How to get feedback on experimental features

[Julian Foad <ju...@apache.org>]

In the 1.11 release notes I wanted to write "We would like to hear your feedback on these experimental features. Please share your thoughts with us <here>" ...

What would make a good landing page for that link?

More generally, how can we better handle getting feedback?

Currently we have almost no user-facing mention of the IRC channels, and only our "mailing-lists.html"[1] which is not a friendly interface to giving feedback through the users@ mailing list.

How can we do this better?

Some of my thoughts:

  * need a dedicated landing page for that link
  * needs to be inviting and very easy for drive-by users (anyone already engaged with the Subversion project will already know how to give feedback)
  * some will just want to send a message to us; others will want to ask a question or engage in conversation; the latter is probably more useful feedback for us.
  * offer options for how to communicate, such as: IRC, email, Jira ticket
  * need to give a bit more guidance than just "these methods are available" -- suggest something, for the drive-by user who doesn't have their own preferences
  * for each option, try to have an easy web interface
    - starting points: ASF Pony Mail [4]?, IRC web interface [3]?, a Jira "issue collector" [2]?
    - but [4] requires a login before posting
  * not for this purpose, but while we're talking of such thing, we should also have a page describing the details of all the ways to communicate, that covers IRC and Jira as well as email, in the same way that [1] currently details the email lists.

Other ideas or starting points, anyone?

[1] http://subversion.apache.org/mailing-lists.html
[2] https://issues.apache.org/jira/secure/ViewCollectors!default.jspa?projectKey=SVN
[3] https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#svn
[4] https://lists.apache.org/list.html?users@subversion.apache.org

-- 
- Julian

Re: How to get feedback on experimental features

[Julian Foad <ju...@apache.org>]

Daniel Shahaf wrote:
> Would it help to have a non-publicly-archived feedback channel?  I'm
> thinking of, say, some feedback@subversion.a.o mailing list, privately
> archived and with moderated subscriptions.

A way to send feedback anonymously but in public would be a better fit between open-source development and a user who wants to remain private. Their feedback needs to get through to the public project in the end if it's to be of any use. I accept that anonymous feedback comes with more spam issues to deal with.

A private channel would require management from our end, a team who are willing to be the go-betweens translating private to public, and visibility and trust of that team (is it really private if it's actually an alias for all committers, for example). That role is better filled by commercial organizations, and not something I think we should be doing.

-- 
- Julian

Re: How to get feedback on experimental features

[Daniel Shahaf <d....@daniel.shahaf.name>]

Julian Foad wrote on Fri, 28 Sep 2018 16:52 +0100:
> Other ideas or starting points, anyone?

Would it help to have a non-publicly-archived feedback channel?  I'm
thinking of, say, some feedback@subversion.a.o mailing list, privately
archived and with moderated subscriptions.

What do other ASF projects do?