Was: [Re: [OGo-XML-RPC] zogi - birthDate attribute of Contact]

> From: Adam Tauno Williams <[email protected]>

> We stink at marketing! :)  Also I think the pool of people who need a
> "real" groupware server isn't terribly large.  The worst thing here is
> that the current website it pretty darn awful and extremely out of date.

I think marketing is hard, and especially for small groups.  The internet 
is a crowded place.  I just commented this morning on the ycombinator site 
where people thought there was no rival to Sharepoint (like Lotus Notes 
and OGO don't exist).  One could say that these are highly-motivated and 
savvy people, but somehow people have a blind-spot when it comes to 
groupware.  If someone wants the bees-knees of groupware then Notes has no 
competition.  If they want something free and open (as many at ycombinator 
do), I'd expect them to have some idea of what was available.  I think 
that all businesses need groupware providing at the very minimum the 
features of OGO.  The businesses just don't know it :-)

> If you want to make a tiny contribution to project marketing I think it
> is useful to go to the major Open Source software index [freshmeat] and
> rate the project(s) and possibly add a kind word in a comment.  Someone
> looking for software will then have some indication that there is
> interest in the product.   People often mistakenly get the idea that
> OpenGroupware is dead/moribund.

I've done that.  But to be honest, I can't remember the last time I 
bothered to read stuff at freshmeat - maybe that's just me ;-)

> In the same manner Ohloh is an up-and-comer in such things.  You can
> "stack" software you use so other people can get a [extremely
> unscientific] estimate on the size of the community around a project.
> Ohloh also lets you submit reviews.

I can't seem to get to Ohloh this morning.  I'll have a look later.

> > Ninety percent of the 
> > things that have slowed me down in this evaluation have been to do 
with 
> > getting my own installs of Postfix and Cyrus working, 
> 
> WMOGAG has a growing section on Cyrus that will be included in the next
> version.  We've been a Cyrus shop since long before OGo.

That's cool, but I think it was kinda ironic that I spent so much more 
time fiddling with the mail servers than with OGO.  I don't place an iota 
of criticism towards OGO in this regard.  After all, OGO is leaving it 
open as to which mail servers people use.  And the integration with 
Postfix/Cyrus was basically flawless.  And to tell you the truth, even 
with paid for, close source, massively used products like Notes, if it 
wasn't for the fact that I'd received a lot of training in Notes admin 10 
years ago, I am sure I would struggle getting internet mail working in a 
new Notes install.


> Documentation is a bit scant,  I've gathered some up here
> <
http://docs.opengroupware.org/Members/whitemice/Development/index_html/view

> > that is more specifically developer focused than what is in 
> WMOGAG.  I've also accumulated a collection of Obj-C related 
> articles and what not;  if your ever interested I'll tarball those 
> and send them off-list.

Yes, please do.  I'm not even someone with a background in C, so ObjC is a 
strange beast to me.  Although I have liked some of the stuff I've read by 
Brad Cox.

Bernard

-- 
OpenGroupware.org Discussion [email protected]
http://mail.opengroupware.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss