Re: [K12OSN] The harvest is ready, but the workers are few...

[Quentin Hartman <qhartman lane k12 or us>]

On Fri, 2004-01-30 at 12:34, Richard K. Ingalls wrote:
> Just a philosophical thought about getting the 
> "helpers" that might be needed to improve an 
> already excellent project...
<snip>
> If helpers are needed... I would probably NOT be 
> at the top of the list of qualified candidates. 
> However, I AM willing to learn how to do anything 
> that I'm trained to do.  Then, I could be a 
> valuable asset instead of simply a "consumer" of 
> assets.
> 
> Perhaps there could be some regionalized workshops 
> or trainings scheduled?  Eric and Jim could be the 
> keynote presenters.  There could be a fee charged 
> (to cover costs and pay these gentlemen).  We 
> could all converge upon a town and meet.  Those in 
> need of basic training could go to presentations 
> geared for them.  Those in need of advanced 
> training could go to those presentations.  We 
> would all leave as better people.  Whaddya think?

	I think this is an excellent idea and I volunteer to help organize such
an event. I have family connections (why does that sound so sinister?)
to a suitable venue in Fort Collins, Colorado which would be a fairly
central location as far as the US is concerned. Would you be able to
help as well Richard? This also got me thinking about some philosophical
points that are tangential to this.
	Jim didn't outright say it in a response to my thread earlier today,
but implied that "people who aren't working to make the project go
shouldn't talk about what the project should do". Please straighten me
out if that was not what was meant, but that sort of attitude really
irritates me, and I have seen it in a lot of places in my wandering
through the OSS communities. Discounting someone's input to a project
simply because they are not technically adept enough to execute their
ideas is great way to overlook good ideas that a developer might miss.
Surely, the person doing the work is ultimately the one who decides what
gets done, but ignoring the input of others encourages a sort
intellectual monoculture that, in the end, weakens the project. The
"more eyes on the code finds more bugs" philosophy applies to things
other than code, just as the "do it yourself" philosophy applies equally
well to coming up with suggestions for better or different ways to do
things as it does to actually putting the bits together. A major
software project is more than the sum of it's code, and you don't have
to be a programmer to know good software when you see it.
	
-- 
   -Regards-

-Quentin Hartman-

Academic Computing and Networking Services Coordinator
Fern Ridge School District 28J
Elmira, OR
Office: 541-935-2253 x429
Cell: 541-914-2989
qhartman lane k12 or us
www.fernridge.k12.or.us