Re: [libreoffice-marketing] plea to remove in-app advertising from LibreOffice

When I first saw this issue this morning, my initial reaction was to agree that perhaps a request 
for donations appearing within the application is inappropriate but, on reconsideration, I've 
changed my mind.

Whenever I have been promoting the use of LO, the advantages of its open source heritage are 
usually acknowledged but the fact that it can be downloaded and installed without any financial 
outlay is almost always the deciding factor. Once the "sale" is made, it is likely that many users 
don't really consider how LO is developed while continuing to enjoy its benefits.

There is a big difference between displaying an unsolicited 3rd party ad in an application, such as 
is common with phone apps, and a tasteful reminder of how LO is funded and developed. In fact I 
would not even consider the latter to be an ad at all.

The difference between an "informative reminder" and a "nagging ad" is probably a combination of 
appropriate, considered wording and the way in which the reminder appears - frequency, what part of 
LO usage, etc.

I have to admit I was staggered to learn that Thunderbird gets more funding than LO. Perhaps 
looking closely as Thunderbird's funding methods could be informative.

Nige

________________________________
From: Mike Saunders <mike.saunders@documentfoundation.org>
Sent: 30 January 2019 09:16
To: marketing@global.libreoffice.org
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-marketing] plea to remove in-app advertising from LibreOffice

Hi Justin,

Thanks for raising this. I just want to offer my perspective:

I closely monitor the social media channels for LibreOffice and TDF
(Twitter with 23,000 followers, Facebook with 54,000 page likes, Google+
with 16,000 followers), along with Reddit and other sites.

I've read many hundreds of feedback messages across those channels since
the release of LibreOffice 6.1, and haven't seen a *single* complaint
(or even mention) relating to the "Get involved" infobar. (Of course,
there's a chance I've missed something, especially over the Christmas
break, but I hope you see my point!)

Now, that's not to deny that some people may find it a bit naggy. But I
just want to add those data points -- that it doesn't seem to be
bothering the vast majority of users.

Another data point: the infobar in the app brings around 800-900 users
every day to the "Get involved" page on our website. Of course, we
cannot easily measure how many of those visitors become active
contributors in the project, but it's a good start IMO.

And now my personal view: I think we are absolutely right to keep it.
Even if a few people find it naggy (and again, given that I've seen no
mention of it on social media, I don't think it's many), I think it's
extremely important that we remind people: this software doesn't just
happen by magic. It's the hard work of a community and ecosystem
members. If you want it to keep improving, contribute back.

One thing I *do* see a lot on social media is a rather entitled attitude
of "LibreOffice should do X" or "Why hasn't LibreOffice got Y?". I
gently remind those people that changes and improvements only happen if
someone steps up to do them :-) So a very occasional reminder in the app
is fine by me. People are getting a massively feature-rich office suite
for completely free, after all -- they should bear in mind who makes it!

Mike




On 30/01/2019 06:21, Justin Luth wrote:
> Someone on ask.libreoffice.org wrote:
>
> “Lately, in LibreOffice 6.1.2.1 I get a nag window on top asking me to
> get involved. Are you trying to become obnoxious windows-like software?
> How do I get rid of that thing?” This succinct post is very revealing,
> and perfectly mirrors my own initial and ongoing impressions.
>
>
> First, note the user perception of this new “feature”. It is classified
> as naggy. It is not seen as a legitimate request for help, but as an
> untargeted and intrusive irritant.
>
> Secondly, it is totally unwanted. This user terms it as obnoxious, and
> references the disrespectful and heavy-handed Windows attitude that has
> driven so many of us to FOSS in the first place.
>
> And that all leads to the obvious reaction of “how can I never see this
> again.” Seeing it once is already too much, and every 90 days is not an
> improvement.
>
>
> Do we really want to market LibreOffice as yet another piece of
> unprofessional[1] beggarware? Everyone already acknowledges that
> “GetInvolved” irritates us, but now imagine the scenario where someone
> has donated to LibreOffice and a week later the donate message pops up!
> That will feel extremely offensive!
>
> Having places (like help - get involved/donate/about) where the user can
> discover and actively seek out ways to support LibreOffice is fine, but
> intentionally irritating the user base is sure to back-fire. Please, let
> us remove the infobar advertisements before they cause too much damage.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Justin - volunteer developer, promoter, user-support  (who is damaged in
> each of these capacities by this adware), and self-appointed end-user
> advocate.
>
>
> [1] It is completely unprofessional. Speaking about the “get involved”
> pop-up, Michael Meeks writes that “No vendor (or in-house team)
> providing an actually supported version would show this to their users”.
>
>
> P.S. Sorry for not realizing that the ESC decision to remove GetInvolved
> from 6.1.5 Stable should have been confirmed by other bodies before
> being acted on.

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