This thread has been a delight to read.

On topic and polite discontent members discussing with doers, community leaders and on topic and polite content members with hardly any troll-calling or intentional FODing. (Though I think the FOD, Trolls, Apologizers and other belittling and derailing terms are being used too often around here, like most other forums.)

The thread has few absolute statements and doesn't go into bug details any much. It may have started out as a suggestion to route some noise away but it has turned into an interesting and constructive debate on how to better handle real issues that does indeed make it harder to give this platform full commitment at this exact point in time. And as I judge this, it's unusually little "defensive mode" in this thread despite rather compressed (but valid) criticism.

konttori, in one single post you brought back most of my lost faith in this platform.

And qgil, I haven't always thought so lately, but I now think you're on the right track again. I am not equally convinced about the people further up in the business system, but then that goes for all business organizations. And I am sad that you would chose to leave your position as volunteer moderator, even if you have good reasons. I am not one of those who would think your two roles were in conflict here, and any moderator is a resource.

One thing though, I have to say though.

Yes, quite some time before the N900 was announced, I heard through threads in this forum that the next device would be step 4 out of 5. And I've seen it in tech blogs, usually with a bit of sarcasm included. I know you feel that "it is sold as a mobile computer with the Internet in its heart, and it was introduced as 'step 4 of 5' for tech leaders / lovers." As you intended for it, I am sure. I am one of those who researched before I bought, so I know what you say is true. It was announced. To a handful of people.

However, this is just not how the N900 is seen in the eyes of the world. The N900 appears like a milestone project discovered by higher level Nokia people, picked up and used as an medkit when the N97 had hurt the Nokia image in the market. Well, I'm sure this could not be further from how things work over there, but that's how it looks now.

Because, in the eyes of all the world except a handful working for Nokia and another handful of members of the Maemo community, the N900 is the newest, most advanced top of the line telephone from Nokia. There is no way around that. If you expected people to think of this as a mobile computer with phone functionality, then Nokia Marketing betrayed you. Have you seen a single ad anywhere, anytime, that even hinted that it's not equally advanced on phone functionality? No. Does it say "with added phone functionality" on Nokias pages? No. Does it look like any other Nokia phone on the Nokia lists? More often than not. And the chains have as such not picked up on this not-existing distinction. Each and every net ad I have seen for it has portraited it as "Nokias most advanced" or "A phone and more!"

Yes, it was step four out of five on the way to step one of Meego. But that's simply not what it is sold as. You have to accept that no one* outside of this community thinks of it as a mobile computer with added phone functionality.

* Making a generalization here, I am sure you can name at least one.

That said, I have been very worried about the lack of visible direction, and to some extent the lack of willingness to admit that worried customers may not be completely to blame when they are more worried than usual. Now I see that my worries, while not unfounded, are being handled in a competent way.

I still have 10 months of down-payments left, so it's good to be able to put down the shoulders for a bit.