Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community.

[mikeycal]

I have always wondered how relevant the Kubuntu forums (or general ubuntu forums are) when it comes to general Kubuntu contributors and developers.

Do Developers regularly read these forums and say: "That's not a bad idea" or "ya, that's a good idea." or is that something that really only happens in launchpad?

I'm just wondering how much of the stuff in this forum actually effects the development process.

[aysiu]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community

Developers do not read the forums.
If you want to propose an idea to the developers, you file a bug report.

[klerfayt]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community

Developers do not read the forums.

I think they do

[Fenyx]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community.

I think some developers do read the forum from time to time. At one point in time, Jonathan Riddell seems to have been an admin or mod here.

However, that may change in the next few weeks/months. We're proposing to make this forum as a place for Kubuntu users to really feel at home. It could also be a place where they can properly express their views, comments, and suggestions. Of course, we can't promise that devs will always be monitoring this place (wouldn't you prefer that they busy themselves with their work? ), but someone else would be keeping tabs.

But like what aysiu said, if you have very valid/reasonable wishes/suggestions, bug reports are still the most preferred way to let them know about it, mainly because bug trackers have mechanisms for assigning things to the appropriate developer and of monitoring the status of the bug/wish. In Kubuntu, there might be other venues aside from the bug tracker, and we'll probably be working on that, too.

[bailout]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community.

If the developers don't read this forum then what is the point of having a "new feature request section"?

[anselm]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community

Good point

[Open Source]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community.

This section is more of a place for posting your idea to bounce it off of other people. Or see if anyone already has something similar to what you are requesting. And sometimes the devs pop in and read them. We could look into compiling all the ideas once a month and present them directly to the devs. I will see about that.

[Fenyx]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community.

Once in a meeting (claydoh can testify to this, if he kept his logs :P )

<Riddell> Hawkwind, Jucato: do you use kubuntuforums.net much?
<Jucato> Riddell: yes, as much as I can
<Riddell> Jucato: are they are useful resource to people?
<Jucato> Riddell: I could say they are. specially when it comes to Kubuntu-specific issues/problems
<Riddell> that's good to hear

Then there's also nixternal's blog post about the forums:
http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.01.09...s-and-support/

In short, Kubuntu devs do take notice, but given their already busy lives, we can't expect them to always drop by. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that our voices can't be heard, nor that they shouldn't be heard.

Which brings me to another topic (or two): I once had a goal to help this forum become more than just a plain support forum, but a real, live, and bustling community, much like Ubuntuforums. I also planned on helping this forum get some official and proper accreditation, with all the privileges that it would entail. Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, I couldn't execute those plans. But I have not given up. I might take this cause up again soon.

And that would mean I have to discuss things with Open Source and his crew.

Btw, there is currently a Forums Council which only covers the Ubuntuforums. There are also projects to bridge the gap between forums, wiki/docs, and devs. I'd love to see the day when we could officially take part in that council and actively participate in that project. It will definitely not be easy, but if the community is willing, there will always be a way.

More power to KFN!

[caryb]

Re: Just wondering -- How relevant are these Forums to the actual dev. community

These venues are good way of benchmarking your ideas against the general community, I believe if enough people have the same bug or idea the message will get through. I had a problem with the 2.6.22.x kernels, instead of posting a bug report I tested the waters 1st to see if it was not a user induced problem, after finding others with the same i reported the bug. This helps me not to put orphan bugs in launchpad.


My 2 bobs worth. Cary