[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Debian Stole My Name!



On Friday 10 October 2008, Michael Biebl wrote:
> Osamu Aoki wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 04:01:59PM +0800, paragasu wrote:
> >> maybethe debian installer do not permit you to use the username
> >> hal. Create any user. after the installer finish.. you can login
> >> and create user 'Hal' with
> >> adduser.. ;)
> >
> > hal package have changed ...
> > hal (0.5.7.1-1) unstable; urgency=low
> >
> >   [ Sjoerd Simons ]
> >   * New upstream release
> >   * debian/hal.postinst,debian/hal.postrm,debian/rules: Rename the
> > hal daemon user to haldaemon (was hal)
>
> If debian-installer is still reserving  the name "hal"  for the hal
> package, then this should be fixed within debian-installer.
>
> Please file a bug against the "debian-installer" package.

Don't get me wrong, I love open source.  I've contributed to several 
projects with code, including doing a couple of my own projects.  For 
instance, I learned C++ just so I could write the code for LinuxICE 
that controlled some HD radios through the USB port.  I take FOSS into 
consideration financially as well and there are some FOSS projects who 
will also be quite thankful when I die and my will is read.

But I've learned, the hard way, NEVER file a bug report in a FOSS 
project.  I have several times and have yet to find one where the 
developers were appreciative of the bug report.  I'll go even farther: 
In most cases they've been outright hostile and I've had times where 
they've "told me off" to justify closing the bug.

I'm a geek to the core, but the stereotype of programmers or geeks that 
have no social skills seems to come from something and my experience, 
over the past 10 years or so of working with FOSS, tells me that filing 
bug reports is just a good way to invite personal abuse.

I'd love to help in that way, but I tried it several times, making sure 
I carefully describe the problem, the conditions under which it 
occurred, and so on, and made sure I was not accusing but being 
helpful, but I have *never* had a positive experience from filing a bug 
report in a FOSS program.

I am, though, thankful that for reasons of my own that I won't go into 
here, that  when I filed reports I used my "second" name, which is a 
legal alias.  If I'm going to be flagellated by someone in a situation 
where it could be Googled, I'd rather it be under my AKA than my birth 
name.

When I see evidence that filing bugs for FOSS won't result in developers 
being irked there's a bug, then I'll start filing them again.  I'm a 
developer myself.  I hate bugs, but on the other hand, I'm glad when 
people point them out to me so I can clear them up.

Hal


Reply to: