Date: prev next · Thread: first prev next last
2023 Archives by date, by thread · List index


I totally understand Italo's frustration. I also hate when I am expected to make a decision and people, who were absolutely silent and indifferent before, suddenly start to verbalise their opinion, which "happens to be" different from mine.

Regarding the version number, I think people who liked 7.x, will continue to like 8.x too. The rest may find the big jump attractive enough to try it but I believe most of the articles would emphasize "Hey people, here is the new version but there is nothing remarkably new in it". Which erodes the reputation of the product.

Therefore, I second Eyal's suggestion. Let's keep the new major version number for something really 
big jump.


Such a big jump could be an AI integration (like ChatGPT). It could really change how people use LO 
(at least, Writer and Impress)

Csongor






On 28/03/2023 20:43, Italo Vignoli wrote:
I have been asked to provide my opinion by developers, who seem to think that the change of version 
has to be a marketing decision. As I have said quite clearly, I am pissed off by the current 
situation, where I am asked to take a decision and then I am blamed because I take one. I leave the 
decision to the community.

28 Mar 2023 08:18:13 Eyal Rozenberg<eyalroz1@gmx.com>:

I respectfully disagree with Italo.

First, about the "frame of reference". In my opinion, decisions such as major version number bumping are not, first and 
foremost, marketing decisions. That is a _consideration_, since the version number is declarative than technical. But - such an 
action should be "truthful" before being "marketable".

It is more important, in my opinion, that users and potential users receive trustworthy signaling 
from the project - not just w.r.t. version numbers, but generally - than for the media to get a 
gimmick for coverage.

A second point is that bumping a version number without a major innovation moves you a few more steps into 
the category of, say, Firefox and such, where versions just increase automatically with no meaning 
whatsoever. Italo, you said we are perceived as a "real innovator"; well, when a real innovator 
starts having hollow version number bumping, that perception fades.

Finally, everyone who likes the marketing potential of version 8 - great, but - keep that benefit 
for when we have a significant step forward to celebrate. Don't squander it.


Eyal

PS:  availability on a new platform is not a reason to bump a version number. It's the "same" 
software, but built for another target, so same version as before. IMHO anyway.



On 27/03/2023 20:11, Italo Vignoli wrote:
Moving to LibreOffice 8 (instead of 7.6) makes sense for marketing purposes, as media is looking at 
LibreOffice as the real innovator in the open source office suite market, and the feeling of 
journalists is that we are forever stuck at 7.x.
We all know that the next version will not include any significant innovation which can justify the 
change of version, apart from the new build system for Windows and the availability of LibreOffice 
for Arm processors on Windows (which has not been announced).
Playing with the number 8, which can be rotated 90° to become the "infinite" symbol, we can frame 
the next version as LibreOffice for an infinite number of users, as we cover all hardware platforms and all 
operating systems for personal productivity.
This is my opinion. If the community wants to stick with 7.6, I won't insist. I have received enough insults 
both public and private for the marketing plan, and I am still receiving them from a few people, that I am 
not willing to enter into that process again (even if the decision on the "community" tag has not 
been mine, but it looks like people have a very short memory).
Looking forward to your thoughts.
--
To unsubscribe e-mail to:design+unsubscribe@global.libreoffice.org
Problems?https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
Posting guidelines + more:https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive:https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/design/
Privacy Policy:https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy
--
To unsubscribe e-mail to: design+unsubscribe@global.libreoffice.org
Problems? https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/design/
Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy

Context


Privacy Policy | Impressum (Legal Info) | Copyright information: Unless otherwise specified, all text and images on this website are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. This does not include the source code of LibreOffice, which is licensed under the Mozilla Public License (MPLv2). "LibreOffice" and "The Document Foundation" are registered trademarks of their corresponding registered owners or are in actual use as trademarks in one or more countries. Their respective logos and icons are also subject to international copyright laws. Use thereof is explained in our trademark policy.