Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

Precisely today I have asked for volunteers willing to write a sticky topic for the Alternatives forum. qole has volunteered, mentioning also that a clarification needs to be done to differentiate alternative OSs from alternative desktop environments.

Maybe you could help him getting that sticky useful and in place?

About subforums, say that the top 50 most downloaded applications have probably way more users than those thinking of installing KDE in the tablets. Should we create 50 subforums, then?

More subforums are not the solution for more information. You say users come to ITt and then search. Well, odds are that they search first if they are not regular ITt users. Looking for how to install KDE in the Nokia Internet Tablets throws (to me now) this first result http://geekpenguin.blogspot.com/2007/09/kde-on-it.html

And also http://arstechnica.com/open-source/n...et-tablets.ars

And more, even some ITt thrads, but the first ones listed are not those explaining me how to install KDE.

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

Remember when this community could give input and people (the community) would show support for something and we could get Reggie to listen.

It seems as though now, our "community" is run by the maemo marketing manager??

oh well, do what you want Quim, you will anyway

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

PB, I think Quim's proposition is perfectly reasonable.

I guess putting sticky threads up front in the Alternatives forum, with explicit titles like "All you need to know about KDE on the tablets", and links inside to pre-made searches like Reggie's and Google, would work just as well as having a bunch of subforums, especially as people may have posted relevant information elsewhere...

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

While someone comes with the right stickies for Alternatives, I have made sticky the main threads covering the main alternatives. Let us know if there are better candidates to become sticky.

It looks ugly, but hopefully this will be an incentive to fix it. At least is useful for newcomers.

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

- Android
- Debian
- KDE
- Mer
- Palm OS
etc

It is indeed a bit more uncomfortable for these users. However, if we would put the same level of granularity to everything the forum would be unmaneagable (because Mapper, Tear, Canola, liqbase and long etc users could also deserve the same treatment, then).

But please, can you name the main use cases of, say, users of KD in the tablets? Try to enumerate them to see what had they to do before, and what will they do in the near future if we do our homework.[/QUOTE]

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

Those links don't work for me?

The main use cases for KD? I assume KDE?

I think the main uses for KDE, easily allowing users to use a mouse, print, use a joystick, burn a DVD, have a zelda theme, in general have a linux experience.

Additionally comparing Debian, MER, KDE to an application is like apples and oranges. Itt's just not the same thing.

Can you please explain what you mean by this, I do not understand?

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

Based upon the above qoute, and others in this thread, can't the same logic be applied to OS2006? It's not really supported by Nokia any more is it? Do any tablets ship with it? Isn't it really an "alternative" OS at this point? Therefore, shouldn't i be moved into the alternative category? Along these lines shouldn't Maemo 1&2 in the Old, archived category be combined under something like "old OS's" as well. Obvoiusly, with appropriate stickies if anyone cares to do them.

If fremantle has its' own category (it's not a released usable OS yet), shouldn't Mer (being highly supported by Nokia) get the same treatment?

I hate to say it (I'm tired and crabby), but it seems we are discriminating against non-Nokia alternatives, despite this being a community owned site?

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

What if, for the Alternatives forum, we apply a mod like ubuntuforums.org has. When posting a new topic, you can choose a prefix like (for ubuntu forums): [ubuntu], [xubuntu], [kubuntu], etc. or choose to have no prefix. I can see this working with the Alternatives forum. You could choose [KDE], [Android], [Mer], [Easy Debian], [chroot], etc. This would allow separation of topics, without having different subforums, which seems to be one of the main goals in this discussion. This has already been partially implemented when the forums were moved: the KDE topics, for example, were given the prefix [KDE]. However, a mod like this built into the board would make it easier for newcomers to follow the system.

Also: I agree with Lemmy. If we're going to have forums for Maemo 4 and Maemo 5, we should probably include a forum for Mer, as it exists in limbo between Maemo and not Maemo.

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

Quim, Those links don't work for me either.

I'm trying to figure out how to do a search on, say, "[KDE]" in the subject so I can link to those searches in my forum sticky. I can search for "KDE", but then it pulls in a few extra threads; I want the square brackets, but they break the search.

And once I get a working search, how do I reliably link to it?

Re: no further subforum classification in the Alternatives forum
 

Sorry, I didn't know that searches with IDs were so volatile. I have found how Reggie's black magic works:

.

Therefore:

• Android
• Debian
• KDE
• Mer
• Palm OS
• Ubuntu

In most cases these links are good to show basically the same the subforums showed.

Note that the Mer subforum was discussed, the main promoter of this project didn't think it was the right time yet and he agrees on the merge of Alternatives.

Sorry for the unclarity, by use cases I mean:

- KDE lover is interested to know whether Maemo or the tablets support it.
- Maemo user wants to know how to get KDE in his tablet.
- Tablet owner using KDE in his tablet wants to chat with similar users.
- etc.

Being my point that 1 good wiki page + 1 good sticky + Search box probably solves efficiently 90% of the cases. The remaining 9% can be probably made happy with 2 links to searches <KDE in title in the Alternatives forum> + <all posts in tmo tagged with KDE>.

Same for the rest of alternatives. I don't think any newcomer is actually happy about having to skim through a +100 posts thread. If the mistery is in the first post that gets updated... Well that's a wiki page that could be edited and expanded by others if placed in a real wiki.

> Additionally comparing Debian, MER, KDE to an application is like apples and oranges. Itt's just not the same thing.

I doubt they are different from a user+forum point of view. Some users are interested in KDE on the tablets and want to know and discuss about it. Some users are interested in Webkit browsers and want to know and discuss about it. Actually there is probably much more users and activity around Webkit browsers these days, yet we haven't heard anything from them thinking that either they have an own forum or there is no way to be here.

And by the way, have you tried searching 'KDE in Maemo' in Google? At least for me the first result is http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Maemo - it's a nice wiki page and probably most first time users start there before jumping here. Another hint for that sticky in Alternatives.