Re: About NM and Next Release
Andrew Suffield <asuffield@suffields.me.uk> wrote:
>Anybody who has to ask "Why should I/we/they contribute?" is not
>suitable for Debian. (The "answer", incidentally, is "because we can"
>or "because it's there", or some other variation; it is a goal in
>itself, and not a means to an end)
OK, now *that* is just nonsense. People contribute because they:
* use Debian and want to make it better
* want to contribute something to a project they respect
* want to do something which is made easier by contributing to Debian
* want to help out Debian users
* want to help promote the goals of Debian
I'm sure there are other reasons.
"Because it's there" is a non-reason. OK, maybe it was a
reasonable (if silly) answer for why to climb Mt. Everest. But Debian
isn't a natural feature of the landscape, and it certainly isn't an
exceptional and notable one. (Real reasons for climbing Mt.
Everest included "I like climbing mountains" and "It's the tallest
mountain in the world", which were both implicitly understood.)
That 'reason' isn't going to get *anyone* to contribute to Debian. It
might get them to climb Mt. Everest, I suppose.
You give an actual reason later in the same mail message:
>Having some specific, valuable things they want to contribute would be
>a good one
Which makes your bizarre claim up above all the weirder.
Perhaps what you meant to say was:
"I want contributors to have something specific and valuable which they
want to contribute. If they don't already have such a thing, they
shouldn't contribute."
Which I can understand, given that it's very easy to find things for
which help is wanted in Debian. The general complaint, however, is that
people offering help which they think is useful get ignored, or even
worse, get hostile responses attacking them personally. This certainly
doesn't happen with all or even most of Debian, but it seems to happen
with distressing regularity in some areas.
--
Nathanael Nerode <neroden at gcc.gnu.org>
http://home.twcny.rr.com/nerode/neroden/fdl.html
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