[Scummvm-devel] Communication: IRC is *not* the authorative place(Was: File handling revamp)

[Max Horn]

Hi folks,

I am splitting of this email from the file handling thread, because it
touches a very different yet also highly important issues: that of
internal project communication.

There is one thing I have stated countless times, but apparently can't
state enough:

IRC is maybe good for "quick questions", and for rough discussions. it is
usually *not* good for authorative answers, for complete answers, or for
planning the future of ScummVM. Simply because not everybody is always
online; and those people given the answers to your "quick questions" are
not necessarily the people bested suited to give those answers.

So, if you really want to know something, you have to mail this mailing
list. Just like when you notice a bug, mentioning it on IRC is not enough
(even though it *sometimes* is, but then you are simply lucky); rather,
you should file it in our bug tracker, else the right persons may never
see it, and it gets lost.


Am Di, 29.07.2008, 17:29, schrieb Johannes Schickel:
> On Tuesday 29 July 2008 16:03:10 Max Horn wrote:
[...]
>> <RANT>But I wish people would point this out immediately when they run
>> into it, instead of silently suffering or using other approaches ...</
>> RANT>
>
> Well they do usually ask on IRC about it. Since that's where they hope to
> get quick answers.

See above. They may hope that, and sometimes they even get quick answers.
But often they don't get complete, comprehensive, authorative or even
*correct* answers. Anything said on IRC should be taken with a grain of
salt, IMO.


>> Sadly it was not known to me :/. I recommend writing about such
>> problems to this list for discussion. Talking about it on IRC only
>> reaches a limited audience.
>
> Well people seemed to accept that FSNode is case sensitive and wrote code
> to detect the case on their own instead.

Argh, that's a terrible approach of those people then. If a feature in
ScummVM stinks, then say it. Don't pince your nose and try to work around
the stink.


> (At least that's what I'm
> thinking KoM is doing currently, I didn't look at the code since some time
> though). Anyway I wouldn't blame them that they asked on IRC for
> help/information on that.

Well, I do blame them, actually. Once again, IRC is not the place to ask
such questions. Or if you do ask there, then bear the negative
consequences. :(.