[Koha] Proposal to remove the 'Paid support' list

[glaws]

I have mixed feelings on the subject, but I think there is some merit in
somebody maintaining a list somewhere. As now, it should not be any type
of certification by the Koha community or a partner program, but for
non-users researching Koha, a link to a list would be quite helpful, and
better than relying on Google (which promotes paid listings). I just
googled "koha" and the first item on the list? koha.org.

A pie diagram unfairly penalizes smaller companies, perhaps with only a
few individuals who could still provide excellent installation and
support services, but don't have the staff to have 1,000 commits.

While I realize I have left dangling "somebody maintaining a list
somewhere", a list of Koha providers associated with the broad Koha
community has value.

Greg

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On 07/01/2015 09:06 AM, Tomas Cohen Arazi wrote:
> The subject is self-explanatory. But I'll try to explain my position a bit
> further.
>
> The project doesn't have a partner program, so being listed there only
> means you are listed.
>
> What is the benefit for people listed? I would say marketing and/or some
> SEO advantage (Liz told me there are counter measures applied so it is not
> used for SEO). Some places, notably India and others, expect some kind of
> official certification for service providers, and people are referring to
> being listed on the site as a way to certify their validation as service
> providers.
>
> I think this hurts the project, because people tend to trust some quality
> degree is assured if companies are listed, which we cannot certify; and
> also makes community members spend a lot of time reviewing people's sites,
> with try/error iterations very often [1].
>
> I propose we replace the current listing with (a) nothing or (b) some pie
> diagram with companies/institutions contributions (git log, or what best
> addresses the need) to the project.
>
> I would vote (a). If there is some consensus that contributing
> companies/institutions should have some public recognition by the
> community, then we can do (b). How companies position themselves on the
> market is not something the community needs to address, but the company's
> challenge. [2]
>
> Kind regards
> Tomas
>
> [1] I'm pretty sure we can write a script that generates different valid
> sites that should be accepted for the list, so I find depressing that
> people doesn't even do the effort to comply with the simple rules we have
> put.
> [2] Unless we start an official partner program, but I'm sure we are still
> far from that. If you want to actually be part of the Koha community and be
> recognized, do something for the project, write a valuable article for the
> newsletter, contribute an enhancement, actively report and/or fix bugs,
> organize Koha promoting events: Get involved.
>