[documentation] First steps toward reworking the About section: A mission statement

[Charlie Lowe]

Since there were no takers on working with me on rewriting the About 
section, I thought I'd offer a suggestion for a first step: the creation 
of a clear, detailed mission statement. I've posted some thoughts on 
this in a thread where Steven pointed out that there is much confusion 
among newbies about Drupal's philosophy.

Take a look at that comment and my reply:

http://drupal.org/node/81053#comment-149201
http://drupal.org/node/81053#comment-152614

A good mission statement which incorporates Drupal design and 
development philosophy has the benefit of

* Guiding future development and evaluation of suggestions for change. 
Long term Drupal members do this now via feedback and discussion. A 
mission statement would support their efforts and reduce discussion. 
Makes it easy to say "Interesting idea, but not in line with Drupal's 
mission." Such a document would be useful in the forums (e.g., the 
thread above) and I'm sure also on the development list. It would also 
decrease some of the less useful suggestions that newbies passionately 
make and then have to be convinced don't fit with Drupal.

* Better attract people who agree with Drupal's mission. Featuring a 
mission statement and working it's principles into Drupal About pages 
will assist in attracting the right kind of people and discouraging 
those (there are some on occasion) for whom Drupal is not the right choice.

* Help to focus and write Drupal About section pages and other marketing 
pages. A clear mission statement makes it easier to know what audience 
to target and what things to emphasize.

Charlie