Re: Err..To Desktop Or Not To Desktop?

[Maciej Stachowiak <mstachow mit edu>]

You said I could be your guest and unsub, but you keep cc-ing me (on
replies to posts written by other people). Please stop this ride, I
need to get off.

bjp@primenet.com writes:
> > 
> > But we're NOT The People.  We're the programmers.  We should be
> > closer to the Style Guide than they are.
> 
> No, you shouldn't. Here's why. Your position of importance (and yes, it is
> a position of importance) happens to be no greater than that of any
> current, or potential user.
> 

I couldn't resist this bit. Wouldn't the natural conclusion be that
_your_ position is of no greater importance than anyone else's, and
therefore your Grand Artistic Vision(tm) is irrelevant? 


I'm not even going to address your skills as a designer, but I think
your behavior on this list towards myself and others demonstrates that
you do not have the interpersonal skills necessary for a style guide
maintainer. You have:

* No ability to deal with criticism.

* No management skills.

* No ability to keep a development process as open as it needs to be
for a project of this scope.

* No ability to address people's concerns with reassurance rather than
with flames. A maintainer should almost never flame anyone - when
you're in a position of provisional authority, you represent the group
when you speak, not just yourself.


> > What disturbs me is the total news blackout, the total lack of
> > _any_ information about the impending Style guide.  Isn't there
> > any room for compromise on this?  Is it all or nothing?  Couldn't
> > you post some of it, the major parts, or even just the headers,
> > and then ignore us while we grumble about it amongst ourselves?
> 
> As I've said many times, and will continue to say, I wish it were
> different too. I wish I -could- dispense with the formalities and lay the
> groundwork for the Style Guide in a completely public fashion. However, I
> know it would only serve to confuse, and distort the document, to have it
> chopped and bandaged a thousand times before even having a rough draft
> come out of it. No one wants that to happen, obviously.
> 

You _can_ dispense with the formalities. Indeed, a bunch of people are
asking you to. Remember, you're not just in this for yourself any
more. If Joe Schmoe wants to write a style guide proposal, he is free
to deliver it fully formed to be picked apart as far as I'm
concerned. But since you are in a position of authority of sorts, you
have a much higher responsibility to keep what you are doing open at
all times.

> 
> If I see a problem, I fix it. What do you do?
> 
> When someone comes along, half-cocked and half-informed, and begins
> spouting rhetoric which is not only danaging to the development process,
> but indicative of his lack of understanding of the issues..What do you
> expect? 
>

You mean - you've recognized your problems and are finally going away?
Thank you!

 - Maciej

Further comments/flames to /dev/null. Please stop cc'ing me so I can
be free of this useless flame war.