Re: [GENERAL] Feature enhancement request : use of libgda in - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

On Tue, Feb 12, 2002 at 09:54:04AM -0600, Greg Copeland wrote:
> I'm new to the list but I'm going to speak up anyways.  Being a core 
> developer on several other projects, I feel that it's important to point 

Welcome. It might have served you better to read some of the archives,
before judging how this community and it's core developers interact.

> out that both comments are valid here.  As a core developer, I certainly 
> don't want to implement seemingly lessor features when more pressing 
> issues are at hand.  At the same time, I would like to see user demand 
> met and have some of the other developers lend a hand while polishing 
> their knowledge on the project in general.  What I've found especially 
> useful has been to tutor and guide (okay, hand-hold) newer/younger 
> developers to my projects so that their abilities are quickly 
> complimented.  I find that using IRC or even other IM technology can go 
> a long way toward providing support for would-be developers.  Especially 
> for projects of this complexity.  I find that this helps well beyond 
> that of a mailing list as people tend to be more timid in a public 
> forum.  After all, it's well understood that a degree of p2p interaction 
> is often very helpful and tends to be even more so as the complexity of 
> the topic grows.

Well, the advantage of the mailing list is that it _is_ a (semi) public
forum: the core developer's time spent answering questions gets multiplied
by the number of potenetial developers listening. And there are archives!

<snip benefits of tutoring>

Well, if you go check the archives (there's that word again) you'll see
that the core developers, and Tom Lane in particular, do a _lot_ of this
kind of tutoring. Both at the initial stage of chosing where to start,
and later, with good feedback of proposed patches.

<tale of trying to directly contact a developer>

well, in this community, this happens on the mailing list. If you're
shy about posting to a list, you won't get along here, anyway. Open
development, open communication.

> 
> Now, I'm not saying we should move away from the mailing list, rather, 
> I'm saying that the core developers way want to reconsider how some 
> requests for help are answered and maybe even consider other forms of 
> complimentary communication.  Doesn't a hour of a core developers time 
> in trade for multiple increase in productivity of another developer seem 
> like a good trade?

Isn't that hour more likely to actually get multiplied if it's spent
responding on the list, where multiple potential coders are listening?

And your more likely to get an answer from _some_ core developer if you
contact them _all_, via the lists. It's a bit rude to go looking for help,
and _insisiting_ on personal service: either direct email or (worse) IRC,
which demands _realtime_ interaction. If the expert suggests changing the
mode of interaction, that's fine.

Ross
-- 
Ross Reedstrom, Ph.D.                                 reedstrm@rice.edu
Executive Director                                  phone: 713-348-6166
Gulf Coast Consortium for Bioinformatics              fax: 713-348-6182
Rice University MS-39
Houston, TX 77005