Oh boo hoo, Bruce, try again.
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| dinotrac Jul 17, 2008 9:14 AM EDT |
Those poor, frightened users -- terrified of change. That's the real problem, isn't it? Remembering that KDE4 has taken something like three times as long as the normal KDE release... Had the KDE devs delivered a polished and functional desktop that works as well as the latest KDE 3, you might have a point. Had the developers not gone all toddler by complaining about the complaints, and said things like they don't really need the users, you might have a point. Had the KDE devs just made more of a point to invite users in or ease the change or just deliver something sooner to get our feet wet, you might have a point. But the KDE devs have been a bit wrapped up in their own little world, and it seems a bit childish to mope because the ignored users have the audacity to withold applause. Face it: Those devs didn't choose to work on KDE because it's some backwater project that nobody knows about it. They want it on their resumes, or in their bragging rights. They want to be recognized. In short, they wanted the benefits of having all of those users without any of the responsibilities. Recipe for disaster if you ask me -- and, guess what? A mild ( and it is mild) disaster is what we've got. It's going to blow over. Those developers really have done some audacious work. Some have started to engage (at risk of personal pain) the user community. Rough edges are being smoothed out. Whether it's KDE4.1 or KDE 4.5, KDE4 will turn out to be a fabulous desktop and people will wonder how they every doubted that. Maybe the FOSS world will even get some lasting benefits beyond a great desktop: Maybe a better understanding by developers of just what they are taking on when they choose to work on a highly visible project whose output is relied upon by many, many people. |
| tuxchick Jul 17, 2008 9:49 AM EDT |
Thank you for not saying "scratch that itch", which is over-used as an excuse to ignore user feedback. If you're making something for other people to use, don't be surprised when everything they tell you is not compliments and praise. |
| dinotrac Jul 17, 2008 2:13 PM EDT |
TC -- I am incredibly grateful for the great work so many people do on FOSS software, but, frankly, I'm getting **REAL DARNED STEAMED** by some people's suggestion that users are merely ungrateful to complain when things go wrong. Developers may not all get paid in money, but they do collect assorted kinds of currency. One of those is the notoriety that comes from working on a justly renowned project like KDE. I'm very happy to see that some of the KDE developers are stepping up and looking to defuse the situation. There's been too much good stuff produced to let it end badly. |
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