On 05/07/2013 04:21 PM, Duncan wrote:
Ross Boylan posted on Tue, 07 May 2013 14:40:50 -0700 as excerpted:
On Tuesday, May 07, 2013 02:54:19 AM James Tyrer wrote:
The KDE development team appears to be interested in something other
than producing a stable release. It really is that simple.
As Kevin keeps hammering hammering on, KDE isn't a single product. There
are many that would (wrongly) say the same about Linux, which clearly
isn't the case, or about Adobe (his example, very good one BTW), or even
about "Windows" or MS, when the bug's actually in MS Office (not MS
Windows) or even in Adobe's PDF reader or something else only related to
MS Windows in that it runs on the platform.
Kevin's comments are both correct and irrelevant. It is true that there
are now KDE based applications that are outside the realm of the Desktop
and associated applications. Should they be associated with the Desktop
regarding the stable release issue. Well, that is a good question. But,
lets only consider the D Desktop Environment so as to not beg the
question with other issues.
I find very useful the dystopian novel: "The Rise of the Meritocracy"
which is a critique of the idea of "the meritocracy". A meritocracy is
defined by the search for merit -- but that is dependent on the
definition of merit. I find that I have no merit in the KDE project
despite the fact that I went to college and studied EE and computer
science. In the KDE project, you obtain merit be designing a new
application. So, that is the nail that everyone is hitting with their
hammer.
[Paragraph immediately below moved from elsewhere to address along with
the next one in reply to the above.]
I too am finding the reliability of KDE and its apps not what I would
like, but one thing puzzles me about this complaint, the statement that
bug fixing is not welcomed...
Where do you get the idea that you have "no merit in the KDE project",
or that someone fixing bugs would be greeted with anything other than
enthusiasm? Well, it's free software and so there's bound to be some
static, but apart from that :)
Without trying to get too personal in my reply (which I should say
explicitly is simply personal opinion), there's a bit of interpersonal
history here that you evidently aren't aware of. He came across rather
strongly on a few bugs, with the devs in charge of those products
reacting defensively to what they saw as demands he had no right to make
as a result. Regardless of the merits of the individual bugs and
proposed fixes (which I'm staying neutral on), the unfortunate result is
that now certain devs prefer to stay as far away from involvement with
him and anything he proposes as possible.
That looks a bit like spin. Spin is based on facts, but it is still spin.
The fact remains that developers appear to resent users demanding that
bugs be fixed. That statement has little to do with me since lots of
users have done it and continued to do it even after I quite reporting bugs.
The more sensitive question is whether "someone fixing bugs would be
greeted with anything other than enthusiasm". Yes, that is the
question. What do you think? Do developers welcome someone fixing bugs
-- fixing bugs in their code, or do they take bug reports personally and
resent people posting patches to fix bugs in their code? Would they
rather have the bug go unfixed than to have someone else fix it?
This appears to be part of a common human failing that I have
experienced in other contexts in other volunteer organizations.
Specifically, I find that with my Homeowners' Association that people on
the Board of Directors often resent it when someone with some expertise,
or someone that has taken the time to research a subject, tries to give
them advice on a subject -- in effect tells them how to do something;
but are really only giving expert advice. No, they would rather do it
their way without any interference from anyone else.
--
James Tyrer
Linux (mostly) From Scratch
--
James Tyrer
Linux (mostly) From Scratch
___________________________________________________
This message is from the kde mailing list.
Account management: https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/kde.
Archives: http://lists.kde.org/.
More info: http://www.kde.org/faq.html.
