…after a brief hiatus, which was really a technical nightmare.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the open source community. I really wish I had more time to help contribute code and so forth. However, the thing I hate most about the community is the RTFM attitude that is jammed down your throat. Now I know a lot of the time that is the solution to the problem. If the user would have read the instructions then they would be okay.
In my case, it wasn’t a RTFM or read the FAQ as NUMEROUS people directed me to. While these items had good information, neither had anything to do with the problem, nor did they offer any piece of useful information in solving my problem.
As usual it took my just following the error path to the problem and creating a work around. However, I notice that a number of people have the same problem as me and all they get in response to their request is a “read the FAQ!” response. I hope the response I left for them helps them get past the same hurdle I encountered.
I understand that the open source community is primarily comprised of working professionals and students. Meaning neigher demographic really has full time to commit to these projects. I respect and acknowledge their hard work. On the other hand, have some faith in your users when they provide feedback or ask questions. No one is a perfect coder, and while it’s easy to proclaim “it’s not the code’s fault it’s your host/install/inability to follow instruction.” Just sit back and see if this is anything that FITS the details already out there. If it’s not, then maybe it deserves a closer look.
I certainly look forward to the next full release of the Gallery software and I preay to God it is the last time I need to update it for A LONG LONG time.
