Governance revisited

[Hiji]

----- Original Message ----
From: Mike McCormack <mike at codeweavers.com>
To: bobl at optushome.com.au
Cc: wine-devel at winehq.org; Marcus Meissner <marcus at jet.franken.de>
Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 11:42:36 PM
Subject: Re: Governance revisited


>     The current process is crippling this project, limiting the developer base  
> and reducing community value. Without some healthy dissent it will never 
> change and get better.  I am a friend of change, a true believer in the 
> process of continuous improvement. I believe one day, the WIne project will 
> value my contribution - even in dissent.

We value your contribution, however it's even more valuable to have 
developers that listen to feedback and fix their broken patches rather 
than just complaining loudly.

Since you know better, how about maintaining your own Wine tree and 
showing us how it's done?

Mike

-----------------------------

I think Bob, Jim and co. were very diplomatic in their recommendations, and I firmly believe that they symbolize the opinions of a much larger group of people.  I don't think they've overstepped their boundaries at all, have "complained" or rushed-in to proclaim that they are "know-it-alls".  What they do realize is that the process can be improved and have tried to provide recommendations.  I'm also very suprised that they have been accused of "trolling" when I didn't see it that way at all - I think someone who was "complaining" or "trolling" because their patches never/ rarely make it in would be MUCH less constructive.  You guys, you don't have to be on the "defensive" because Bob, Jim, and co. are "attacking" you.

Watching and being on this list for a few years now, it's no secret that this topic has come up over and over again - clearly, they aren't the only ones feeling this way and the "problem" persists.  We've seen MANY discouraged developers leave because of situations like this, and I believe this hurts the project.  Yeah, the team can say "hey, we have no problem with it", but I think that's only because those who disagree have been "scared away".  As far as the recommendation to fork the tree, I wouldn't be suprised if that happens because it's already happened once before - of course, relations between this team and with Transgaming aren't all that great; so, I doubt they would want to share their development process.

I think this team has done an incredible job with Wine - heck I've made it a point to stop by the CodeWeavers booth the last two year at LinuxWorld to say how much I love the work you guys do (sometimes, I'm the only one there).  However, I can't help but believe that this project can evolve MUCH faster and better to gain the respect that it deserves.

I've been using Wine for a little over 2 years now (it's the first app I've ever installed on Linux, and its what kept me on Linux), but from a user's perspective, I have seen very little progress (and in some cases, steps backwards.)  And frankly said, it really sucks to hear that the developers here don't place user needs/ value higher on their priority list.  Granted, Wine is free software, and I could off and do my own thing, but speaking merely from a personal satisfaction perspective, when I develop something, what really makes me happy is knowing that the person using my app REALLY enjoys and makes use of it.  That's why it's always high on my priority list.  If I don't have that going for me, I have no reason to develop the app.

I just want to close with this: I'm not trolling (the team should know this because I've been on the list for awhile) and I certainly don't think that anyone else here has trolled around this thread.

A Wine Fan,
Hiji