Why are there no subforums for KDE & Gnome?

**STurtle** · 07-Apr-2011, 03:21

I am always wondering where to ask questions like "How to update to the latest KDE minor release?" or "How to do x in KDE?" or "How to work-around a bug in the KDE Activities management?".

I usually end up posting them in "Applications", although I don't think of KDE itself as an application, but at least the forum subtitle includes "Questions about Desktops". However, that subforum appears pretty busy and the topics range widely.

I think it makes sense to have a single forum for applications, since KDE users may use some Gnome Software, while Gnome users may use some KDE Software. However, questions about the desktop itself seem misplaced there, as I don't care much about problems specific to Gnome.

So how about a "KDE"-, "Gnome-" and maybe an "Other Desktops-" subforum?

**deano_ferrari** · 07-Apr-2011, 03:31

So how about a "KDE"-, "Gnome-" and maybe an "Other Desktops-" subforum?

Hmmm... interesting idea. I can see the merit in this. I'd like to know what others' opinions are here....

**stamostolias** · 07-Apr-2011, 03:47

Come to Greek Subforum and see: I have written guides about openSUSE function and programming languages.
Î¤ÎµÎºÎ¼Î·ÏÎ¯ÏÏÎ·(Documentation)

**DenverD** · 07-Apr-2011, 04:07

On 04/07/2011 11:36 AM, deano ferrari wrote:
>
>> So how about a "KDE"-, "Gnome-" and maybe an "Other Desktops-" subforum?
>>
> Hmmm... interesting idea. I can see the merit in this. I'd like to know
> what others' opinions are here....

i don't care one way or the other, but wonder if we have a KDE and Gnome
and "Other" forum, will we move any (like XFCE, LXDE, ROX, �toil�, EDE,
Enlightenment or Unity) out of 'other' if they get more followers ??

--
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [NNTP via openSUSE 11.3 + KDE4.5.5 +
Thunderbird3.1.8] Can you believe it? This guy Ralph wins $181 million
in the lottery last Wednesday, and then finds the love of his life just
2 days later. Talk about LUCK!

**hcvv** · 07-Apr-2011, 04:32

Do not forget that for typical KDE questions, there is a KDE forum (Index page • KDE Community Forums) where you might be served better then here for questions not related to openSUSE (which is oft the case). I guess for Gnome there is a similar posibility.

**pistazienfresser** · 07-Apr-2011, 04:44

I think that STurtles suggestion makes sense (compare in the German language area 'Desktop' with three subfora).

But on the other hand there are already many fora, sub-fora and sub-sub-fora in the English language area. This may already lead to more confusion than putting threads with a similar theme/topic together.
Example given: Someone has a laptop with openSUSE 11.4 and KDE installed with a not working wlan. He may post on the hardware forum (maybe because he suspects a 'hard blocked'-issue), on the laptop forum (maybe because he suspects this related to his laptop's vendor or just because he uses a laptop...) or in the wireless forum (because he could not use his wireless device).
Creating a new KDE forum may give him the additional 'chance' to post in the KDE forum (maybe because he suspects this issue being related to the KDE program knetworkmanager) ...

So I would guess that using general tags like kde, wireless, notebook
(and maybe in addition more specific tags like acer, hard blocked or 14e4:432b)
seems to me a better choice than creating three additional fora in the English language area of forums.openSUSE.org .

Just my personal thoughts.

Regards
Martin
(pistazienfresser)

**DenverD** · 07-Apr-2011, 06:34

On 04/07/2011 01:06 PM, pistazienfresser wrote:
> Example given: Someone has a laptop with openSUSE 11.4 and KDE
> installed with a not working wlan. He may post on the -hardware- forum
> (maybe because he suspects a '-hard blocked-'-issue), on the -laptop-
> forum (maybe because he suspects this related to his laptop's vendor or
> just because he uses a laptop...) or in the -wireless- forum (because he
> could not use his wireless device).

or if it is an application, desktop, network, wireless or multimedia
problem it might be posted to the 64 bit forum, if there is a glimmer of
a suspicion it might be related to either 64 hardware or 64 software or
.. . .

etc..

--
CAVEAT: http://is.gd/bpoMD [NNTP via openSUSE 11.3 + KDE4.5.5 +
Thunderbird3.1.8] Can you believe it? This guy Ralph wins $181 million
in the lottery last Wednesday, and then finds the love of his life just
2 days later. Talk about LUCK!

**hendersj** · 07-Apr-2011, 10:38

As I recall earlier discussions about it, there was some question about
how to deal with "I'm a GNOME user using K3B" or "I'm a KDE user using F-
Spot" and where those users would logically look to ask their questions.

That said, as stamostolias said, some of the non-English forums have
decided to offer KDE and GNOME forums.

But you raise a good point about questions about DE usage being misplaced
in the applications forum.

Let me raise the idea with the rest of the team and see what they think.

Jim

--
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

**deano_ferrari** · 07-Apr-2011, 13:02

You guys have raised some good arguments already - now I think I'm just going to sit on the fence and watch...

O
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**STurtle** · 08-Apr-2011, 01:32

Originally Posted by hcvv

Do not forget that for typical KDE questions, there is a KDE forum (Index page • KDE Community Forums) where you might be served better then here for questions not related to openSUSE (which is oft the case). I guess for Gnome there is a similar posibility.

You are right, this might be often the case, but my first example question in the opening post is clearly not of this type. I think such question might be important to many openSuse/KDE users. So assuming further that no KDE/Gnome subforums will be created (just for the sake of the argument, I am happy that the creation is really considerd by the forum admins, thanks!) where should such a question be placed then? In "pre-release/beta"?

Also, directing people to anther forum might make it more difficult to communicate. Similar to the bugtracking: if I encounter a bug in KDE, am I supposed to I report it in Novell's bugtracker or should I head directly to the KDE bugtracker? I always wonder about this, since from my user perspective, I am unsure which part of the software product I am using is KDE and which is openSuse.