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The CVS Cop-Out
NewsForge (also owned by VA) has a short piece attempting to call into focus one of the major complaints of end users, the "CVS cop-out". From the article: "One of my biggest pet peeves with open source software is what I call the CVS cop-out. It works like this: I criticize (accurately) some shortcoming of an open source application either in an article or in conversation, and someone responds with, 'That's not true! That feature was fixed in CVS four weeks ago!' [...] I bring up the CVS cop-out not because I have an answer for it, but to air it out. Sometimes, giving a problem a name helps to foster discussion that leads to resolution."
This attitude from some open source developers amuses me.
They want people to look at and use their work. If they didn't, they wouldn't put it out there and say "Look at me. Look at me. Use this!"
Then, when people start to use it and find problems with it (even if they submit detailed bug reports), the person writing the project gets in a huff and takes up the attitude that you have shown - "It's free. If you have a problem with it, sod off."
Gods forbid that anyone suggests new features or make suggestions with regard to interface layout (an area where most developers really need outside perspectives).
And, in the instance that someone just writes a program to learn some new things, take the user feedback as an opportunity to do just that - LEARN. Learn what common problems you are creating code-wise. Learn how people who might use your software think (contrary to popular belief, most of them actually do think). Learn how to get better at what you do.
Do you have to take abuse from end users? No. Should you avail yourself of the resources they present to you in the form of how they use the things that you make? Hell yes.
By the way - I'm not just an end user. I code too. I just do most of mine professionally.
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Oh, I see. All the open source developers just want other developers who will leave them the hell alone.
They don't want/need people to test their software and report legitimate bugs. They don't want suggestions from people who may be busy on other projects. And they certainly don't want someone to offer advice on how real people think.
Does that about sum up your take on things?
Personally, I think all three of those things ARE productive things to do for a project.
Attitudes like the one your display are what give open source developers as a whole a bad name, and most of them aren't like that. Just the overly vocal ones, unfortunately.
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Good Lord, man! Surely you're not suggesting that ... sorry, I'm trying to wrap my head around this - it still seems so ... so .. inconceivable - that someone would use Open Source software in ... production?!?