Re: [libreoffice-marketing] The LibO developers need input from former users. A proposal. (readable version)

Hi :)

Dohh!  The main point i wanted to make last time was that often it is the 
advanced features that make the MSO formats so vulnerable.  Many places switch 
off things like macros and ActiveX (if that's relevant) precisely because those 
sorts of features have been used by malware.  


Regards from
Tom :)




________________________________
From: webmaster for Kracked Press Productions <webmaster@krackedpress.com>
To: marketing@libreoffice.org
Sent: Thu, 21 April, 2011 13:34:10
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-marketing] The LibO developers need input from former 
users. A proposal. (readable version)


Here is a figure I was given a few years ago, and it is sort of easy to 
remember:
"Only 5% of MSO users use more than 5% of the functions built into MSO."

One year, I remember MSO touted that is had over 250 new functions added to 
Word.
I think it was when either MSO 2000 or 2003 came out.

My question is is why do we need any word processor to have so many functions 
that it makes it too bloated to be easy to use.  Same with any other part of an 
office suite.

I think I remember reading an article stating that unless you are an extreme 
power user, LibreOffice is a good suite to use.  If you require all those 
functions that only a very small percent of users "need", then you will need to 
use MSO.  MSO built in most of their functions for that very small percent of 
users that could not work with out these abilities that take massive amounts of 
complex documentation and examples to be able to figure out how to use them.  
Give me a more simple approach.  99.99% of my use, and most of the people I 
know, need no complex documentation to figure out.  Rarely would even the 
internal "help" system be needed as well.  So MSO becomes bigger and bigger with 
functions and abilities that a very small number of users will ever use.

As for missing abilities when switching from MSO to LibreOffice, there are few 
that are missed.  Out of those, most should be included as people clean out the 
bad legacy coding and start adding some other lower use functions.

I do not think LibreOffice should go the route of MSO, with all its bloat.  Yes, 
it should make an effort to add needed functions, but no on the ones that are 
not used by most [say 95% or more] of the users.


On 04/19/2011 10:13 AM, Riemer Thalen wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> My name is Riemer Thalen and I am not a programmer. I'm a marketing guy. For 
> the last couple of years I have been wondering: how come so many people pay 
> hundreds of dollars for MS Office when they can have OOo/LibO for free?
>
> Apparently, many people feel LibO does not match MS Office. Maybe they
> are missing functions MS Office has, maybe they think LibO behaves
> oddly, or maybe... we don't know.
>
> And that's a real problem. Because if we really want LibO to become the
> number one office suite in the world, we need to find out what keeps
> people form switching to OOo/LibO permanently.
>
> I am not an old hand in the OOo community. Maybe some market reseach
> into former users has been done in the past. I searched the Internet and I 
> could not find any reports.
>
> At present, the LibO developers are guided by community feedback. But
> for our purpose, that will not do. It is like asking iPhone users if
> they need a keyboard. No, of course they don't. If they thought a
> keyboard was necessary they would not have bought an iPhone in the
> first place.
> The same applies to the OOo / LibO community. The members are dedicated
> LibO users and by definition they are not representative for non-users.
>
> As it happens, my daughter who is business student needs to do a
> marketing survey. That's no big deal nowadays. All you have to do is
> open an account at a survey site. Then you compose a three question
> questionnaire.
>
> The questionnaire is posted and tagged on Facebook and LinkedIn.
> "Did you use OpenOffice in the past? Please, help us improve it. Answer just 
> three questions."
> If only half of the subscribers to this mailing list would post the link, we 
> probably will have more than enough respondents.
>
> The questionnaire could read like this:
>
> /Yes, I used or tried OpenOffice.org in the past and I do not use it
> anymore.
>
> 1) The main reason I dropped OOo concerned (tick as many boxes as are
> applicable): O Writer, O Calc, O Impress (presentation), O Draw,
> O Base, O Formula,  O the suite as a whole.
>
> 2) What made me drop OOo was the following. (Just the one big problem.
> What was the show-stopper for you?)
>
> 3) What else needs to be fixed in OOo in your opinion? (Name as many
> issues as you like.)
>
> Thank you for your feedback!
> /
> Indeed, this is a qualitative survey. We need to know how former users
> feel about OOo/LibO. In what terms do they describe their problem? How
> strongly do they feel about it? That is more important than the exact
> percentage that encountered the issue.
> (Of course, the responses will later be categorized and counted, but this will 
> result in quantative indications only.)
>
> Once the results are in and processed, two importants things can be done:
>
> 1. the developers can prioritize issues, fixes, modifications and new
> functions, targeting a new group of users.
>
> 2. the marketing group can create a "switchers guide" based on real-life 
> feedback. Not all functions in LibO will be and can be the same as in MS Office. 
> Knowing the differences and how to deal with them will greatly improve user 
> satisfaction.
>
> OK, this is as far as my proposal goes. I would like to hear from you
> guys what you think of it. Personally, I feel it is very important to get 
> feedback from outside the community.
>
> Moreover, IMHO it is crucial not only for the success of LibO, but also for the 
> Linux desktop. Without an office suite that is considered state-of-the-art, 
> Ubuntu, LinuxMint, Fedora and the likes are fighting an uphill battle...
>
> Hope to hear from you soon.
>
> Riemer Thalen


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