@almamo

You may be relative new to TMO, but you are a huge embassador for the N9; so respect where respect is due.

Moving on...........

I am not a developer. I am not even moderately skilled with terminal, (although I was quite impressed with myself at installing Inception and OPPtimizer for the N9).

I am simply a big fan of the N900 and now the N9. I would never have purchased the N9 had it not been for the huge respect I had with the open souce and TMO community.

There are some amazingly talented and experienced developers and hackers here - collectively, it is they who have kept the TMO alive (ok, sometimes with a respirator, but TMO is still here).

The forum to encourage collaboration and help between developers on TMO is the heart of this organisation and, in my humble opinion, must be central to its structure.

New blood and 'noobs' are very welcome; let's face it where else can they access helpful and supportive advice on how to install and work third party apps and hacks?

TMO should welcome these newcomers.

But TMO (via its moderators) should enforce a zero tolerance of insults, intolerance and sometimes disgraceful language in forums. A foundation of TMO is the integrity and respect shown between members. It does not matter that times change, new members arrive. What is more important is that the orginal principles of TMO are preserved, so that everyone can continue to enjoy the site and community; hopefully for a long time to come.

Wazapp? Well, I never appreciated how popular Whatsapp is internationally until the wazapp experience. The original thread for wazapp was diabolical. I cringed whenever I visited it, and could never bring myself to post on it for that reason. But I think it was a 'one-off'.

We should be conscious that the reason the wazapp problem happened in the first place was because bloggers directed their readers to the TMO site. Bloggers who wholehearted support and love Maemo and N9 inadvertently created the problem.

I blog for the N9. But I am accutely aware that the readers of my blog are not developers or hackers, they are simply looking for the end product. Maybe they should always be directly to the Nokia Store?

But the fact is that, as we know, the only way that an N900/9 user will get the best experience from their device is to use (and hopefully support) third party developers.

So I conclude as follows:

1. Let the wise community decide the direction of TMO. And let us pray that the wise are in control.

2. Open up to newcomers and show them patience and respect, where repect is due. But remove members (old or new) that post disrespectful and/or rude posts.

3. Protect and encourage developer collaboration. Even if that means providing closed (invite only) forums for them to communicate on.

4. Accept the fact that trolls will invite themselves to the party just as much as they have done in the past. They are an inherent feature of forums, whichever OS it may be dedicated to.

5. If you are a blogger, remember that whilst developers do their magic for their love, they also deserve recognition.

A third party app is not a freebie. Bloggers should encourage donations where applicable. I feel strongly about this. Especially if a blogger has monetorized their site, financial gains from the open source.

And developers, for God's sake, if you provide a great app or tweak, add a donation button to your thread. It does not matter that your app will -not pass Nokia's QA procedures, who cares - you are adding huge value to the community so respect your work and endeavours.

6. Finally, my most important observation. I address the TMO council. Please have a sense of urgency about your work. The perception of most here, is that everything you do takes 6 months + to discuss, consider, vote, stamp and complete the prerequisite forms.

I have not read your articles of association, but you were voted in to do a job. Feel free to make executive decisions and get on with it !!!!!!!! We all respect protocols, but today (even for open source) we need quick, decisive action to drag TMO in the right direction.

Thanks for reading.
John