I was out and about looking for nscd related information and found this thread. I really did not come away with any new information but was dissappointed to see the way the lead developers interact with the community. Granted they’ve got a lot on their plate and they may be doing some serious development, but developers seem to forget the meaning of the word community. The fact that Ulrich took the time to respond is great. But if you’re gonna do it, do it with a sense of purpose and show some common courtesy to people in the community. Your time is no more valuable than the guy asking the question.
Electronic communications are very impersonal and most times, what you write cannot convey how you wanted to say it, unless it is re-read before hitting Send. My first impressions were same as Petter‘s – “Do I really want to offer my time to this community ?”
Ulrich is an ass. I doubt that’s ever going to change. Sadly, Red Hat doesn’t seem to have a problem with this when you’re the lead developer of a key piece of software like glibc…
Unfortunately Mark, I see more of this kind in various open source projects. I sometimes wonder if these large projects are actually carried out in the spirit of opensource any more. why call them lead developers and put them in charge when they can’t even carry out a “open source” conversation ??? Seems like they all need a reality check of some kind. Take back the shower – if you will :)
In the same vein, here’s a rant by a dissappointed Wikipedia admin on how the lead admins treat the rest of the community. I am not a Wikipedia guy but it definitely does not surprise me if all what he is saying is true.
http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2006/10/27/a-wikipedia-employees-ultimate-resignation-letter/