[CoLoCo] Appropriateness of posts to this list (Was Re: evince crash)

[Alex Comer]

Umm...

I think I missed the first part of this thread, but I can sympathize with
both your positions. For my part, I love to help other folks and be
altruistic as well. But there are a _lot_ of demands on my time. If I had
copious amounts of free time then I could throw time at every issue
presented. But as time is at a premium, the real question is "why should I
spend time focusing on this particular issue ... as opposed to some other
issue?" In other words, I think Kevin might be trying to determine where
best to spend his limited free time, which is often the quandary I am up
against.

Alex

On 12/6/07, Kevin Fries <kfries at cctus.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 2007-12-05 at 22:13 -0500, Scott Kitterman wrote:
> > For those of us who are volunteers (most of us), the compromise is
> > someone has to convince me it's worth my time to bother.  So I'd say
> > the other way around.  The users who want volunteers to actually do
> > free work for them need to be convincing why I should be bothered
> > (hint: threatening to switch back to Windows doesn't motivate me at
> > all).
>
> If you need motivation from external sources, then maybe you are
> misdirecting your efforts.  I am not trying to be mean here, but I use
> and advocate Linux for many reasons.  Nobody has to motivate me to do
> so.  I do so because I believe in the platform, and I want it to
> succeed.  I want it to succeed for selfish as well as altruistic
> reasons.  Many unpaid hours are spent helping someone get started, not
> because I need to be convinced to do so.  I do so because I want Ubuntu
> to succeed, I want Linux to succeed.  And I am not alone.  Many of the
> local Colorado Local Group, are looking for ways to provide help desks
> to noobs, to get more CDs out, or even get cards out pointing the
> uninitiated to online resources.  None of them are paid either.  Nor do
> any of them need to be convinced to do so.  They do so for the same
> reason I do... Because it is what is needed to be done.
>
> There seems to be this growing trend in the Ubuntu community lately, and
> I am pretty sure that it is an all bad thing.  The developers, not all
> but a growing number, seem to think Ubuntu is their baby.  The sweat of
> their brow, and therefore, only successful because of what they do.
> While I will be the first to say that these voices are still the great
> minority, they are getting louder.  And diminish the fantastic work done
> by so many.
>
> There are many ways to contribute to a project such as Ubuntu.  I have
> offered programming skills, and was treated quite rudely buy certain
> members of the programming community.  They were extremely territorial
> and condescending towards my efforts.  I have since decided to focus my
> efforts elsewhere.
>
> The comments above are exactly the attitude we need to guard against.
> In my current day job, I design state of the art hand-held computerized
> devices.  Because of my advocacy here, fewer and fewer of those machines
> are being considered for Windows Mobile.  Because of my efforts here,
> Windows Mobile is no longer mentioned when new projects come up.  That
> takes my faith in the project, and the developers ability to deliver
> that project.  Without the developers, my faith is misplaced.  Without
> my advocacy, the developers efforts are purely academic.  I am no more,
> or no less important than the developer, and I expect to be treated with
> the same respect.  Not looked down upon so some developer can find
> motivation.
>
> In addition to my day job, I am getting a business off the ground.  This
> business is designed to bring real, solid, Linux based networking
> solutions to the small and medium-small based business.  A market
> segment that Linux has not had much success with in the past, and
> Microsoft is pandering to.  Bringing Linux to a brand new market segment
> is not easy.  However, I think by doing so, I can build a successful
> business, allow small businesses to better compete, and advance the
> Linux and Ubuntu cause.  But I do not degrade the efforts of others to
> justify why I do this.  Eau contraire mon frer, I praise them.  For if
> it was not for all that they do, I could not concentrate on resolving
> the businesses issues.
>
> I know that not everybody on this board is American, but one thing that
> every American child learns in history class is in regards to the
> American Civil War.  The north finally prevailed with a tactic of divide
> and conquer.  We learn the slogan "United we stand, divided we fall"
> quoted by Thomas Jefferson (attributed as far back as Aesop).  And
> Abraham Lincoln's paraphrase of that statement "A house divided against
> itself cannot stand" (one of the great speeches of all time).  Ubuntu is
> strong when we all listen to each other, give each other respect, and
> stop trying to claim that my problems are more important than your
> problems.  EVERYONE, end user, advocate, consultant, developer, or even
> the businessperson that uses Linux for his/her operating system of
> choice, is in this together.  Or else, we can tear each other apart.
>
> It is time to come together, shut our mouths, and listen to the other
> sides.  It is time to do this so that all of our efforts can be
> maximized, and focused on the common good.  It time to stop using the
> word me (also meant in the metamorphic sense such as end user, or
> developer) and start using the word us.
>
> Thats just my $0.02
>
> --
> Kevin Fries
> Senior Linux Engineer
> Computer and Communications Technology, Inc
> A Division of Japan Communications Inc.
>
> --
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>



-- 
Alex Comer
alex at platinumcode.com
720-883-5493
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