Part of me is laughing, part of me is crying

[Armistead <armistead flex net>]

Something tells me this didn't get through the first time I sent it, as I did
not see it show up on the list.  If I am wrong, could someone email me and tell
me?  Thanks.

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
Subject: Part of me is laughing, part of me is crying
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 21:56:50 -0500
From: Armistead <armistead@flex.net>


You know, like the title says, I'm split between to opposite emotions.  I've
been observing this list for a small amount of time now, approximately 1-2
weeks, and I'm becoming a little disheartened.  Let me explain why.

Gnome is a good thing.  A very good thing.  I'm happy to see something like
Gnome come about, because everyone loves something that is free.  However,
Gnome can be ruined very, very easily.  Good projects with good ideas and good
people can have a horrible shadow overcast upon them because of childish
infighting.  I've seen it happen in the past--great ideas and projects,
completely ruined by bullshit internal power struggles, between people who are,
ultimately, striving for the same goal, but going about it in a different way,
and it is this different approach where they both meet on common ground, both
agreeing to disagree.

The user interface is what is going to make Gnome in the future.  It is what is
going to allow Gnome to leave its cute, little Gnomeprint all around the unix
community.  Unfortunately, that is never going to happen when you build walls
against its progress before you can even settle on a standard.  Everyone knows
that you can not achieve progress without some sort of debate, but what we have
here is beyond constructive debate.

Tom, Bowie, whoever else is involved in this soap opera, please stand back for
a bit, and look beyond your petty differences and hatreds.  Everyone wants the
same thing, but, like I said, everyone doesn't want to attack it using the same
strategy.  This is too be expected.  HOWEVER, what is also to be expected, from
who I assume to be mature, grown, adults, is the ability to compromise.  What
we have here, is a simple failure to communicate.

Bowie wants to take the more structured approach to the writing of the style
guide.  Tom wants to go about it with a bit more of an open strategy.  Both are
right, and both are wrong.

Before you can think about producing a document worth the developers time to
conform to, you need to standardize the process in which you will do this. 
This is what I propose, and I hope it will satisfy everyone on the list.

There seems to be a basic document at hand, with a decent foundation and a good
idea of the points that need to be resolved before the document can be
considered a document at all.  We also have to recognize the fact that
accomplishing such a task must not take forever, as we do want Gnome to be a
usuable product within our lifetimes.  So, do it the right way.  Give everyone
a say.  But, how do you do this without having the total mass of confusion and
flaming that has been ever so present on this list in the past?  Well, its
simple really.

First of all, appoint some sort of moderator.  Not a maintainer, a doer of all
things, a god, a demigod, a worshipped figure.  No, someone with a decent head
on their shoulders, and good communication skills.  I think many have
represented these abilities here in the past, and you guys can decide for
yourself who you want it to be.  They basic task is simply, to decide when
certain things should be discussed.  With a list of things to be determined,
you can go one by one, through the list of items, and debate them.  Give the
debate a good week.  That is enough time for everyone to get their ideas heard,
and for everyone else to hear them.  Then, simply vote on the issue.  A simple
cgi could be written and placed on someone's homepage rather easily.

What we are trying to accomplish here, is getting the first draft of a decent
style guide written.  Once something has been voted on, and accepted, it is
placed in the preliminary draft of the guide.  After all items have had their
week of debate, and been voted on, you will have a basic user interface draft. 
Then, someone can sit down, write a more concise document using what the list
has decided through popular vote, and submit a user interface proposal.  With
the proposal at hand, you go to a more public audience.  Let people tear it
apart, read it, digest it, and submit concerns, questions, and bring up
new/alternate ideas.  Then, debate these ideas, proposals, etc along with any
other oustanding points of interest, and get your final draft.

The anarchistic atmosphere the list has right now will not lend itself to
writing a GOOD document.  What will eventually happen is a very large schizm
will be introduced.  Not only will this effect the Gnome user interface, but it
will always hang over the Gnome project in general.  The stigma will be there.

What I am calling upon you to do, is reach down and grab hold, and act like
men.  Not power hungry, struggling children.  And that is what you have been
doing.  I have just proposed to you a way to solve both of your (Bowie and Tom)
different approaches.  You are both on opposite ends of the spectrum, and
believe it or not there is a happy medium, but you two have to be adult enough
to compromise.  Remember, there is no shame in it.

So, to recap my rant and rave.  Produce a list of topics that need to be
addressed.  Have a list moderator propose these topics one by one, give each
one a limited time of debate, and then vote on each.  Advertise the vote only
on the list as they are the only ones who participated and saw the debate. 
>From each topic that has been voted on and accepted, produce a draft proposal
of the user interface style guide.  Using this proposal, go public.  Allow the
public to scrutinize the document, and from their comments, suggestions,
proposals of alternative solutions, whatever, produce the final draft, and
eventually the final style guide.

Everyone on this list is talented.  Each person is trying to contribute to
something that is almost, revolutionary in concept.  What the Gnome project is
trying to accomplish can push Linux beyond new horizons.  Everyone is striving
for the same ultimate goal, we are just going about it in different ways.  Put
aside the petty differences, suck it up, structure the debate, but keep it OPEN
to everyone who wants to participate in it ON THE LIST, and keep the debate
non-personal.

I'm done now, you can delete this message.

 - - - -
Louis R. Marascio 
Email: armistead@flex.net
ICQ: 4270107