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List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: KDE, Gnome, Koffice, Goffice and more
From:       dep <dep () snet ! net>
Date:       2000-03-02 15:34:44
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On Wed, 01 Mar 2000, Charles wrote:

| Do you not also appreciate my code? :D
| class Sulk;

<g>

| I think it's about time.  The only thing that's stopping us from all
| the stuff that we've been trying to get is ego.  Ego is the driving
| force behind open source, but we still do get bragging rights :)

ego needn't be that much of a factor, for this reason: if the group 
arrives at good standards, the ego later is even more gratified. when i 
write an article or book, my ego recoils at its being gone over by an 
editor. but in a larger sense, the editor's work (often<g>) makes me 
look better, and the entire product, which has my name on it, is 
improved.

there's a definite evolution of ego gratification in creative 
endeavors. right now, i'm fiddling with code and calculation hacks so 
that xglobe can be used with a map of the moon to be a realtime moon 
phase application. (yes, i've been working on this in fits and starts 
for a year, as some of you know. shut up.<g>) the day it get it working 
properly on my desktop, i'll be very pleased with myself. but the next 
day my ego is going to insist that *somebody else* be able to run it on 
*his* desktop. then my insatiable ego will insist that *everybody* be 
able to run it on their desktops. thus, my ego will (by about 2010, at 
the current rate of things) have been personally fed by something that 
is to the common good.

so it is with standards. by setting aside the instant ego gratification 
that comes from fighting the little disputes, one can end up with the 
far more satisfying ego salve of knowing that the potential user base 
of one's work has been multiplied many times. of course, standards also 
mean that if your application isn't as good as somebody else's, the 
user will use the one written by the other guy. what's the effect here? 
in order to keep that hungry ego fed, your code is going to have to be 
at least as good and maybe better than the other guy's, so people will 
use your application. will the other guy's ego sit still for this? 
hell, no! he'll get to work and try to outdo you. and so on. the result 
is, of course, far better applications for the user. 

which is the glorious result of ego + standards. not a bad outcome!

-- 
dep
--
take back america and throw a wobble into the spin:
if you're interviewed by an election exit pollster, lie!

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