Community Articles: Opinions, Interviews, 分析
Editor: Louis Suárez-Potts
2002 February 25
Interview: Timon Schroeter
Timon Schroeter is a familiar presence to OpenOffice.org community members. Not only is he a 重要な contributor to the Marketing 事業／計画（する）, but also a co-創立者 of the new Germanophone 事業／計画（する）. 同様に, he is a strong member of the Mirrors 事業／計画（する） (and has an excellent mirror) and his 出資／貢献s to the "使用者s@openoffice.apache.org" 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） are たびたび（訪れる） and 相当な. The interview below was 行為／行うd 経由で e-mail earlier this year; I edited the interview only very わずかに.
Your 命令（する） of technical 問題／発行するs 示唆するs that you are a programmer... Are you?
No. I have 始める，決める up and 持続する a couple of desktops and servers, but my last serious programming 試みる／企てるs I made on a Commodore 64.
Outside OpenOffice.org I spend most of my time 熟考する／考慮するing chemistry at RWTH-Aachen, which 概略で translates into Aachen University of 科学（工学）技術, 位置を示すd in this 地域: http://www.technologieregion-aachen.de.
OpenOffice.org is a 広大な／多数の／重要な 事業／計画（する） and 製品, but--oddly--not everyone yet knows about it. How did you get 利益／興味d in OpenOffice.org?
I started using Linux two and half years ago and have used StarOffice 5.2 since that day. In 関係 with my 熟考する／考慮するs, I often use コンビナート／複合体 Microsoft Office 文書s, and was not 満足させるd with SO5.2's MS Word compatibility. So I started looking for another office 控訴 running on Linux. I 設立する that OpenOffice.org had problems with MS-Office compatibility and とじ込み／提出するd two or three 問題／発行するs. I was 極端に impressed by the fact that these bugs were 直す／買収する，八百長をするd within two weeks.
It used to be 受託するd 知恵 that Open Source 作品 in a sort of "gift economy." Lately, that 知恵 has been critiqued. But the 存在 of the idea does raise a question: What do you hope to get out of OpenOffice.org? Of course, asking this question is sort of like asking a musician what he or she hopes to get out a 禁止（する）d...
Some 重要な experiences made me an Open Source fan, looking for a 事業／計画（する） to 与える／捧げる to. One time I had trouble getting SANE to work with my scanner. After having read the Readmes and FAQs I asked the programmer of that SANE backend what the problem could be. Within ten minutes I got an answer: A 詳細（に述べる）d 分析 of the page of console 生産（高） I had sent, three ideas what the problem could be and ways to check which was true. Half an hour later we knew that there were some タイミング problems introduced by the switch to kernel 2.4. He told me how to 直す／買収する，八百長をする this and recompile, or I could wait for my distributor to 地位，任命する the new 一括, which they did within two days. I was impressed, and started looking for a 事業／計画（する） to 与える／捧げる to. I considered 令状ing or translating documentation for KDE, but （機の）カム across OpenOffice.org before I got 伴う／関わるd with any other 事業／計画（する）.
Beside the 適切な時期 to 与える／捧げる to an Open Source 事業／計画（する）, what do you get out of OpenOffice.org?
- A good office-控訴 for my personal use.
- A multiplatform office-控訴 that lets Windows-使用者s make the switch to an Open Source 壇・綱領・公約 much easier.
- Tremendous feedback: The community lets its active members know it 高く評価する／（相場などが）上がるs their 約束／交戦 . Result: Satisfaction. To everybody out there: I can only recommend you try this, it is 簡単に 広大な／多数の／重要な!
As longtime community members will 解任する, last spring Guy Capra 首尾よく 開始する，打ち上げるd his Francophone 事業／計画（する） and helped to create the Lang, or Native 開発 事業／計画（する）, as it is more 正式に known. Some of the OpenOffice.org community was 最初 気が進まない to 乗る，着手する on any new such 事業／計画（する）s, for it was felt that the 危険 of fragmentation and balkanization was too 広大な／多数の／重要な. But OpenOffice.org has 発展させるd, and you, along with Jost Ammon [and now Manfred Reiter] recently created the very popular and successful Germanophone 事業／計画（する）, which is part of the Lang 事業／計画（する）.
What are your 期待s for the 事業／計画（する）? And how would you 手段 its 進歩? 同様に, what 戦略s have you used for bringing people in to the OpenOffice.org community? And, how are you 妨げるing members from ignoring the 残りの人，物 of the 事業／計画（する） and developing the 事業／計画（する） on their own? Or is this an 問題／発行する at all?
The Germanophone 事業／計画（する） 供給するs （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状）, documentation and active help for Germanophone 使用者s in their native language and serves as an 入ること／参加（者） point for Germanophone developers. We 設立する and 持続する a mirror-網状組織 to spread both the 初めの ソフトウェア from OpenOffice.org and localized Germanophone 見解／翻訳／版s. We keep 接触する with 地元の CD-ROM-distributors and will 設立する and keep 接触する with the 地元の computer-関係のある 圧力（をかける）.
Who is "we"? We are a group of 12 volunteers, five of whom introduced themselves on our mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） within the first two weeks of our 事業／計画（する）s 存在. How did they hear about it? Jost [Ammon, the leader then] is 井戸／弁護士席 know in 確かな German StarOffice newsgroups, where he 発表するd the 事業／計画（する） and 招待するd people to join us.
Possible 進歩 指示する人（物）s for our 事業／計画（する） are: Number of 使用者s(downloads, 加入者s), 地位，任命するs, number of active members, pages of documentation written, number and 質 of servers carrying localized builds...
The numbers speak for themselves: In January we counted 1500 downloads of localized builds, 400 地位，任命するs to our mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s, written by 70 加入者s, 100 and some pages of documentation written by 12 active members, a 最初の／主要な server and 5 mirrors carrying localized builds, all with high bandwidth .
Using the publicity 生成するd by Sun for StarOffice 6.0 and the OpenOffice.org marketing group, we can 大きくする our (StarOffice and OpenOffice.org) 使用者 base and the number of developers by a lot. Since StarOffice was 最初 developed in Germany, there is a large number of people who know and like StarOffice. OpenOffice.org 1.0 will be 利用できる two or three weeks before the 開始する，打ち上げる of SO 6.0, so if we 活発に get the community to help us 促進する OpenOffice.org 1.0, the 増加する in the number of 使用者s and developers can be extreme
Lang/de is not supposed to be an island, of course. We tell our 加入者s about 利益／興味ing threads on other mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s, 招待するing them to join the discussions and ask the posters of very 利益／興味ing messages to 地位，任命する them to the english 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s, too. I smile every time I see one of our 加入者s 地位，任命する messages to one of the 12 OpenOffice.org 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s which I myself read--and I smile a lot lately :-)
This brings us to another point, one that is ますます important to Open Source 事業／計画（する）s: their international 控訴，上告. OpenOffice.org is intensely international and the native language 事業／計画（する）s speak to that. But so do the mirrors, which are now 利用できる throughout the world. Most community members may not be aware that you have been one of the most active and important contributors to the Mirrors 事業／計画（する）. In fact, because of your help, OpenOffice.org counts more than twenty 場所／位置s mirroring our binaries, source, and contributor とじ込み／提出するs; and many of these also 申し込む／申し出 localized 見解／翻訳／版s of the code.
Too much 栄誉（を受ける）--I 始める，決める up our 最初の／主要な download 場所／位置 and について言及するd that we need mirrors. Four out of the five mirrors carrying localized builds have been 組織するd by Marco Huggenberger.
So, my question: What do you feel needs to be done to その上の the international 受託 of OpenOffice.org? This is of course a hopelessly 幅の広い and even silly question--it covers so much ground. For OpenOffice.org is more than a 製品, it is a community 事業／計画（する）. And, when companies and 政府s use us, they may be also 実証するing the community 過程 that created the 製品 and will 供給する active support and 開発 of it....
I believe that most 使用者s wish to use a 製品 which „speaks“ their native language. This means: Localized builds with localized help systems, documentation, mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s for discussion and 使用者 support. Of course this introduces difficulties: We 招待する people to 参加する in other parts of the 事業／計画（する）, which some will do, but there are also those who do speak english barely if at all. This, of course, is part of why we need lang 事業／計画（する）s in the first place- not only to attract those who speak English, too, but also to support those who don't. Our 使用者 支持者s will 選ぶ 利益／興味ing 地位，任命するs and 解除する them across the language 障壁 and enter 問題／発行するs themselves, if necessary. Which leads to another point: IssueZilla is an important 道具:Can it be localized?
Finally, how would you recommend 利益／興味d individuals get started in OpenOffice.org?
Browse the Web page. Check out the ソフトウェア, find bugs, とじ込み／提出する 問題／発行するs. Subscribe to discuss and other mailing 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）s with topics that 利益／興味 you. Use mail filters. Look at the todo page(s), follow the discussions- you will find something useful you can do. If so, don't hesitate.
I leave with that question. Feel 解放する／自由な to 追加する anything you wish to the interview; don't hesitate to rant, if you wish.
A big "Thank you" to Jost, Manfred, Marco, Christian, Andreas, Harald, Johannes, Jörg , Helga, Franz, René, Friedemann, Armin(!), and all other members and 支持者s!
