Re: [libreoffice-marketing] Re: Recruitment for Base (Was Re: [steering-discuss] Base - a new mailing list?)

Hello Alexander,

Le Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:27:27 +0200,
Alexander Thurgood <alex.thurgood@gmail.com> a écrit :

> Le 14/09/11 15:05, Charles-H. Schulz a écrit :
>
> Hi Charles,
>
>
> > The second point is about recruitment of developers. I hope that
> > I'm not making myself a mistake in assuming that what is being
> > understood is to actually hire developers... perhaps what is meant
> > is attracting developers? In any case, we cannot mandate developers
> > to work on something like we would do in a company. It's a big
> > difference between a business and a FOSS community and project.
> > Developers join by themselves, provided the information is there.
>
> Exactly, my comment as to the requirements of a developer were more in
> line with "if a volunteer wants to step up this is how high the
> barrier to entry is going to be", and not at all a view to hiring a
> developer, which as you mention, is not something that really happens
> in FOSS projects (or else, only on rare occasions).
>
>
> > I must admit I am myself very, very unclear on what we are trying to
> > achieve with Base. And it's not just now, it's always been the case
> > (for me, at least). Base was added to Openoffice.org as a new
> > module and the whole experience was suboptimal. 
>
> Well my memory is obviously slightly older than yours because I
> remember the days of OOo 1.1.x and prior to that with StarOffice,
> where databases were already accessible, where forms could be
> designed and made, and queries designed and run. I even designed a
> switchboard document with buttons that let me link and switch to
> forms for data entry. The rest, as they say, is history, and after
> some humming and hahing by Sun we ended up with the Base module as we
> currently know/love/hate it.

heh... you have a point. I wasn't thinking about Adabas and the old
(proprietary StarOffice).  Yet the whole concept was a bit different at
that time...

> > mean time. The result now is not that we have developers not doing
> > anything on Base (in fact, we do). The result is that there are less
> > resources on this because developers are simply less interested in
> > acting on it, and there's nothing we can force them to do (or not
> > do).
>
> Quite.
>
>
> > Hence, one thing that might help -and this is very much a call for
> > brainstorm, with the hope that we collect expectations about Base-
> > is to gather feedback from users, see what we can understand from
> > their use, or non-use of Base, and not being afraid to ask some
> > real questions.
>
> I actually think this would be a good idea : it was, after all (at
> least that is what we were led to believe), the results of a user
> survey that goaded Sun into action about designing Base2 (as opposed
> to maintaining/improving the then existing database capability).
>
> > As an example: should Base be scrapped off? Should we use it as a
> > front end to another DB? should we try to compete with Access?
> > Should it be geared towards a more complete usage (read: integrated
> > as a front end to enterprise DB); is it enough to squash the
> > reported bugs on Base? etc.
> >
> > After that survey we can a) analyze the results b) take action in
> > two forms: suggestions to the broader community (devs included) or
> > writing a set of RFEs (Request For Enhancement). RFEs are something
> > developers can work with. You may call them hacks, but  the point
> > is this; you describe in technical and functional terms, step by
> > step, what a feature should be. Not just "It should be able to
> > compete with Access" or "it should be red". But rather:
> > "description of feature, rationale, behaviour, usage scenario,
> > etc.".
>
> If a survey were to see the light of day, it would need to have the
> broadest possible communication, as the majority of Base users I know
> are not actually on any of the LibO lists, or at least their voices
> are not often to be heard. It would be interesting to hear what
> people still using OOo feel too, because on the Apache lists, IBM,
> for one, appears to have no real interest in a sophisticated frontend
> solution (they got rid of it completely in Symphony).
>
>
> So whilst the general discussion about Base could well be carried out
> on the discuss list, it would be good for discussions about making a
> survey to be kept here IMO.

In fact, putting the survey online should not be impossible... 
But let's agree on the questions first.

1) Users typology
- platform
- modules that are the most used (list all LibreOffice modules and
  allow the responding person to select each of them from 1 to 5)

2) About Base:
- use case typology (more input needed here, I won't be exhaustive)
- do you use Base as a font-end to external DBs or do you rely on
  HSQLDB ? Or both?
- how would you rate Base?  (choice between "it's bad, it's very buggy,
  it's okay but it could be much better,  I really like it"). 
- what is the most blocking bug in Base according to you (free answer +
  possible pointing to a reported issue

3) Base in the future
- do you plan to use Base more or less in the future?
- do you plan to use Base as a front end to external DB or do you plan
  to use it as a front end to the embedded HSQLDB?
- do you think LibreOffice should get rid of Base?
- If LibreOffice were to get rid of Base, what would you be using as a
  front end to databases? (freeform answer).

What do you think? Other questions to add? Some to pull away?

Thanks,

-- 
Charles-H. Schulz
Membre du Comité exécutif
The Document Foundation.

-- 
Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to marketing+help@global.libreoffice.org
Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/
Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette
List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/marketing/
All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted