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On 11/11/13 2:30 AM, Michael Seeks wrote:
Hi Urmas,

        So - I don't really understand your mail, which is a shame.

On Mon, 2013-11-11 at 07:23 +0700, Urmas wrote:
The only way users can contribute is when they are paying.

        Surely you're a user - and you contribute with bug filing, triage, and
other QA things which are much appreciated.

  If a developer is paid for non-user-related applications, it will
have the ubiquitous opensource mentality: "I'm a GOD and you insolent
worm will crawl on all fours at my feet because it pleases me to do so".

        As a developer, this is a mentality I often see from users in bugs ;-)
the entitlement mentality - where users feel entitled to have exactly
the fix they think is most important to them, prioritized immediately
above all others, for free =) so it is not just developers that can have
attitude problems I think.

After using LO for awhile, I found and filed a couple of bugs/issues. I wanted to contribute in the area of reporting issues, but I don't have the knowledge to fix them. I didn't expect those problems to go to the head of the line. But I *did* expect them to be put in the queue and eventually fixed.

What I didn't like was being told my issues were not important. BS! It's important to me.

Let's say you have a car, and every 4th time you go to use it, it won't start. You take it to your mechanic, and each time you do, he tells you "it's not important, he's got bigger problems to solve". Are you going to continue to take it to that mechanic, or are you going to find a different mechanic?

Regardless of product, if the vendor/supplier/developer tells you that your issue is not important, will you use that product in the future?

I used to recommend and install LO on computers, but no longer, since it's obvious my input and issues is not important. I have a list of other issues I've found in LO, but I won't be making any effort to file bugs. You will never have another chance to tell me my issues with things that do not work is unimportant.

I have to be able to look others in the eye and tell them problems get fixed. I'm looking for alternatives now, and have found one that may do the job I need to get done. When I find the right package, I won't need LO.

  Obviously the commercial products which have incident support with
developers and actually implement what users ask of them basing on
what is asked and not on what is trivial to implement, will live LO
in the gutter.

        I don't really understand that one - but it is a true-ism that if you
pay someone a salary you get to choose what they work on ;-) if you
don't you can try a spoonful of honey or (perhaps your tactic) a gallon
of gall to encourage them to work on something but not much more.

I think it boils down to at least two things:

1. Do you want your product to be successful, free or not? Do you want additional
                users, or just happy with what you have?
        2.  How much pride do you have in your work?  Do you want your work to be
                the best it can be?  Or are you happy with it just being "good enough"?

RE: #1... If TDF wants to be a serious alternative to other office suites out there, primarily MSO, TDF needs to operate at the same level of product development, customer support, and provide a better product than the one you wish to replace. Free or not.

RE: #2... One of the mores of society today is to do just good enough to get by. That's fine if you are doing something for yourself. But just being "good enough" will not get you a sterling reputation, it will get you an OK reputation. You have to ask yourself, what do you want your reputation to be?

        Luckily, since this is Free Software there is no significant barrier
(beyond ignorance - which is fixable with time and patience) to
contributing your own fix to the code if you want.

Doing the best you can is where Free Software could really excel. You have no boss telling you "That's good enough" or "We aren't going to fix that".

Of the free packages I've tried, many seem to be of the "good enough" attitude. And I often wonder if some of that attitude is because they aren't trying to make a living with it.



        All the best,

                Michael.



--
Ken

Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 24.0
Thunderbird 17.0.8
LibreOffice 4.1.2.3


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