Re: openFATE feature 306967, KDE default

On Friday 31 of July 2009, Lubos Lunak wrote:
> On Friday 31 of July 2009, Andreas Jaeger wrote:
> > To me a switch to KDE default looks like putting GNOME one row to the
> > back. Can we find a better solution than we currently have without giving
> > out this message?  Or is this no great alternative?
>
>  There are really 2 ways to look at feature #306967:
>
> 1) Make KDE the default, and make it a political statement. That is what
> the openFATE proposal looks like, that we should say "openSUSE is primarily
> a KDE distribution".
>
> 2) Make KDE the default, and try to not make it look like a political
> statement. This is what the proposal on this mailing list looks like, to
> preselect the KDE radio button in the installation page, and that's it,
> don't make a fuss of it.

 Actually, I take this back, as I think I completely misinterpreted feature 
#306967 here. After careful reading again and thinking about it, I see it now 
like this:

- the only request there is "make KDE the default desktop". It is nowhere 
asked that openSUSE focuses primarily on KDE or that GNOME is neglected. In 
fact, it explicitly states that GNOME should remain supported as a choice.

- this can be achieved by preselecting the KDE radiobutton during installation 
and nothing more

- everything else in the feature is a description of benefits of doing so (and 
only doing so, without expressing any explicit focus on KDE or anything 
similar)


 This is actually not asking to make KDE special in any way or to grant KDE 
any additional priviledge. It is the common practice in openSUSE to select 
the technically best solution, and in case that is not feasible for whatever 
reason, the most popular solution. Therefore GNOME has the special priviledge 
of being presented completely equally (or actually with a slight advantage by 
being first) with what in all other cases would be the presented default 
selection in a choice or would be used without a choice at all. The feature 
asks for applying the common practice to the desktop selection, in other 
words, the feature actually asks for removal of the priviledge that GNOME 
currently has. There is no further request related to KDE or GNOME other than 
this.

 As for political messages, we currently do have a political message. The 
current existing priviledge for GNOME, despite trying to look like treating 
choices equal, actually makes GNOME special by what is described above, thus 
not treating everything in openSUSE equally. This creates a message towards 
other openSUSE communities, primarily the major KDE community, that they are 
only 2nd class citizens in openSUSE and that the GNOME community is valued 
more in openSUSE. Also, openSUSE got asked by the community using openFATE to 
change this. Therefore even not doing anything is stressing the existing 
political message. Since openSUSE positions now itself as an open community 
distribution, this may be jeopardized by refusing what appears to be a 
reasonable request from the majority of our community.

 I also believe the pros/cons conclusions in the original mail of this thread 
are somewhat wrong, mainly since they miss the analysis of what happens when 
the current situation stays. For the case when the feature is refused, it is 
sufficient to take all argument against it and look at them from the other 
side. So far all reasons supporting keeping the GNOME exception, as presented 
here, appear to make either equal or worse harm than when turned around and 
viewed as reasons for making KDE the default desktop.

 Finally, as a member of the KDE team I would like to say that I believe that 
just doing the radiobutton change, without anything else, has the potentional 
to achieve what the feature suggests. Compared to other potential users and 
contributors it should be simpler to gain back portion of the ones that have 
been driven away by the existing anti-KDE messaging from openSUSE but would 
have otherwise stayed. If openSUSE stops suggesting that GNOME is more 
important for openSUSE, and removal of the GNOME exception might be 
sufficient for that, those might be willing to give openSUSE a try again. KDE 
people also now do not have a major distribution they could consider a 
distribution supporting KDE, since that was us and our current position 
discourages KDE involvement in openSUSE. If the perception that openSUSE 
favours GNOME was removed, again these potentional users and contributors 
could be easier to convert from their distribution that sees KDE as something 
minor to us, if they could be convinced that openSUSE would treat them at 
least equally. That is not the case currently however, for reasons explained 
above.


-- 
Lubos Lunak
KDE developer
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