Re: [9fans] Is IBM ThinkPad R60e notebook compatible with Plan9?

[Lyndon Nerenberg <lyndon@orthanc.ca>]

>> and will proactively slow me down because I have answer
>> questions about 'why doesn't this compile?  what the f*** are you
>> doing here?  where is this function you call (that I haven't written
>> yet)?'  etc.  Even ignoring those questions takes time.
> 
> Has this ever really been a problem or it is pure speculation?

This is based on many years of hands-on experience.

> First you ask not to be bothered by anyone, and now you want people to
> email you so you can "let each other know where we're stepping on each
> other.'" I'm sorry, but I just don't get it.

Continuing the IMAP analogy, for me to put up fragments if client-side
IMAP message caching code would not do any good to anyone who isn't
intimately familiar with that specific problem space.  Typically the
would-be downloader sees "IMAP" and latches on with the hope they will
find a tool that will help them sort and filter their mail.  But when
they double-click on imcache.c they get some strange pop-up dialog
from Windows instead of the IMAP email client they were expecting.
Avoiding that requires an access filter.  A semantic filter that keeps
the programming-naive away is a wonderful idea -- spam filtering for
programmer wannabes :-) -- but it aint out there yet.  This could be a
work-in-progress that you could keep on /n/sources/contrib.
Meanwhile, I want to keep my IMAP code within the group of people I
know actually *know* how IMAP works, so that I can actually develop
the code.

I don't have a problem with releasing code for people to look at, play
with, compile, sell, whatever.  That's why my escaped goo has a BSD
license on it.  But I'm not going to put out any work I create unless
and until I (I, *I*, *me*, not anyone else) decides it's ready to be
seen in public.  And nobody (*NO*body) has the right to tell me
otherwise.

> Plan 9 is the only "open source" project where this kind of ridiculous
> practices exist.  Why on earth Plan 9 has to be different and drive
> everyone around crazy is beyond me.

Maybe we aren't trying to solve penis envy?

--lyndon