Re^3: No, "We" Don't Have to Do Anything

Say your community shows up to build you a barn, and you sit on the porch drinking lemonade, criticising their carpentry and pestering them for a completion date, well, just how ludicrous is that scenario? Yet this is exactly what we are doing when we sit back like some ancient king, expecting free software served to us, taking what we need, giving nothing in return except maybe money… or “advocacy.”

That's fine, as long as everyone knows what a barn is, and how to build one. That's not what we have: we have a bunch of people trying to build "a language", from specs that are full of "perhaps" and "maybe".

Some of the people are hard at work looking to source marble for the Ionic Columns where the bulls will get sacrifice to Apollo, and some are trying to source cedar and silks for the nesting boxes for the Rookery, and some are hard at working forging metal bars to build the cages for the lions, and some are out in the fields trying to catch rabbits so the barn will have some animals. No one knows if they're building a Temple, a Rookery, a Zoo, a rabbit hutch, or all of the above.

And some of the people are sitting on the porch, sipping lemonaide in bemusement, trying to figure out what's going on, who's in charge, and what's actually going to be built.

Comment on Re^3: No, "We" Don't Have to Do Anything

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^4: No, "We" Don't Have to Do Anything by blazar (Canon) on Mar 01, 2006 at 10:47 UTC
That's fine, as long as everyone knows what a barn is, and how to build one. That's not what we have: we have a bunch of people trying to build "a language", from specs that are full of "perhaps" and "maybe". If you don't even know what a barn is, then you probably don't want to contribute. If you do know, and want to contribute, but don't know how to build one, then you can join the other volounteers and ask for directions. I suppose that you know at least how to drive in a nail. If you're willing to, then you will be given a hammer and a bunch of nails, and asked to drive them in. Part of Perl 6 development can be like that: read some synopses and write test for pugs. Or post relevant comments if you find inconsistencies, for example.	[reply]

Replies are listed 'Best First'.

Re^4: No, "We" Don't Have to Do Anything
by blazar (Canon) on Mar 01, 2006 at 10:47 UTC

That's fine, as long as everyone knows what a barn is, and how to build one. That's not what we have: we have a bunch of people trying to build "a language", from specs that are full of "perhaps" and "maybe".

If you don't even know what a barn is, then you probably don't want to contribute. If you do know, and want to contribute, but don't know how to build one, then you can join the other volounteers and ask for directions.

I suppose that you know at least how to drive in a nail. If you're willing to, then you will be given a hammer and a bunch of nails, and asked to drive them in. Part of Perl 6 development can be like that: read some synopses and write test for pugs. Or post relevant comments if you find inconsistencies, for example.

[reply]