, we need to explicitly state the conditions where we consider inclusion in that homepage. It is a potentially very valuable space. Since we have begun already linking from that page to non-Fedora Project properties (e.g., fedoraforum.org), we've already opened up the door for ideas like yours. I think that's fine. But I have a feeling this is our last chance to define what we think the rules should be for appearing on that page. Otherwise, someone is going to cry foul that they did not appear there, and a higher-level entity such as the Fedora Project Board is going to have to make a business-like decision about it. Our job is to make the current rules and offer recommendations to FPB if the cry of "Foul!" arises.
For perception, it is directly related to our goals. If we don't set the guidelines/rules clearly, our intentions are open to interpretation, and I'm guessing we'll end up with some users losing faith in our focus.
In other words, once people get the idea that the homepage is "for sale" or otherwise compromised, they'll ignore the whole thing.
- Karsten
On Wed, 2007-04-18 at 16:28 -0700, Karsten Wade wrote:
On Wed, 2007-04-18 at 19:49 +0100, Jonathan Roberts wrote:
On 18/04/07, Karsten Wade kwade@redhat.com wrote:
- We could really give attention to some sites we want to give a
marketing boost to
...and that will provide an improved end-user experience of Fedora and encourage people to discover more about Free Culture (as I like to call it) in general - at least is my take.
+1
- Do we want the homepage to become an advertising medium? This seems a
step in that direction. Maybe that is OK, maybe not ...
I wouldn't think pointing to one or two sites which are arguably related to the goals of the fedora project would equal advertising - at least not in traditional sense which would lead to your next conclusion.
I think I like the idea, but I'm a bit concerned about people losing faith in the homepage because it seems advertising v. informative.
There are two aspects here -- our goals and perception.
For our goals, we need to explicitly state the conditions where we consider inclusion in that homepage. It is a potentially very valuable space. Since we have begun already linking from that page to non-Fedora Project properties (e.g., fedoraforum.org), we've already opened up the door for ideas like yours. I think that's fine. But I have a feeling this is our last chance to define what we think the rules should be for appearing on that page. Otherwise, someone is going to cry foul that they did not appear there, and a higher-level entity such as the Fedora Project Board is going to have to make a business-like decision about it. Our job is to make the current rules and offer recommendations to FPB if the cry of "Foul!" arises.
For perception, it is directly related to our goals. If we don't set the guidelines/rules clearly, our intentions are open to interpretation, and I'm guessing we'll end up with some users losing faith in our focus.
In other words, once people get the idea that the homepage is "for sale" or otherwise compromised, they'll ignore the whole thing.
I think that the Bookmarks page was advertised for people to check out and add/remove on the wiki like a voting mechanism. I think the "advertising" problem is no more than what it might be in, say, Rhythmbox (which features links for Magnatune and Jamendo, for example). If other free culture links bubble up into the distro, it would make sense to include them. Then users can read about them and know why they're tied into some of the desktop apps.