[maemo-developers] Public maemo repository

[From: Marius Vollmer]

"ext maemo-developers-bounces at maemo.org" <maemo-developers-bounces at maemo.org> writes:

> Ok, let me go once again back to this boat analogy.

Be sure to understand that an anology is not a model for reality.  You
can't use it to predict how reality will behave.  It is just an aid to
talk about reality.

>>> Maybe because the whole concept of something that is heavier than
>>> water but still floats without effort seemed to be too good to be
>>> true.
>
> Wood floats, agreed. But sorry, not without effort. 

You could say: "Distributions are boats made out of wood: they require
serious effort to keep floating." and you might be right.  Then we
could argue whether distributions require more effort than they save.

> Nokia has good engineers even if sometimes you disagree with their
> decisions.

I have no problem passionately disagreeing even with my past self!
This is not about pinning blame on someone.  It is about recognizing
what should have been done (if only we knew better), and how to fix it
now.

> [...] floating wood ends up soaking and sinking if you don't put a
> lot of effort maintaining it.

[ And still people spent the effort.  Must have been worth it, don't
  you think?  Also, we found better materials than wood for making
  ships that require less maintenance.

  When I said "something that is heavier than water but still floats
  without effort" I meant that the thing does not sink right in front
  of you because of its bowl shape.  Dry wood already floats on its
  own as you observe, and thus is not really "heavier than water".

  Thus, let's drop the boat analogy.
]

> Combine this RealPhysics principle with the already commented fact
> that a distro is a lot more than code (i.e. the humans around it)
> and you find good reasons to start doing what our Nokia team ended
> up doing in the early days.

Nokia was building the maemo community from the beginning and it
exists.  You seem to say that getting serious about the maemo
distribution implies creating a new community.  Is that so?