Who is KDE?

So who is this KDE we've just 'rebranded'? Who belong to this community? I would say anybody who cares about KDE and does his or her thing to help spread KDE and make this world a little better - is certainly part of our community. This includes people who might not see themselves as part of our community. I've met plenty of people who hang out on KDE forums, helping others out, blog about KDE, put up tutorials here and there, even gave a talk about KDE at a tradeshow - and when they meet me they say "wow you're from KDE, that's so cool!". And in what world would I be 'more KDE' than they are? Just because you don't code doesn't mean you're not part of this!

While browsing you might find them. In lots of cases they blog in Italian, Spanish, Korean and other languages I don't speak - making it a bit harder for me to contact them, get them closer to our community. But they are what we often call 'the wider community'. They are important to KDE - they're the backbone of our success.

Imho it is important to realize that. And it's important that THEY realize it, too. Being part of KDE is special. Yes, it is. We're changing the world, remember? But it is not exclusive. It's easy to be part of this community, to change things. Just telling a developer he's done a great job makes a difference. Helping another user install KDE makes a difference. Writing a tutorial. Translating an application on KDE-apps. Packaging KDE applications for a distribution.

So let me give a few random examples I recently stubmled upon. And yes, these people ARE KDE. And my limitations (me only speak dutch & english) prevent me from finding Korean or Indian KDE.

First would be 'Klaatu'. Stubled upon his blog and podcast a while ago. Nice blogpost here. He has a few more interesting KDE blogs, including some comparisons with Mac OS X he used to use. It's nice to see ex-mac users, usually very sensitive when it comes to style, liking KDE. We exchanged a few emails, and he promised to help out spreading the word on Camp KDE. He might even go there and so should you ;-)

More next blog :D

Edit: Oh, how could I forget, KDE SC 4.4 Beta 1 is out!