Brett Cannon:[... python-dev summary ... boilerplate change ...]
Sorry, but i have to disagree. I hope you won't take this reply personally, Michele, since it's directed to all c.l.py readers, as well as (particularly) at Python users who [unlike you] are mostly take and rather less give. Although this is inherently the nature of open source, in certain cases this can be taken too far.
+1 for this idea. The summary looks much better now :) Keep the good work going,
I have a long history of doing things, and an equally long history giving up doing them. This stems from a personal belief that organic growth (IMHO the healthiest type) will only be engendered by variety.
I was the Chairman of the Sun UK User Group once.
When I was elected I said I would serve for two years, and when I resigned after two years many people said to me "Steve, please reconsider your decision". I observed, perhaps somewhat cynically, that most of the people who said this were motivated by the wish to avoid the pain of locating and electing a new chairman.
Guess what ... when I refused to reconsider they found a new chairman, who was at least as good as me (I thought he was better), and life carried on. If you were to ask a member of the Sun UK User Group now the name of their second chairman I'd be very surprised if they had any idea who the hell Steve Holden was. (Historical note: the first chairman was Chris Brown, and nobody will remember him either).
Now, the reason for this specific rant is this: I can tell a cry for help when I see one. Brett has done a magnificent job of providing python-dev summaries since Andrew decided he'd had enough, and he is to be congratulated for it. I managed to offload another bunch of work on him (moderation of various troublesome PyCon mailing lists), but at least I was able to recompense him by letting him into PyCon for nothing.
I can say this because I am confident that nobody will even think of suggesting that Brett's contribution to the Python community doesn't entitle him to a free place at PyCon. I suspect most readers of this list would feel the same about Guido (I certainly hope so, because he too is a free-loader this year :-). I would actually like a free place at PyCon to represent recognition of significant contributions to the Python community, but there is a conflict here with another of my goals (raising funds for the PSF).
But frankly, I think it's time someone else stood up and said "Brett, you've done a magnificent job. Hesitant though I am about replacing you, I would like to volunteer for the task, because only when you are free from the burden of writing the python-dev summaries will we see what else you are capable of". Since I am at best an intermittent reader of python-dev I can say this without fear of having to stand up myself.
Oops, I'm rambling. I guess what I'm trying to say boils down to "Ask not what the Python community can do for you ...", and anyone who can't provide the remainder of the analogy is too young to consider themselves a victim of this post, and can claim a free ticket until they are old enough ti understand what history is.
I like to think that although I don't make frequent checkins to the code base I do *something* to engender the Python community spirit (though I don't consider my own interpretation of that spirit to uniquely define it), and I'm damned sure Brett has done his share.
It would be great if just a *few* more people who are currently consuming the fruits of our labors would stop sitting on the sidelines shouting "great job!" and roll their sleeves up.
I hope I'll be able to put these remarks in a corporate context for PyCon - which astute readers will have noticed will be my last PyCon as chairman. I am happy to say that Andrew Kuchling has finally admitted his lust for power and confirmed that he is prepared to act as chairman for 2006, and I wish him well. More later
one-more-thing-given-up-ly y'rs - steve _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
