Thanks for a very good reply. There's a tendency to believe the best about people and their contributions and I think that's good. What you're saying echos what I believed about this phenomenon in the past. But I'm starting to think there's something else going on.pachiburke wrote: ↑Thu Jun 24, 2021 7:30 am
I think that everyone has started opensource contributions with something that is "obvious" or simple, as one of the first barriers is knowing the contribution process so, in a sense, this kind of submissions are expected. Hasn't everybody started contributing by submitting doc patches, fixing trivial typos or small bugs? Isn't this about scratching an itch?
Also, as a software that is used by some design oriented people it's also natural that they try to contribute to those aspects that they know better and have more skills. In that sense, designing a logo and creating icons or improving the UX of a dialog are very different kind of tasks.
Furthermore, I would find concerning for the future of the FreeCAD project that contributions to docs, community building or artwork were considered second class, and dismissed because they are just not code.
Let's take OP on this thread as a convenient example. This user has posted to the forum exactly one time - to submit a logo. Despite FreeCAD's notorious learning curve, they've never asked or answered a question. They've never shown something designed in FreeCAD. Just a logo suggestion.
If someone walked up to you on the street and offered suggestions on how you could dress better, you might be polite but you'd probably be a little offended, and rightly so. A suggestion like that from a friend matters because a friend has your best interests in mind. A random stranger, maybe not.
Maybe OP is a lurking long-time user who loves FreeCAD and is moved to make it better. Or maybe OP is a design student trying to pad out a portfolio and score bragging points. I have no way of knowing.
I want to believe the best about people and the contributions they offer but I'm coming to believe that many of these drive-by offerings are not from FreeCAD users at all. They're from designers seeking an easy win for their own portfolio.
If that is true (and I have no evidence that it is) then choosing a logo from a drive-by contributor is the worst thing we could do. Far from settling this issue, it will just invite more. If someone wants to work on the marquee then they should already have a thorough understanding of the community and the software. They should have trust and reputation built on hard work over time.
Are there design issues in the bug tracker? Does anyone who can craft icons but don't know the Path WB have an overview of what doesn't work in that dialog, what is missing? Is there a public request for help in that area?
I'll try to start a topic about Path UI improvement but my comments here were about the phenomenon of unsolicited logo suggestions. Like I said above, there are many many places in FreeCAD where good design skills are welcome.
We make progress every day on this software without taking a vote. Quality work generally stands on its own. But if you want to make big changes in the code or profound changes to our image you better have a long history of demonstrated commitment.
I've seen the work you've been doing on the UI in your other thread so I know you understand how good design takes hard work. Do you really want to trust something as important as our logo to a vote? Do you want to give that kind of honor to someone who may never contribute again?
I don't know anyone among the long-time contributors who doesn't care deeply about design. I understand how hard good design is and how important it is. That's why I want to see contributors roll up their sleeves and do something else before they presume to redefine our image.