[Live-demo] Re: rating system

[Brian Hamlin]

On Jul 2, 2010, at 8:50 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:

> So our options are:
> * Avoid the question, and let new users try and guess which is the 
> best project for them, spend a lot of time trying applications which 
> don't cover their requirements, and get turned off Open Source before 
> they even start.

Hi Cameron-

   of course I am listening when you make this case
however, I don't find the above alternative a bad one at all..
Avoidance is a word meaning perhaps something inevitable or required is 
being side-stepped...
An OSGeo rating system of whatever kind is not at all inevitable or 
required

Simply by making choices in marquee billing, so to speak
an implied rating is made on significance and maturity.
Off the top of my head I would think this situation has some things in 
common with
  the music industry.. where there is not exactly a ranking at all, but 
some trends are large and measurable
Ohloh is not a bad resource for a user to get a sense of context for a 
project...

So the answer, to not waste the time of the user, IMO
is to present, in graphic design or in features some way
the small, startup or obscure projects in the background
with the main lineup in the foreground

quite do-able

best regards
   -Brian