There is an interesting dialectic here between acting with "enlightened self-interest" and being entirely selfish. All I have suggested throughout this episode is that the project be egalitarian towards its website assets and expect all committers to abide by the same set of expectations (which means everyone is expected to at least TRY to follow the documentation others have generously provided). Remember, the prerequisite skills here are an ability to follow instructions combined with a familiarity of how links are created in html pages. Nothing more is required, and as Hagar has figured out how to use Roller, I'm guessing he has the requisite knowledge about html.
Only those who expect special treatment beyond the expected normsof the project should be offended by what I'm saying. Yeswe all have a DUTYto act in ways that aligned with community expectations-no peeing in the communitypool please. After all Apache operates these assets in the model of an intellectual commons that everyone should treat with an appropriate amount of respect towards each other and the org. I haveoften described my role in this org as akin to being a park ranger, and we all know how well the average citizen pays attention to the rules of the park. I haverefrained from using any labels here other than to say that the behavior I amquestioning is less than model behavior. Yet I have received a lot of flak and not a lot of rationale behind the defense of that behavior. That people unfamiliar with the documentation see nothing wrong with what Hagar offers here is not surprising, those people aren't going to read and apply it either. Oh well, it's your community folks. ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dennis E. Hamilton <dennis.hamil...@acm.org> > To: 'Joe Schaefer' <joe_schae...@yahoo.com>; ooo-dev@incubator.apache.org > Cc: > Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2012 4:00 PM > Subject: RE: Java download link on AOO site > > > <orcnote comment="below" /> > > -----Original Message----- > From: Joe Schaefer [mailto:joe_schae...@yahoo.com] > Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2012 12:00 > To: dennis.hamil...@acm.org; ooo-dev@incubator.apache.org > Subject: Re: Java download link on AOO site > > The thing is Dennis, it is self-defeating for the org to fund my work > on the CMS to make it a more effective collaboration tool for Apache > communities if projects don't start expecting committers and end users > alike to take advantage of it. If this is the new norm, where application > of project documentation is no longer expected for Apachedev-list > participation, > then I'll adjust my plans accordingly. I do know that Infra would never > survive with only 3-4 staffers if we didn't expect committers to > read/apply/critique/fixour documentation. > > > Whether it is difficultto use the CMSor super easy makes no difference > to anyoneif only a select few areexpectedto even try. > > > [ ... ] > > <orcnote> > > I find this very strange in an open-source context. The expectation that > there > is an eager or required group of users seems odd. How was that arrived at? > > I also find it strange to project a duty onto volunteers. Most volunteers > get > to choose what their duties are. > > - Dennis > > Notes from my personal, narrow perspective on how I deal with finding > low-friction, high-payoff places to put my attention and energy: > > I am not adverse to "build-it-and-they-might-come" development > (because if I don't they definitely won't), but not with any expectation > that there are any people anxiously waiting to dog-food my efforts. That > means > I seek satisfaction in the effort itself, without much expectation beyond > that > beyond a hope of being of some use to others. I also don't expect anyone to > pay me for such self-indulgence on my part. > > With regard to the ASF CMS, the only thing I know about it is the on-list > encouragement of folks to use a bookmark that makes editing the web site > easier. I know nothing more than that. I don't even know what browser the > bookmark may be limited to (nor am I in a hurry to find out). > > There are many more things that I know how to do that are where I will put my > attention more readily. > > I've not learned MarkDown, for example, because I never needed to before, > although I can fake wikiText well enough, and learn little bits more as > needed > in dealing with a particular wiki format. Meanwhile, I have many ways to > edit > (web) pages in an SVN Working Copy. But the ASF site-publishing process and > the > way pages are merged on the site is still something I haven't picked-up on. > I will eventually learn MarkDown more systematically because I want to pay > closer attention to Ward Cunningham's Smallest-Federated-Wiki, not because > it is used underneath anything at the ASF. I may end up supporting SFW it on > a > site of my own. For that, MarkDown gets more of my attention. > > I only managed to write Apache OO(i) blog posts by finding out how to use > Windows LiveWriter to compose them off-line and publish them automatically. > Although I got the required use of drafts wrong, I have succeeded in making > posts the way I know best and that serve some personal requirements that I > have > around blog authoring. > > I also refused to give up maintaining an AOO(i) roster and committer-intake > tracker in OpenOffice Calc when folks complained that there are no diffs for > commits to that binary-format document. Instead, I make sure that the commit > messages describe what was changed or added for those who want to follow > along > via reading commit messages. > > In all cases, it is about finding ways to get the work done that I have taken > on, not on diversions into toolcraft. It's different when everything's > new. That's not where I find myself these days. > > </orcnote> >
