Thursday 6th March, 2008 @ 12:09 am
Just to clarify some stuff that seemed to cause a fair amount of (predictable) drama in the previous post:
- No, I wasn’t referring specifically to dirk’s blog. There was parts I disagreed with in his post which we have since talked about on IRC but I think he made some good and needed points also. Dirk’s blog was one in which I felt the tone wasn’t great but was did not provoke the post I made, it reminded me of a selection of far less friendly earlier interaction on the Planet since KDE 4.0.0 was released. May I issue a formal and public apology to dirk for the confusion.
- I’m overly touchy about this topic because I’ve seen a major FOSS project that I care about go down the toilet mostly due to (in my observation) snarky blog posts causing a lot of developers to leave.
- I think criticism is necessary and valuable I just think we can all improve our interactions with others; I know I can. I think we should set the bar high on how we seek to treat others online and how we communicate.
- Whilst I agree that it is good that people care enough about the project to get riled up and flame others I don’t think that this is a good outcome, however positive the reasoning behind them may be.
In summary, much was assumed about my post that wasn’t actually my intention and I should have communicated it better. I am intentionally vague about points when I don’t want to criticise individuals but instead general behaviour. If one tiny bit of KDE works a bit better as a result or one relationship within the project is strengthened then I think it has been worth it.
Stay happy folks and apologies again for any offence caused.
Posted in Software Development
3 Comments »
Wednesday 5th March, 2008 @ 1:23 am
I realise I’m probably going to get lynched for this but I think it needs to be said.
If you, as a KDE developer, get annoyed with a KDE feature you didn’t write and feel like blogging about your bad interaction with a part of KDE or a spat with another KDE developer then please don’t. You have every right to do so but it isn’t good for you, it isn’t good for the other developer and it is really bad for KDE.
The problem with a community like KDE doing the majority of their work online is that sometimes we forget basic social rules of interaction. If your blog is on Planet KDE then you are held as a representative of KDE and your blog posts are read by a lot of people. Some of these people are KDE fans, some are other developers and some are journalists. When you publicly insult other people it creates tensions in the community between people.
If there is one thing I have learnt in my (short thusfar) career as a software engineer its that the most important thing for a team to do is get on well and be polite to one another. If I have a serious problem with a coworkers work or behaviour I should privately confront them and explain not only the problem but also how it made me feel. I realise that most FOSS developers are men and most men don’t like talking about their feelings but it is important in resolving conflict that both parties understand why the other feels the way they do. When someone communicates on the internet, unless I’ve hacked their webcam, I can’t tell if they are laughing or crying. You get cues but these are far more subtle than face-to-face or even vocal interaction.
I’ve seen too many FOSS projects destroyed or severly damaged by petty infighting. Please don’t let KDE be another one.
I think KDE needs something like a “Conflict Resolution Manager”. This probably sounds ludicrously stupid but there has to be a better way than flamewars and passive-aggressive blog posts.
I realise this post alone might seem to violate things I’ve said above and for that I’m sorry but I feel the point needed to me made and not just to a few individuals. If anyone wants to call me an idiot, beat me with a stick or let me help them then send me an email, call my mobile or ping me on IRC/IM.
Lets sort this stuff out guys. Be part of the solution, not the problem.
Posted in Software Development
17 Comments »
Tuesday 4th March, 2008 @ 12:56 am
I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is Barack Obama.
I am, like a lot of people in Europe, strangely attracted to the US primaries and the Democratic race in particular (as it is actually still a race).
Hearing Barrack Obama talk is pretty inspirational and I’m not even vaguely a US citizen. He seems one of the few politicians who seems to truly believe in what he says and Marc Andreessen’s blog has some really good insights into why the man is capturing the hearts of so many of the young voters in the US. Ron Paul was a pretty inspirational guy also and I know the Internet loved him but sadly this doesn’t seem to have actually translated into a huge amount of votes.
Personally, I hope he wins as it would be nice to have a US President with a less aggressive foreign policy.
I leave you with a quote from Marc’s blog that I think is particularly relevant:
[Obama] said — and I’m going to paraphrase a little here: think about who I am — my father was Kenyan; I have close relatives in a small rural village in Kenya to this day; and I spent several years of my childhood living in Jakarta, Indonesia. Think about what it’s going to mean in many parts of the world — parts of the world that we really care about — when I show up as the President of the United States. I’ll be fundamentally changing the world’s perception of what the United States is all about.
Posted in Politics
3 Comments »
