Re: [libreoffice-marketing] LibO Mission Statement ? [was: Briefing]

Revised draft:

(

Level 0
=======

Make the world a better place.

)


Level 1
=======

Maximize
the availability
and the quality of the user experience
of an office productivity solution
for as many people as possible

Maximize
the enjoyment
and productivity
within the project.

Central to the office productivity solution are document-centric
clerical tasks.
It first of all has to address the needs around writing letters, reports
and holding presentations, but also has to encompass doing calculations
and working with interlinked data.


Level 2
=======

Todays needs require a software solution.

Maximal availability requires
* Free Software.
* Covering all major operating system environments
* Internationalization.

Free Software strongly suggests
* an open, collaborative project. A Community effort.
* meritocracy (there needs to be some hurdle for contributing and one
based on ability * effort is best, if you care about the result)

Focusing on _a_ solution, not _the_ solution and not requiring that this
project delivers the entire solution, if parts of the puzzle are
provided by others, asks for Interoperability:
* Open, documented interfaces
* Open, documented file formats
* Compatibility with other solutions


Notes
=====

The solutions in our hands isn't the goal, the solution in the user's
hands is. There's no actual solution, but just potential, until the user
does use it, which makes it necessary that he needs or wants to and
knows how. Our users success is our success.

Maximizing productivity may encompass winning over as many contributors
as possible and making the most of their time and effort. Happy people
may be more productive and increasing enjoyment could be treated as
measure to increase productivity. But who would want to be productive
without feeling good?

Office productivity solutions in the form of so called "office suites"
typically contain a:
* word processor.
* spreadsheet.
* presentation program.
* (relational) database management system.
This list is not part of the mission statement, because these categories
already suggest solutions, without making it clear what the real needs
and wants are.

The database is of course not document-centric, but its reason for being
part of the suite should be the use in combination with the other tools.
The focus of development should be positioned accordingly.

ODF is just the current solution for having an open, documented file
format in wide use. As unlikely that might be to change, the mission
statement should take the long view and be very stable.


-- 
Thorsten Wilms

thorwil's design for free software:
http://thorwil.wordpress.com/


-- 
Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to marketing+help@libreoffice.org
List archive: http://www.libreoffice.org/lists/marketing/
*** All posts to this list are publicly archived for eternity ***