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Date:      Fri, 10 Sep 1999 09:07:43 -0600
From:      Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org>
To:        Jeroen Ruigrok/Asmodai <asmodai@wxs.nl>
Cc:        freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject:   Re: Contributors, or lack thereof
Message-ID:  <4.2.0.58.19990910084750.0479a540@localhost>
In-Reply-To: <19990910084341.J71369@daemon.ninth-circle.org>
References:  <4.2.0.58.19990909020227.045a31b0@localhost> <4.2.0.58.19990908211304.046462a0@localhost> <Pine.BSF.4.10.9909090025590.14497-100000@sasami.jurai.net> <4.2.0.58.19990909020227.045a31b0@localhost>

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At 08:43 AM 9/10/99 +0200, Jeroen Ruigrok/Asmodai wrote:

>2) Where do you get the ridiculous idea that non-code submissions are
>    second-rate? 

 From comments I've seen on this list and in private e-mail. "Where are
your PRs?" they say. "So-and-so speaks with authority about advocacy
because he has contributed lots of code." (Never mind the obvious non 
sequitur here.)

My articles on UNIX, and sometimes specifically about FreeBSD, carry 
little or no weight with this group.

Now, the fact is that I *do* hack code, and would contribute except
for one thing: I'm primarily an assembly language hacker. I dislike
the C language -- whose syntax I believe to be cryptic. I believe that
its design encourages coding errors such as buffer overflows and is
largely responsible for the poor quality and lax security of most code 
today. I write in it only when I must. So, I'm probably not the best 
person to contribute C code to the project.

Alas, a large number of people in this group genuinely base their
appraisal of, and respect for, others on how many lines of C they've
added to FreeBSD. This is a mistake, as proper marketing, promotion,
advocacy, and memetics are what the OS now cries out for most. 
Documentation, while important (which I as writer value more than most)
is likewise useful but not the key issue right now.

 > With all the respect for what you did in the past I have
>    not seen anything from you since early January, 

Have you even bothered to look?

>not even the tiniest
>    pr or otherwise a constructive piece of whatever except constantly
>    debating what the future will be like on either -advocacy or -chat.

The issues I've raised about the future are, IMHO, THE most important
thing to FreeBSD. The code is already superior to most of what's out
there. While there's certainly lots of work to be done, it is other
things that endanger FreeBSD's future.

The above comment very much reflects the "Where are your PRs?" attitude
I've already mentioned. Even if you broaden this to include documentation --
as I've mentioned, I have a lot of respect for documentors -- it's not
what is most important now. PRs currently matter less than PR.

--Brett



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