[chandler-users] Chandler as email client?

[Drew Jensen]

Sheila Mooney wrote:
> Bjorn,
> 
> Thanks for your interest in Chandler. Our 1.0 "Note-to-Self Organizer" 
> is due out soon but it will NOT be a full fledged email client. We chose 
> to focus on calendar and task management, really building out the core 
> features we implemented in our Preview release last fall.
> 
> We will continue to have some limited email support. You can receive 
> email in Chandler from other Chandler users. You can also pull in email 
> from your imap accounts via special folders, the idea being that these 
> will turn into tasks and events you will manage and collaborate on with 
> others.
> 
> More details are available at...
> 
> chandlerproject.org
> 
> Cheers,
> Sheila
> 
> On May 24, 2008, at 9:17 AM, Bjorn Regnell wrote:
> 
>> Hi
>>
>> I have been checking out the chandler project, which I find very
>> interesting!
>> One year ago I said to myself that "when I can replace my email client 
>> with
>> Chandler I will convert". Is it likely that Chandler 1.0 coming in "Q2 
>> 2008"
>> will be able to act as an email client?
>>
>>

Hi, just my thoughts on this if I may,

I have also been trying to put Chanlder to use, both for myself and as a 
tool for a couple of small geographically dispersed 'volunteer' teams I 
take part in.

In the first case, personal use - I can say that I find some use to the 
triage ( GTD ideas I suppose ) features. Is it enough use to me to keep 
going with it - not ready to say yes on that point.

In the second - as a collaborative tool, the only way to say it is to 
say it "It's been a total flop".

First let me say that I don't really need a "note to myself" tool all 
the much, I need a tool that helps get things done in what is often a 
fluid environment. Small projects with a couple of tasks spring up and 
need to be worked all the time - often this requires exchange of emails 
with individuals that are involved with this one task or project and may 
not be involved with any others, or not again for some unknown period of 
time. These 'spontaneous' projects are usually ( always might be an 
acceptable term here ) wrapped inside some larger project or ongoing effort.

I need to tie both emails and tasks to work product (code, another email 
for distribution, documentation being developed - things - to use 
another word ). The note in and of itself is never the focus for me, it 
is just a link to ( comment about ) the thing that is the focus. With 
the one exception of when the task is assembling an email that needs to 
be agreed upon or vetted before being disseminated.

To sum up this point - I need email to be an integral part of this and 
there is no way I can count on others having chandler desktop and the 
idea of pushing email by hand or creating dozens of 'one off' filters to 
do so into an imap folder..isn't going to cut it.

Shared calendar - great job, but currently every one and their brother 
offers a shared calendar of some kind. I am still looking for what 
separates this shared calendar from the others.

Collaborating on the items in a Chandler collection  - I have tried to 
get others in the teams to look at this ( I publish a collection(s) and 
send them URLs for read/write access ) but the usual response is : How 
is this better then what we do with a wiki now? Good question actually - 
what do we gain for what we give up ( versioning for one ).

Let me wrap up this way -
I really like the UI.
I like the triage idea of (now, later, done ).
I appreciate that the team has been flexible
- BUT -
I think the flexibility has been allowed to take over and become your 
undoing to some extent.

For what it is worth my suggestion is simply this - focus!

If being an embodiment of the GTD way of working is it, then go for it - 
all out.

If it is a 'note to self' tool, then go for that.

Decide how Chandler will do better then other tools available delivering 
the chosen functions.

..but please no more of these 'we do tasks', 'no we don't, we do Stars', 
'oops we do tasks', we kind of work with your email client or server, 
but not very closely ... just get together amongst yourselves ( define 
yourselves in as an expansive fashion as you like ) and decide on what 
it is you are building - then build it. If it fits what I or others need 
we will use it - if not - then chances are that if you actually focues 
on some set of features you will find different user base. There is 
nothing at all wrong with that, you can't be all things to all people.

Respectfully,

Drew Jensen


-- 
OpenOffice.org User Community Forums
Connecting users around the globe!
   Community forum  http://user.services.openoffice.org/en
   Communauté francophone  http://user.services.openoffice.org/fr
   Közösségi fórum  http://user.services.openoffice.org/hu
   コミュニティーフォーラム  http://user.services.openoffice.org/ja

United States PostgreSQL Association: http://www.postgresql.us/