Re: Four days

[Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au>]

Michael Gilbert <michael.s.gilbert@gmail.com> writes:

> As someone who has attempted to go through the mentoring process, I
> agree very much that it is rather depressing.

How much of that is actually a problem, though? How much is an integral
part of gaining humility as to the state of the packaging work, and the
pain of learning new conventions and processes?

I'm all in favour of lowering *unnecessary* barriers. But not at the
expense of the necessary parts of the mentoring process itself: to teach
prospective maintainers to stand on their own feet and learn what
doesn't work, as a necessary part of learning what does work.

So when we identify a point of pain, I think it's essential to ask: is
this pain necessary to the learning process for this person?

-- 
 \     “I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now that I should |
  `\           have been more specific.” —Jane Wagner, via Lily Tomlin |
_o__)                                                                  |
Ben Finney