Re: RFS: ripit (updated package)
Neil,
I am writing to let you and the list and all sponsorees who may be
reading this thread know that I don’t agree with most of what you’re
saying, and that I don’t like the tone in which you are writing your
thoughts, and that I think you are a harmful influence regarding these
matters in particular.
You are treating sponsorees as if you’re doing a grand favour to them,
when (in my opinion) they’re just doing us an equally sized favour by
spending their time in contributing to our project and wanting to learn
to do it better. It is true that, sadly, I don’t get to do much real
mentoring myself nowadays (and note how I use the word “mentoring”
instead of “sponsoring”), and that’s a pity, because together with being
AM, they are two of the most important tasks in Debian, because in their
hands lies Debian’s future.
Recently, an old sponsoree of mine who became DM mailed me to ask some
questions regarding library packaging. I found it most pleasing to write
a very detailed mail to him tailored to his specific questions, rather
than telling him “Go read your answers scattered in these three
documents and mailing list threads”. I was most glad for the opportunity
to make a difference in his learning process, and felt proud in
contributing if only a teensy bit in somebody excelling in their future
work as a developer.
If you, Neil, don’t find it in you to see it that way or, even worse,
think sponsorees should be spending their time striving to please you
and your rules, and think it’s okay to go patronizing them around, then
you should consider stopping. Or, at least, you should be aware that
some of us (or at least me) who lurk in this list, are not in agreement
at all with you.
I do realize there are way more requests on this list than people
willing to sponsor, and I have no magic solution to that. I only know
that this thread deeply disturbed me, and I decided to let that be
known.
--
- Are you sure we're good?
- Always.
-- Rory and Lorelai
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