Hi all!

We are so happy to read these posts giving us the support to do this. We
will try very, very hard to not let you all down.

Just one thing before answering Dan here - we will post a first report
later on today (unless a few things get delayed, but I think so) on what
we are doing right now and in the coming days.

People have been asking for feature lists, release schedules and an
agenda, and some have mentioned that we should have had such an agenda
ready when we announced ourselves. But then of course a lot of people
would have thought we were pushing it down your throats without due
discussion and openness, right? Yessss, you all know it to be true. :)

So we elected to work in a different way, and we think it will be good,
doing it more together with the community. But that is for the report to
tell more about... now back to Dan:

Dan Ingalls <Dan at SqueakLand.org> wrote:
> GÐran  wrote...
> >2. I think we/I did one mistake when forming this group. We didn't
> >contact Dan for his view and support
> >before doing this. That was primarily my mistake because I have been in
> >contact with Dan sporadically over time and he has given me some advice
> >and input during the Guides period, so why I forgot to talk with Dan I
> >really don't know. I do hope he will show us his support though.
> 
> [I apologize for not writing sooner, but timing wasn't great on this end]
> 
> I definitely support you guys.  I've got a soft spot for anyone who starts out quoting from TMI.

Thank you Dan. You probably don't *really* know how important your
support is for us, nor for the rest of this community.

> Yes, an agenda in the beginning might have reduced the noise.  But I figure, hey, it's a big
> challenge, it's been frustrating for quite a while, and the guys need a chance to be outrageous
> and have some fun.
> 
> In the absence of a specific uprising-related agenda, Stef has pointed to the 3.9 roadmap. 
> However it feels to me like enough is in the air, and we have everyone's attention (and, we DO
> have to give G & Co. credit for that!) so that it would probably be useful to re-state, re-evaluate,
> and re-declare a new agenda on which we can all agree on (as best we can), and of which the
> new crew can feel some real ownership.  It's my hope (and sense from a couple of things) that
> an early task of the new administration will be to solicit recommendations for this new plan.
> Presumably they would then digest these and come forward with a recommendation that we
> could all empower them to execute.

This is very much like we are going about it. More in the report - you
will see, but I can say that Stefs roadmap is in there waiting for us to
take a good look at - all of us together.

> A bit about people.  Sometimes in the busy-ness of the daily grind, I forget just how cool Squeak
> is, and then I have to deal with something less lively and I realize that I still really care about
> this work.  Similarly, in the day-to-day struggle over mundane issues or long email exchanges
> over petty details, I think we may sometimes forget what a sterling crew has gathered around
> this cause.  There is hardly a person on this list, and certainly not one of this rebel alliance,
> who isn't aware of how special this stuff is, and deeply committed to keeping it alive and
> making it better.  These people are our most precious resource.  More than any concerns about
> agendas, protocol, yadda, yadda, I care about embracing the critics and finding where we agree,
> and salvaging any people who are burning out because I know that at the root of this movement
> is a real commitment to deal with the frustrations of the past and challenges of the future.

Very well put. And let me take this chance to say that no matter how you
guys reacted to us - your responses are not being ignored and do have an
effect on us. And while we may disagree on things, people always do, we
are all in this together. And I really, really hope we haven't turned
anyone away from us nor from this community.

> As Frank said, "Hey, if it doesn't work, kick them out."

Exactly. This community is like a soccer team, and our group may be the
libero for now - but we sure can't do anything at all if the other
players turn their backs on us.
 
> And until then, as Juan said, "You have my full support."
> 
> 	- Dan

Then, let's get movin. :)

regards, Göran