(This is part 1 of 2 of my Forums Improvement suggestions)
Kubuntu is a community distribution. That is a fact. That is why, in order for Kubuntu to be successful, the community needs to get involved as much as possible. Kubuntu absolutely needs more developers, coders, and packagers, of course. So if you could volunteer for these, it would be great. But you don't have to be a coder or packager to be able to help. There are other equally interesting and important areas where users can lend a hand in. There's bug reporting and triaging, testing, documentation and translations, advocacy, and even the simple activity of giving constructive feedback.
I believe that KubuntuForums.Net is a great, convenient, and invaluable place to be able to contribute to Kubuntu development. In view of this, I'm proposing a whole new section for this purpose. Tentatively, let's call it "Kubuntu Development" section. Alternatively, we can make use of Documentation section, although the name doesn't really fit the purpose I have in mind. It can have the following sub-sections:
A. Bug Reports
This sub-section already exists (http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?board=26.0), but we need to make use of it and have a few policies to make it really useful, for both users and developers. Basically, this section should be a place where users can get confirmation from other users about bugs they are experiencing before even reporting it. These simple steps could be followed:
1. Make a thread about an issue that you believe is a bug. Make one thread and one thread only per issue, unless they are obviously related.
2. Once the issue has been confirmed as a real bug, it should be reported in the official Ubuntu bugtracker (https://bugs.launchpad.net/).
3. In the bug report, you can describe the problem and then include a link to the forum post the confirms the bug.
4. Once the bug report has been filed, the original poster can mark his thread as [FILED] to indicate that a report has been filed and should post the link to the bug report.
5. One it has been fixed, he can edi the title of the thread again and mark it as [FIXED].
6. If the issue is considered not to be a bug, mark the thread as [CLOSED].
I will try to look for a good Bug Reporting Guide or if an official one exists to guide those who want to report bugs. I believe that this method will make it easier for users to get confirmation about their bug reports and for developers/triagers to see comments or issues.
B. Package and Feature Requests
There is already a process for requesting for packages (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment#NewPackages) so a separate Package Requests sub-section is a bit unnecessary. We can still, however, pool ideas or get feedback from other members of the community before filing a bug report/package request. One thread per package request only.
Feature requests are a bit more complicated. There is no formal process for making one. This is where a community discussion is essential. Here we can flesh out the details of a feature request, discuss the pros and cons, modify it, etc., before formally presenting it to the Kubuntu developers. It will help developers see how much the feature is wanted and how much it has been thoroughly thought out. That will probably make it easier for developers to understand, appreciate, and probably approve compared to a very vague proposal.
One important thing to be emphasized here is that there is absolutely no guarantee that the request would get approved, even if it is very popular or well-thought. There are just too many factors to consider (manpower being one of the biggest) when approving a feature. Nonetheless, having a separate area for these kinds of discussion will be valuable, specially if, by some good fortune, someone from this community decides to start implementing it.
C. User Feedback
I'm a bit hesitant to have a sub-section for this, mainly because it could easily turn ugly, into a rant or flame fest. And if you're a volunteer developer working your ass of for free, seeing non-constructive unhelpful comments can really damage your motivation for working. On the other hand, no negative feedback can create a false impression that everything's alright. Constructive user feedback, positive or not, is really important.
What should be emphasized in this section is that everyone should be civilized and mature and that the goal is to help improve Kubuntu by ironing out issues. If done properly, this could be a useful source of what Kubuntu users want, need, dislike, etc. An important thing to understand is that there are literally dozens of opinions and that, in the end, a decision must be reached, and someone has to make that decision. In the case of Kubuntu, he who codes, decides. Nevertheless, they will always consider the needs of the users as very important. Everyone should be open, developers and users alike.
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The rationale for a separate "Kubuntu Development" section is to provide a single convenient place in the forums for user contribution and feedback. It will also make it easier for developers to focus on a single small part of the forums rather than scouring the entire forums for useful information. I believe that this would be an important contribution of the KubuntuForums.Net community, and an important step forward for this community. We may not have Forum Ambassadors nor are we part (yet?) of the Forums Council, but doesn't mean that we'll have to just sit back and wait.
Kubuntu is a community distribution. That is a fact. That is why, in order for Kubuntu to be successful, the community needs to get involved as much as possible. Kubuntu absolutely needs more developers, coders, and packagers, of course. So if you could volunteer for these, it would be great. But you don't have to be a coder or packager to be able to help. There are other equally interesting and important areas where users can lend a hand in. There's bug reporting and triaging, testing, documentation and translations, advocacy, and even the simple activity of giving constructive feedback.
I believe that KubuntuForums.Net is a great, convenient, and invaluable place to be able to contribute to Kubuntu development. In view of this, I'm proposing a whole new section for this purpose. Tentatively, let's call it "Kubuntu Development" section. Alternatively, we can make use of Documentation section, although the name doesn't really fit the purpose I have in mind. It can have the following sub-sections:
A. Bug Reports
This sub-section already exists (http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/index.php?board=26.0), but we need to make use of it and have a few policies to make it really useful, for both users and developers. Basically, this section should be a place where users can get confirmation from other users about bugs they are experiencing before even reporting it. These simple steps could be followed:
1. Make a thread about an issue that you believe is a bug. Make one thread and one thread only per issue, unless they are obviously related.
2. Once the issue has been confirmed as a real bug, it should be reported in the official Ubuntu bugtracker (https://bugs.launchpad.net/).
3. In the bug report, you can describe the problem and then include a link to the forum post the confirms the bug.
4. Once the bug report has been filed, the original poster can mark his thread as [FILED] to indicate that a report has been filed and should post the link to the bug report.
5. One it has been fixed, he can edi the title of the thread again and mark it as [FIXED].
6. If the issue is considered not to be a bug, mark the thread as [CLOSED].
I will try to look for a good Bug Reporting Guide or if an official one exists to guide those who want to report bugs. I believe that this method will make it easier for users to get confirmation about their bug reports and for developers/triagers to see comments or issues.
B. Package and Feature Requests
There is already a process for requesting for packages (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopment#NewPackages) so a separate Package Requests sub-section is a bit unnecessary. We can still, however, pool ideas or get feedback from other members of the community before filing a bug report/package request. One thread per package request only.
Feature requests are a bit more complicated. There is no formal process for making one. This is where a community discussion is essential. Here we can flesh out the details of a feature request, discuss the pros and cons, modify it, etc., before formally presenting it to the Kubuntu developers. It will help developers see how much the feature is wanted and how much it has been thoroughly thought out. That will probably make it easier for developers to understand, appreciate, and probably approve compared to a very vague proposal.
One important thing to be emphasized here is that there is absolutely no guarantee that the request would get approved, even if it is very popular or well-thought. There are just too many factors to consider (manpower being one of the biggest) when approving a feature. Nonetheless, having a separate area for these kinds of discussion will be valuable, specially if, by some good fortune, someone from this community decides to start implementing it.
C. User Feedback
I'm a bit hesitant to have a sub-section for this, mainly because it could easily turn ugly, into a rant or flame fest. And if you're a volunteer developer working your ass of for free, seeing non-constructive unhelpful comments can really damage your motivation for working. On the other hand, no negative feedback can create a false impression that everything's alright. Constructive user feedback, positive or not, is really important.
What should be emphasized in this section is that everyone should be civilized and mature and that the goal is to help improve Kubuntu by ironing out issues. If done properly, this could be a useful source of what Kubuntu users want, need, dislike, etc. An important thing to understand is that there are literally dozens of opinions and that, in the end, a decision must be reached, and someone has to make that decision. In the case of Kubuntu, he who codes, decides. Nevertheless, they will always consider the needs of the users as very important. Everyone should be open, developers and users alike.
------------------------------------------
The rationale for a separate "Kubuntu Development" section is to provide a single convenient place in the forums for user contribution and feedback. It will also make it easier for developers to focus on a single small part of the forums rather than scouring the entire forums for useful information. I believe that this would be an important contribution of the KubuntuForums.Net community, and an important step forward for this community. We may not have Forum Ambassadors nor are we part (yet?) of the Forums Council, but doesn't mean that we'll have to just sit back and wait.
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