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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: [Fwd: Decision Making (was Re: PROPOSAL: "Mac" menubar as default)]
From:       mosfet <mosfet () mandrakesoft ! com>
Date:       2000-04-28 16:14:14
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Bah. You say things don't get resolved, I don't agree and ask you to
point out specific instances, and you say you don't want to get into
details. *Shrug*, I think the informal discussion among KDE developers
works just fine and adopting a formal voting process not only won't help
- it will hurt KDE development. Remember, most people code in their free
time for fun. This is a group of people who probably can be doing much
more lucrative things than free software development - the last thing we
need to do is turn it into a formal process where things are determined
by vote. 

You say that people "are thinking for themselves and deciding for
themselves what needs to be done". Of course they are! Almost everyone
is a volunteer! People code what *they* want to work on. If you take
that away and start running things by vote KDE is no longer fun.

Don Sanders wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 28 Apr 2000, mosfet wrote:
> [cut]
> > Just curious, when do you think an issue discussed here has not been
> > able to be resolved? I think the developers have been pretty good at
> > coming up with a consensus about most decisions. I'm intrested to hear
> > when you don't think this has occurred.
> 
> I really don't want to go into details on the list.
> 
> > Unstructured discussion is the only way things are going to happen in
> > free software,
> 
> Well a lot of stuff gets done without any discussion. Often discussions are
> only initiated due to a conflict (or the desire to avoid conflict) or due to
> the fact someone needs advice. I mean discussion by itself is normally just
> talk not code. Pretty much everyone who is contributing is thinking for
> themselves and deciding for themselves what needs to be done. There aren't
> really any discussions about who should do what (and this is normally a very
> good thing).
> 
> The way that some details are decided in KDE (like what the default settings
> should be or what backgrounds should be included) is different from other
> projects.
> 
> I would say linux kernel development is different in that ultimately Linus
> decides what gets accepted in his kernel and he has final say, so that's a
> (benevolent) dictatorship. Also Perl development (from what I've heard) has a
> revolving (benevolent) dictatorship where people take turns in being in the
> hotseat and deciding what is acceptable and what isn't. The Apache link I
> gave was referenced in a recent article on Linux Today that talked about
> their decision making system, which seems very structured (perhaps it only
> works as the number of core Apache developers is limited to something like 20)
> 
> In fact I think KDE is quite unusual having such an open system. I think this
> is normally a good thing but once or twice I've wished someone could
> interrupt a discussion, say right this isn't getting us anywhere, last
> comments everyone and then we'll have a vote tomorrow.
> 
> Okay, that's just my thoughts.
> 
> BFN,
> Don.

-- 
Daniel M. Duley - Unix developer & sys admin.
http://www.mosfet.org - The place for KDE development news.
mosfet@mandrakesoft.com
mosfet@kde.org

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