Re: Deficiencies in Debian
On Thu, May 10, 2007 at 01:42:37PM -0700, Russ Allbery wrote:
> gregor herrmann <gregor+debian@comodo.priv.at> writes:
> > [cc and reply-to/m-f-t debian-project@l.d.o]
> > On Thu, 10 May 2007 12:32:26 -0700, Russ Allbery wrote:
>
> >> There are other things
> >> that *are* signs of fundamental deficiencies in the project,
>
> > Would you mind to elaborate on this point, I'm really interested in
> > your opinion.
>
> The biggest problem with most open source / free software projects that
> I've been involved in is the bottleneck around evaluating and accepting
> infrastructural improvements. It's a very hard problem and I'm not saying
> that Debian is necessarily much worse off than many other projects, but we
> also have this problem in spades.
You mean like the when the problems i now have are a direct result of me
trying to discuss improvements over the way the kernel and d-i are
related, and the immobilism/rejection/whatever of the core d-i team over
it, which led them to try to undermine my position as lead kernel
team member to further their position ?
> In a workplace environment, this sort of thing is often addressed by
> putting mentoring and staff development on the performance goals of senior
> staff and freeing up time that they're supposed to dedicate to training
> and documentation. Debian doesn't have that luxury, and I don't know
> what, if anything, we can effectively do at a project organization level
> to accomplish a similar goal.
That is the problem here indeed. Debian has no workplace culture, and
those who managed to attain power position, have not done so because
they are good in mentoring/staff situation, but because they where able
to devote huge amount of time on specific topics. Not necessarily, as
experience showed, because they have technical skills, but simply
because they where able to allot time.
People are often able to use much time, because they severly lack social
skills, and pass many hours and nights on their computer, in the true
nerdy tradition, and in general have as a consequence a bad ability to
relate to other, not even speaking of their needed human-ressource
handling and leadership positions.
On top of that, those people often have or develop over time, a strong
opinion of theirself, and are thus inflexible, unable to put themselves
in question, or recognize they may be wrong, and given debian's model,
they are sole dictators of their own area of expertise, and can do as
they please, how badly this is for debian, or how bastardly they behave
toward their fellow DDs.
On top of that, we have seen the emergeance of a new set of people, who
maybe evolved from the previous one, who were adept at manipulating the
other DDs, dealing in half-truth, and outright manipulation, and the
worse of this, is that they probably are not concious of what they are
doing.
And then the money factor enters the picture, and with it the power
actually hold by those who are able to make other believe they represent
debian, and you have the receipe for disaster.
Saddened,
Sven Luther
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