[Scummvm-devel] RANT
James 'Ender' Brown
ender at scummvm.org
Sun Jul 23 03:25:10 CEST 2006
On Sat, 2006-07-22 at 16:22 +0200, Max Horn wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> So, a better response would have been to start a discussion on how to
> improve upon FSNode. But since typically my attempts to start
> discussion on design of backend/frontend/glue code leads to no
> response from the Big Black Hole, and in the end I am alone to decide
> what to do anyway, I prematurely cut that discussion out. Which
> clearly was not a good idea. :-/
>
> Unfortunately, I still do not feel like starting a discussion on the
> design here, simply because I strongly believe it will lead to
> nothing anyway.
I can only agree with Eugene and Neil in that I always defer to your
judgement on the backend/glue code. I think Eugene was correct in
saying:
sev> It just seems that developers are really afraid of breaking
OSystem.
sev> When they were invited to the Team, they were told not to overuse
their
sev> commit access and discuss all significant changes out of their
working area.
Admittidly, the lack of discussion is probably the real problem and
source of your frustration; We have tended to discourage any inititive
in other developers changing OSystem et-al... I am not a C++ person, and
while I'm picking up OO design more and more, I'm not remotely confident
in my ability to do things 'the right way' in terms of OO design.
I've always believed the work you do in keeping the ScummVM tree
organised, and your constant cleanups and refactorings, are a vital part
of ScummVMs development. You've always seemed to have a pretty good
'grand scheme' in your head, so nobody has wanted to get in the way.
> Only fools keep talking to walls, and since I
> don't like acting a fool that much, I am not really inclined to keep
> this up (my other mail regarding String is a last attempt, but I
> guess it's doomed from the start, too).
Well, this particular topic has gained a lot of support. The lack of
discussion is usually agreement coupled with laziness unfortunately.
> Yeah, I am bitter and tired, but I am also aware that it's my own
> fault to a large extent. Most of you folks are doing good work, and
> it's not your fault that I have had the wrong expectations. Plus I
> think I am often too discouraging with my strong opinions on certain
> subjects, so people are deterred from working on e.g. the glue code.
> So my attitude is simply unrealistic. That's not nice, but I gotta
> face it.
I don't think any of this is your own fault, I don't believe its your
strong opinions that deter people from working on the glue code, etc. In
fact, its those opinions (and the good reasoning usually behind them)
that made you most qualified for the job. The discouragement to touch
the glue-code is partially that fear of breaking something that works,
but it is just a general attitude most of the team has towards those
regions of code - It's your baby.
> Therefore, I'll grant myself a timeout and will stop monitoring, will
> stop making cleanups or refactoring or working on the middle end, or
> anything like that. Most everybody seems content with the current
> state of things anyway, so my efforts seem misplaced. I feel that all
> I achieve by trying to be a "leader" with a "vision" is that I turn
> myself into laughingstock, and cause additional work for myself and
> everybody else, which is little appreciated.
Nobody has ever laughed at you or your guidance, but if you are feeling
burnt-out... taking a break now is indeed the best thing. You ARE the
leader with a "vision", and I think you've made your feelings towards
maintenance clear. Hopefully this will inspire more contribution and
less trepidation to the glue code, etc.
Theres nothing wrong with taking a good break, and I hope you feel
better in the coming weeks! We really do need you around to keep the
monkeys-on-keyboards under control!
- James 'Ender' Brown
The "I'm-so-lazy-we-just-remove-all-the-asserts!"
ScummVM Team Lead
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