note to self:
Jan. 10th, 2013 10:36 pmTest that bug with cookies and account settings re: sitescheme when you get home to a real computer
it isn't a zero sum game
Apr. 16th, 2010 06:51 pmOften, people will say things like "I like this, but I really want to see [their favourite pet feature] first," in the comments discussion of ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png)
dw_suggestions. Now, ![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png)
denise has already written a lovely entry, detailing why this is irrelevant and unproductive, but I still want to talk about it.
I think a lot of people don't really understand Dreamwidth development -- it's something that happens in the background, and new features come along, and that's all they really get. The regular code tours help in making things more transparent but I don't think the sense of who and what development is has really spread past the volunteer culture.
Here's the thing: it's a volunteer culture. There are, currently, only two paid developers:mark and ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fu. There are only two people whose job it is to work on this site; their work is, you can be sure, directed.
This site would not be possible without the other developers: the volunteers. Those volunteers decide where to put their time based on the things that matter to them, be it their own use of the site, or the greater good of the site. When you compare the worth of various features and say oh, well, but that isn't really important, you're putting down their decisions and efforts and it's very frustrating.
I'm a contributor to this site -- I have a CLA filed with Dreamwidth, and I have contributed a single partial patch. It wasn't anything big; I colour-shifted the dreamwidth logo for Gradation Vertical. That happened because I asked what was holding up its rollout and was told that they lacked a logo. So I went and made one.
If someone had suggested that their favourite feature was more important than rolling out yet another site scheme when we already had three, it would've really upset me. It would have felt like being told that I had wasted my time, that this thing that I spent some energy and effort on because I cared about it personally was somehow not worth it -- even though it improved the site for me and others.
Dreamwidth development is directed but not linear, and it is not a zero sum game. And talking about it like it is is unproductive -- counter-productive, even.
dw_suggestions. Now, denise has already written a lovely entry, detailing why this is irrelevant and unproductive, but I still want to talk about it.I think a lot of people don't really understand Dreamwidth development -- it's something that happens in the background, and new features come along, and that's all they really get. The regular code tours help in making things more transparent but I don't think the sense of who and what development is has really spread past the volunteer culture.
Here's the thing: it's a volunteer culture. There are, currently, only two paid developers:
mark and fu. There are only two people whose job it is to work on this site; their work is, you can be sure, directed.This site would not be possible without the other developers: the volunteers. Those volunteers decide where to put their time based on the things that matter to them, be it their own use of the site, or the greater good of the site. When you compare the worth of various features and say oh, well, but that isn't really important, you're putting down their decisions and efforts and it's very frustrating.
I'm a contributor to this site -- I have a CLA filed with Dreamwidth, and I have contributed a single partial patch. It wasn't anything big; I colour-shifted the dreamwidth logo for Gradation Vertical. That happened because I asked what was holding up its rollout and was told that they lacked a logo. So I went and made one.
If someone had suggested that their favourite feature was more important than rolling out yet another site scheme when we already had three, it would've really upset me. It would have felt like being told that I had wasted my time, that this thing that I spent some energy and effort on because I cared about it personally was somehow not worth it -- even though it improved the site for me and others.
Dreamwidth development is directed but not linear, and it is not a zero sum game. And talking about it like it is is unproductive -- counter-productive, even.
