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The user base of Fedora has many aspects.  Many people who contribute to Fedora representative of only a small cross-section of this user baseFedora contributors understand that, while they are valued and important as Fedora community members, they may not be representative of a very large class of users who may find free software serves their needs as wellBy understanding the nature of this larger class we can make good decisions about how to make Fedora work well for others besides ourselves.
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{{About}}
The user base of Fedora has many aspects.  The Board [[Meeting:Board meeting 2009-10-22|clarified in October 2009]] a set of four characteristics that describe ''the minimum level of consumer for whom we'll design the [[default offering]]''This type of consumer is someone we think can immediately benefit from the usefulness and elegance of free software.  This type of consumer is also someone who can be persuaded to participate or contribute to Fedora.  Consumers who don't fit this minimum profile, though, might very well be pleased with what we provide.  We tend to favor consumers who are interested in taking a step toward collaboration.


The following sections describe the characteristics of this large class of users, and the Fedora Project will make process changes where appropriate to ensure we are meeting the needs of as many members of this class as possible. You may find yourself fitting into one or more of these categories, in which case, welcome to our user base!
Our contributors are numbered among this user base.  This class is not a statement of our present Project membership but is rather a goal we are instituting for the Fedora distribution in the future.


== Voluntary Linux consumer ==
* [[User base - voluntary Linux consumer|Voluntary Linux consumer]]
* [[User base - computer-friendly|Computer-friendly]]
* [[User base - likely collaborator|Likely collaborator]]
* [[User base - general productivity user|General productivity user]]


We expect that a large number of people are switching to a Linux operating system by choice.  They may do so for any of a number of reasons, including:
The Board [[Meeting:Board meeting 2009-10-22|considers]] these aspects applicable to the work of the entire Fedora Project.  The Board will encourage process changes where appropriate to ensure we are meeting the needs of as many members of this class as possible.
* Stability
* Security
* Curiosity
* Recommendations from people they know
* Free of cost
* Liberal software licensing
* Availability of high-quality software
* Free and open source ideals
* Desire to join a community
The processes of our community in producing a Fedora release, including the way we conduct its lifecycle, should not disappoint people against these expectations.


== Computer-friendly non-hacker ==
== Contributors ==


Our community is made up of people, by and large, who are very tech savvyThe longer people have been involved in the Fedora community, typically the more expertise they accrue on Linux and specifically Fedora.  However, our user base does not necessarily share this level of expertise.
Fedora contributors understand that they may not be representative of a very large class of users who may find free software serves their needs as wellBy setting the bounds of this larger class, we can make good decisions about how to make Fedora work well for as many people as possible, including ourselves.


Users can be expected to be comfortable with installing an operating system, which means they have skills and knowledge that allows them to perform simple tasks including:
For example, package maintainers who contribute actively and regularly to Fedora are more than just computer-friendly.  A package maintainer has a high level of technical skill beyond that of the general user base, she is not only likely but in fact a frequent collaborator, and while she may use her systems for general productivity use, she also uses them for specific technical domain work.
* Locate and identify system components
* Download and save files
* Locate existing software to write optical or USB media
* Boot their system to alternative optical or USB media
* Follow instructions and prompts


Users cannot be expected to have certain skills and knowledge that many Fedora contributors have, including:
Another example of a different kind of contributor is someone on Fedora's marketing teamThis person might much more closely resemble the baseline characteristics aboveHe may not have a high level of technical skill and uses general productivity tools to complete his personal work in addition to Fedora specific tasks, although he is a frequent collaborator.
* Understand operating system internals
* Know how programs and libraries are related or interact
* Evaluate new releases of existing software without context
* Mitigate unexpected changes in existing software
* Debug software crashes
* Diagnose system hardware problems
This does ''not'' mean that users are incapable of learning these skillsIn fact, part of the process of becoming a collaborator and contributor is acquiring themHowever, we cannot assume that a user already possesses these skills.  We assume the software we propagate to users has no context to them other than they may use it.


== Likely collaborator ==
By tailoring our processes to appeal to this wide superset of users, we can ensure Fedora's ongoing relevance and appeal, and thereby encourage more people to become interested in free software and participate in the Fedora Project.


== General productivity user ==
 
[[Category:About Fedora]]
[[Category:Board]]
[[Category:Policy]]
[[Category:Strategic_working_group]]

Latest revision as of 23:28, 7 August 2018

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About Fedora
Vision statement: Our vision.
Foundations: Our core values.
Overview: Our mission.
Objectives: Our specific objectives.
User base: Our users.


The user base of Fedora has many aspects. The Board clarified in October 2009 a set of four characteristics that describe the minimum level of consumer for whom we'll design the default offering. This type of consumer is someone we think can immediately benefit from the usefulness and elegance of free software. This type of consumer is also someone who can be persuaded to participate or contribute to Fedora. Consumers who don't fit this minimum profile, though, might very well be pleased with what we provide. We tend to favor consumers who are interested in taking a step toward collaboration.

Our contributors are numbered among this user base. This class is not a statement of our present Project membership but is rather a goal we are instituting for the Fedora distribution in the future.

The Board considers these aspects applicable to the work of the entire Fedora Project. The Board will encourage process changes where appropriate to ensure we are meeting the needs of as many members of this class as possible.

Contributors

Fedora contributors understand that they may not be representative of a very large class of users who may find free software serves their needs as well. By setting the bounds of this larger class, we can make good decisions about how to make Fedora work well for as many people as possible, including ourselves.

For example, package maintainers who contribute actively and regularly to Fedora are more than just computer-friendly. A package maintainer has a high level of technical skill beyond that of the general user base, she is not only likely but in fact a frequent collaborator, and while she may use her systems for general productivity use, she also uses them for specific technical domain work.

Another example of a different kind of contributor is someone on Fedora's marketing team. This person might much more closely resemble the baseline characteristics above. He may not have a high level of technical skill and uses general productivity tools to complete his personal work in addition to Fedora specific tasks, although he is a frequent collaborator.

By tailoring our processes to appeal to this wide superset of users, we can ensure Fedora's ongoing relevance and appeal, and thereby encourage more people to become interested in free software and participate in the Fedora Project.