[documentation] commentary

[christopher calicott]

On Sep 8, 2008, at 5:34 PM, Steven Peck wrote:
>
> Drupal has always been at the point of gaining momentum.  This is not
> a new thing, this is not a new experience.  People can get down to
> work, but one does not jump in without communications.  If you have a
> plan, propose it, seek input, refine, seek consensues and agreement.
> I would hope these basics are shared across many open source projects,
> they have certainly been so on the ones I have participated in.


This is a paraphrase of what you said in response to a similar comment  
someone made at the documentation team talk in Boston, blowing them  
off publicly, as well.   I'm sorry if you can't see that it is  
different in 2008/9 than it was in 2006/7, but it is.  I've been  
passively observing for quite awhile now, and media coverage, rate of  
adoption, et cetera, is accelerating.  That's a fact.  It's one thing  
to describe to people wanting to share an idea the path to adding  
materials, but it's entirely another to quash their helpful spirit by  
shooting down their observation of how timely things need to be  
handled and throwing up a barrage of "red tape" about process and  
procedure without genuinely trying to assist them, in my opinion.

When a community is smaller, things can work differently than when it  
grows much larger, and that /is/ taking place.  I'm not sure why you  
have such an ongoing issue with that point about growth rates.  Dries  
himself - in his keynote in Boston - had charts and graphs and talked  
at some length about past CMS's and pivotal moments in their growth  
and their  falling into disuse because of not making the right moves  
and responding properly to their growth at the right time...


> Wait?  I can be accused of being the type of person that would engage
> in reprisals and it's still my fault for being upset that someone
> would accuse my of such reprehensible behavior?  I wasn't
> inadvertently rubbed the wrong way, I was accused of being a malicious
> person and frankly I am still upset at that and owed a public apology.
>  Dozens of people have made changes in the handbook, some I did not
> agree with, most are still there today.   Why?  Because they thought
> it would help and I thought it would not do any harm to see if it did
> and if someone would learn something by doing it.
...
> Your points can be heard in the spirit they were offered.  The public
> accusation against my character is yet to be addressed.



I genuinely do not like having words put in my mouth.  This is  
childish, blown completely out of proportion, and I'm not going to  
have someone dictating to me what to say and when and where to say  
it.   I'm not apologizing for something I did not say or for something  
I did say that is true.  I never attacked your "character" or  
mentioned "reprehensible behavior."   That's just silly.    I think  
you've made it pretty clear, though, that you do make issues a  
personal matter, Steven, and oftentimes, very quickly so.   I make  
comments about how people might feel about certain responses to  
sharing ideas and somehow I'm making a public accusation against your  
character as a person?  Unbelievable..

I don't have any interest in anything, here, other than helping the  
Drupal community as a whole, which I do however I can.  Every time  
something comes up, though, and you're around, you're right there...  
putting your $.02 in and putting out ill vibes when I have something  
to say.  I seriously doubt that I'm the only person who has  
experienced this vibe.


I'll give this another shot and repost what I had originally said that  
apparently caused such a strong reaction:

 >I tend to just be silent on the list because Documentation discussion
 >at DrupalCon Boston seemed, frankly, a little "we don't do things that
 >way around here..." and it sucks making helpful suggestions and
 >getting shot down, so I just keep fairly quiet and edit bad grammar,
 >et cetera, occasionally.  I really would like to see people like me
 >having a much more clear path to doing bigger edits and additions to
 >documentation, without fear of reprisal.   Having said that, if anyone
 >has a place in mind to include some ideas/additions on this topic,
 >please let me know and I'll get on it this week.
 >
 >have a good day,
 >-=- christopher

It was a legitimate concern when I wrote it.  It's even more one now.   
Organizations improve by having people with differing points of view  
sharing - without fear of reprisal - and working out the differences  
to the best possible effect.   I know that the Drupal community can do  
it.   I just fear that this sort of attitude I'm met with here isn't  
the same that any other newcomers are getting.  It makes things very  
uncomfortable, indeed.

-=- christopher