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Accepted
Tomáš Pečený
Asked: 2017-11-25 01:20:15 +0800 CST

where to place a suggestion for Ubuntu?

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(I thought that Ubuntu's upgrading (12.04 -> 16.04) lost a useful option, and I wanted to propose its returning. Then I found that this option was vastly improved; but the answer is so generally useful that I propose to leave this question as general.)
Where should I place the suggestion? At the https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity? Thanks!

16.04

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    "Suggesting" changes can be a rather loaded term. Here's why:

    1. Ubuntu has always been a contribution-ocracy. The folks who get developer attention are the (fellow) folks who contribute code.

    2. Unity is now being maintained and supported by a few community volunteers.

    Neither of those groups appreciate drive-by ideas much. They are already busy enough with projects that they care more about. Most are volunteers - they work on what they please. The professionals, of course, work on what their employer wants.

    Successful community suggestions tend to have the following characteristics:

    • They are made in the correct forum (currently http://community.ubuntu.com or the appropriate developer mailing list)
    • They are well-researched already. You care more about this feature than anybody else, so look up the feature on Launchpad (or upstream). Use the changelogs and mailing list archives to determine why it was originally dropped, who was involved, and the specific code changes. It's a real research project - keep notes and bookmark links. You will need to refer back to them.
    • They occur during the right time in the six-month Ubuntu development cycle. Most changes are planned in early November and early May - the weeks right after an Ubuntu release, as teams start planning their next six months' work. Many changes are roadmapped a year or two in advance. Don't approach a team in January expecting to see a new feature in April.
    • The suggester has enough technical skills to start work. The worst thing you can say to a developer is "Well I'm not a programmer". Neither were they when they started. Developers will happily mentor: They will show you how to fish. They won't do all the work for you. They have their own projects (that they care about more).
    • The suggester has a clear vision and is willing to lead volunteers. You don't need to do all the work yourself - other interested volunteers pop out of nowhere all the time. Basic leadership and management skills are helpful to spread the load and make the work light and fun for everybody.
    • The written suggestion itself is persuasive to the audience. You're not trying to convince yourself. You're not begging developers. You are not arguing with anybody. You are trying to convince developers that this new feature is a great addition to their codebase, that it will be easy to maintain, that it meets open source standards, that it will be easy to support, that it will be used. You are trying to convince volunteers who could join a dozen other project that yours is the most fulfilling and fun/interesting/challenging.

    Wishlist bugs usually meet few of those criteria, so few are picked up by the (volunteer) developers.

    Suggestion: Get to know the Ubuntu community contributors before pitching an idea. Join a team (testing, documentation, support, bug triage, upstream, whatever) that you find interesting and find a few ways to contribute. Observe how others make suggestions, and how the contributors and community responds, the communication channels they use, the resources they refer to. Time well spent.

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