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Date:      Sat, 03 May 1997 15:34:20 -0700
From:      Amancio Hasty <hasty@rah.star-gate.com>
To:        Terry Lambert <terry@lambert.org>
Cc:        current@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: -current build is now broken.. 
Message-ID:  <199705032234.PAA05082@rah.star-gate.com>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Sat, 03 May 1997 08:41:54 PDT." <199705031541.IAA12499@phaeton.artisoft.com> 

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>From The Desk Of Terry Lambert :
> You mean "why not ask him to help"?  If so, I agree.  That's the
> "habitual whiner" case, above.  I think it is relatively rare.

Hmm... I don't think so . "Habitual Whiners" is  probably a more
common problem than you think.


> 
> > 3. Is always easier to point out problems than to contribute. 
> 
> If this were true, software companies would not explicitly hire
> test engineers.  8-).

Yes , many companies have a problem with Test Engineering because they
think it doesnt contribute to the bottom line . Test Engineers are usually
ranked as second or third engineers. 

At any rate, Q/A is a bit different from the problem which I was thinking
about.

> Actually, I have been involved in a number of organizations with
> significant barriers to contribution.  USL, for instance, maintained

Yes, so have I and they usually don't survive.


> > Some companies bypass this level of cultural management and they
> > just simply swamp their brilliant minds with work in the hope of
> > keeping them focus in the process.
> 
> Ah... "focus"... the 1990's substitute for "vision".  "Forget vision,
> if only we had enough focus, we could get that stock price up...".
> Companies which do this rarely achive their hopes.

Is not so much focus vs. vision is more like a focused disciplined 
approach to manage change and to follow a vision.

What we are debating is what constitutes an effective engineering company.
Bear in mind that the analytical skills which engineers bring along is
like a blade which can either benefit or turn against the company.





> | We've all heared that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters 
> | will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare.  Now, thanks 
> | to the internet, we know this is not true.
> |		-- Richard Jenkins <rich2@dial.pipex.com>
> 
> (Seemed appropriate for a "process is the product" discussion).


I honestly don't think is appropriate . Walk around Cisco and tell them
that they are like a "million monkeys banging away..." 8)



> > As for bug reporting , if I think that the bug reporter can actually
> > fix the bug -- I feel morally obligated to ask for a patch well at least
> > thats my attitude when it comes to public domain work.
> 
> Maybe it was just my inherent bias here.  I generally don't complain
> unless there's no way for me to make the change myself.  Typically,
> this boils down to management vs. technology (and in my book, until
> the Catholic Church builds light bulbs that work from only the data
> available from doctrine, technology should win that battle).

Then again we are not talking about you;however, if you do peruse the 
-hackers mailing list is not hard to see that there is very little
cohesiveness in the way of productivity. Actually, I think that
the -hackers mailing list behaves more like the "Town plaza of 
FreeBSD Town" where people gather together to chit chat which is
not bad however is not what I consider a technical mailing list.

	Cheers,
	Amancio






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