[osol-mktg] OpenSolaris Download Statistics ?

[Stephen Harpster]

I don't mind opening up the kimono -- I just don't want to get kicked in
the nads when I do.

I just don't see any advantage to guessing.  It's not a matter of
transparency, it's that we don't actually know, it's not accurate, and
why bother guessing when we know it's going to be wrong?  People are
familiar enough BitTorrent and will understand.



Simon Phipps wrote:

>On Jul 12, 2005, at 22:01, Derek Cicero wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Stephen Harpster wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Why do it then? This just seems ripe for a PR disaster. I know people
>>>are asking for numbers, but explain to them that there's no way to  
>>>track
>>>them and let it go at that. We don't have to do everything people ask
>>>for, you know.
>>>      
>>>
>>What is it that we are worried about? Is it that the numbers aren't  
>>going to be 100% accurate? I think we can logically explain that and  
>>provide a ballpark figure. Are we worried that the numbers we release  
>>will be far lower than other open source offerings? The answer is that  
>>they will be, at least compared to Linux, OO.org, Firefox, etc,  
>>regardless of whether the number is 100% accurate or just a ballpark  
>>figure. I think not releasing any numbers causes more PR trouble than  
>>anything.
>>
>>I think we should just be open with people.
>>    
>>
>
>I agree with this, which is why I agree with Claire's proposal. We have  
>to be open about the uncertainty too, and we have to ensure our own  
>executives and others maintain that transparency.
>
>  
>
>>btw - Patrick and I are getting together in an hour so we can come up  
>>with a proposal.
>>
>>Derek
>>
>>    
>>
>>>
>>>Claire Giordano wrote:
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>>Simon and I did talk about the number of downloads just before the  
>>>>break, and...
>>>>
>>>>We agree it makes sense to turn to the community to ask for  
>>>>ideas/suggestions
>>>>about how to track the number of OpenSolaris downloads (of source or  
>>>>binaries or
>>>>both?) given the use of BitTorrent.
>>>>
>>>>We're both ok sharing the numbers we do have, but we don't want to  
>>>>share them in
>>>>a way in which people will just take the numbers and run if they  
>>>>scan the email
>>>>quickly. Providing the current numbers (which could be way low) in a  
>>>>easily
>>>>scannable table or list seems like a recipe for misinterpretation.  
>>>>So, we want
>>>>the numbers we have to be embedded in a question. This needs work,  
>>>>but here's a
>>>>feel for what we're thinking of:
>>>>..................................................................... 
>>>>..........
>>>>People have been asking about the OpenSolaris download numbers (and  
>>>>about other
>>>>metrics as well.) Patrick Finch will be following up about metrics  
>>>>for
>>>>OpenSolaris in general, and we plan to provide useful metrics as  
>>>>part of the
>>>>website moving forward. In the meantime, we wanted some input about  
>>>>how to
>>>>track downloads given that we're using BitTorrent, a P2P system that  
>>>>makes it
>>>>more difficult to track how many people have actually downloaded the  
>>>>source and
>>>>binaries. We know that there have been xxx downloads from SDLC and  
>>>>yyy
>>>>downloads from Genunix.org, but for BitTorrent the numbers are more  
>>>>spotty --
>>>>currently we have detected zzz. This means that the current total is  
>>>>AAA, but
>>>>of course, that could be way low, and perhaps the real number is  
>>>>significantly
>>>>higher.
>>>>
>>>>Suggestions????
>>>>..................................................................... 
>>>>..........
>>>>
>>>>Patrick - can you pls regroup with Derek and figure out how to  
>>>>proceed? We do
>>>>need to follow up with the community on this, somehow, this week...
>>>>
>>>>Thanks,
>>>>Claire
>>>>
>>>>patrick finch wrote:
>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>
>  
>

-- 

Stephen Harpster
Director, Open Source Software
Sun Microsystems, Inc.