murderslastcrow
May 4th, 2011, 12:20 AM
Seriously, when someone makes good software, especially from passion and with little or no monetary incentive, it should be given a minimal amount of appreciation.
The KDE developers work very hard just to be repeatedly insulted by a large portion of this particular community (the other communities tend to be more open-minded for what I'm sure are a variety of reasons). Gnome 3 is a very interesting and well-made piece of technology. Even if it's not your cup of tea, for its purpose it does very well, and is surprisingly stable for such a 'young' product.
While I think it's perfectly suitable and necessary to criticize software, there's a big difference in between useful criticism and saying something sucks without giving it much of an honest look. A LOT of people I see on Ubuntu-centric blogs and in these forums do much the same thing Windows users do when it comes to trying Linux- they count all the differences between Gnome 2 and the new guys as negatives, even if they improve the way your computer works.
If you love the classic setup with Compiz, your docks, your DO, Synapse, GTK 2 themes and applications, etc. etc. Xfce4 is a very good and reasonable alternative. But remember, these guys aren't paid for their work, and to discourage them without even taking a look at their work is doing no one any good. It's far better to use something alien and understand it before discarding it than simply pushing it aside from the outset.
So here's to multiculturalism within the open source community. Let's show everyone at least a minimal amount of respect, so we can get the best software for every particular person, rather than crippling the chances or reputation for alternatives in our ecosystem. I do realize the irony in my generalizing about the Ubuntu community like this, but I think it's a bit more than obvious that there is a certain amount of loyalty that leads to unnecessary zealotry on our part.
So, to put a spin on an old adage, If you don't have something useful to say, don't give uneducated criticism at all; Unless, of course, you want to be like those Windows users who are afraid of change, and merely badmouth other software to make themselves feel comfortable- just admit that's what you're doing so people don't take you seriously.
</glaringly obvious insult> Anyone else feel like this community's grown a bit too comfortable with this kind of neglect?
The KDE developers work very hard just to be repeatedly insulted by a large portion of this particular community (the other communities tend to be more open-minded for what I'm sure are a variety of reasons). Gnome 3 is a very interesting and well-made piece of technology. Even if it's not your cup of tea, for its purpose it does very well, and is surprisingly stable for such a 'young' product.
While I think it's perfectly suitable and necessary to criticize software, there's a big difference in between useful criticism and saying something sucks without giving it much of an honest look. A LOT of people I see on Ubuntu-centric blogs and in these forums do much the same thing Windows users do when it comes to trying Linux- they count all the differences between Gnome 2 and the new guys as negatives, even if they improve the way your computer works.
If you love the classic setup with Compiz, your docks, your DO, Synapse, GTK 2 themes and applications, etc. etc. Xfce4 is a very good and reasonable alternative. But remember, these guys aren't paid for their work, and to discourage them without even taking a look at their work is doing no one any good. It's far better to use something alien and understand it before discarding it than simply pushing it aside from the outset.
So here's to multiculturalism within the open source community. Let's show everyone at least a minimal amount of respect, so we can get the best software for every particular person, rather than crippling the chances or reputation for alternatives in our ecosystem. I do realize the irony in my generalizing about the Ubuntu community like this, but I think it's a bit more than obvious that there is a certain amount of loyalty that leads to unnecessary zealotry on our part.
So, to put a spin on an old adage, If you don't have something useful to say, don't give uneducated criticism at all; Unless, of course, you want to be like those Windows users who are afraid of change, and merely badmouth other software to make themselves feel comfortable- just admit that's what you're doing so people don't take you seriously.
</glaringly obvious insult> Anyone else feel like this community's grown a bit too comfortable with this kind of neglect?