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by Timothy Kaine - Jan 14th 2006 10:58:53
This project should not be marked Stable nor Mature. It is aboslutely
nowhere near stable, unable to go more than 5 minutes without segfaulting.
Tested under several different distributions.
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Bad attitude
by Ian Clarke - Apr 28th 2004 04:32:04
From the website:
"DO NOT E-MAIL ME WITH QUESTIONS, REQUESTS FOR HELP, OR REQUESTS FOR
TECHNICAL SUPPORT REGARDING ANY OF THE SOFTWARE ON THIS SITE: NO
EXCEPTIONS."
The author of this software seems to be pretty contemptuous of his users
:-/
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Re: Bad attitude
by PhrozenSmoke - Apr 28th 2004 21:03:15
I AM the author of the software, and I am not a "He" (You don't read very
well). No, I am not 'contemptuous' of my users, but I make it VERY clear
on the site that Gyach-E and pY! Voice Chat are applications I wrote FOR
MYSELF and decided to release to the general public under the GPL. If you
read the GPL carefully, authors of software are under NO obligation to
provide technical support to end users, thus the phrase 'AS-IS' (from the
GPL):
"NO WARRANTY
11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN
OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO
THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE PROGRAM
PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR OR
CORRECTION."
I write the applications FOR MYSELF, motivated by wanting to see
certain features implemented that I don't see in other applications. In
other words, unlike people who whine about the applications that are
available, and write NO code, I decided to do something about it and write
applications that I like to use. I am not writing these applications 'for'
YOU or anybody else, and if tomorrow, I were the ONLY user of this
application, that would suit me just fine as I am simply writing what I
want to use on a daily basis. I wrote Gyach-E, and other people happened to
start using it, but from its conception, its goal was not to 'please the
public'. So, no, I am generally not interested in providing 'technical
support' to users as, in reality, I've written these applications to please
myself, not you and the general public. If you use software under the GNU
General Public License, you should not 'expect' anything beyond what the
license entitles you to, and the license does not 'entitle' you to any
technical support or 'right' to email the author with questions whatsoever.
It is a common misconception that every GPL application out there has been
written to please 'the public' and that the author has an obligation to sit
around and answer tech support questions from the public. This is not one
of your 'rights' according to the GPL license, you are not 'entitled' to
it, and I don't provide it: Plain and simple. I wanted to see some new
features in Y! chat programs, I write code, I release it (you like it or
don't), I use the application I've written for myself, and I go on my merry
way. After I've written a new release, I'm eager to use my application and
do other things with my time, and you and nobody else have a 'right' to
expect me to answer any questions or provide 'technical support'. The
release of a GPL software package does not give the public at-large
complete 'dominion' over the software author's personal time. :) Open
source developers have lives too, and some choose not to spend them
providing 'free tech support'. Open source developers are not your
personal slaves and not all of them are writing applications to please YOU:
Many of them are programmers writing stuff THEY want to use for themselves
who decide to be kind enough to release it to the public under the GPL. I
could have just as easily written the application and never taken the time
to upload it to SourceForge for public consumption, but it is not for YOU
or anybody else to 'assign' me additional duties as you see fit, and trust
me, you will not. I wrote my ideal Y! application and posted it to the net
in case somebody else found it useful, but I am under NO obligation to
'help' anybody use it, build it, install it, or anything else. The GNU
General Public License entitles you to free software, NOT 'free technical
support'. You can think whatever you want about my attitude, but rather
than whining, maybe you should do as I did and actually write some code and
FIX these 'problems' you see with open source software: Whining on forum
boards doesn't get applications written, writing code DOES. Expect nothing
in this world because you are 'owed' nothing, and you won't be let down.
Think of GPL software as a one-night-stand: It might be good, it might be
bad...but it either case, it comes with NO COMMITMENT.
> From the website:
> "DO NOT E-MAIL ME WITH QUESTIONS,
> REQUESTS FOR HELP, OR REQUESTS FOR
> TECHNICAL SUPPORT REGARDING ANY OF THE
> SOFTWARE ON THIS SITE: NO EXCEPTIONS."
>
> The author of this software seems to be
> pretty contemptuous of his users :-/
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Re: Bad attitude
by chance.sy - Aug 13th 2004 04:17:34
> I AM the author of the software, and I
> am not a "He" (You don't read very
> well). No, I am not 'contemptuous' of
> my users, but I make it VERY clear on
> the site that Gyach-E and pY! Voice Chat
> are applications I wrote FOR MYSELF and
> decided to release to the general public
> under the GPL. If you read the GPL
> carefully, authors of software are under
> NO obligation to provide technical
> support to end users, thus the phrase
> 'AS-IS' (from the GPL):
>
> "NO WARRANTY
>
> 11. BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS LICENSED FREE
> OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE
> PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY
> APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE
> STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS
> AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM
> "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
> EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING,
> BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
> WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND
> FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
> ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND
> PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU.
> SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU
> ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY
> SERVICING, REPAIR OR CORRECTION."
>
> I write the applications FOR MYSELF,
> motivated by wanting to see certain
> features implemented that I don't see in
> other applications. In other words,
> unlike people who whine about the
> applications that are available, and
> write NO code, I decided to do something
> about it and write applications that I
> like to use. I am not writing these
> applications 'for' YOU or anybody else,
> and if tomorrow, I were the ONLY user of
> this application, that would suit me
> just fine as I am simply writing what I
> want to use on a daily basis. I wrote
> Gyach-E, and other people happened to
> start using it, but from its conception,
> its goal was not to 'please the public'.
> So, no, I am generally not interested in
> providing 'technical support' to users
> as, in reality, I've written these
> applications to please myself, not you
> and the general public. If you use
> software under the GNU General Public
> License, you should not 'expect'
> anything beyond what the license
> entitles you to, and the license does
> not 'entitle' you to any technical
> support or 'right' to email the author
> with questions whatsoever. It is a
> common misconception that every GPL
> application out there has been written
> to please 'the public' and that the
> author has an obligation to sit around
> and answer tech support questions from
> the public. This is not one of your
> 'rights' according to the GPL license,
> you are not 'entitled' to it, and I
> don't provide it: Plain and simple. I
> wanted to see some new features in Y!
> chat programs, I write code, I release
> it (you like it or don't), I use the
> application I've written for myself, and
> I go on my merry way. After I've
> written a new release, I'm eager to use
> my application and do other things with
> my time, and you and nobody else have a
> 'right' to expect me to answer any
> questions or provide 'technical
> support'. The release of a GPL software
> package does not give the public
> at-large complete 'dominion' over the
> software author's personal time. :)
> Open source developers have lives too,
> and some choose not to spend them
> providing 'free tech support'. Open
> source developers are not your personal
> slaves and not all of them are writing
> applications to please YOU: Many of them
> are programmers writing stuff THEY want
> to use for themselves who decide to be
> kind enough to release it to the public
> under the GPL. I could have just as
> easily written the application and never
> taken the time to upload it to
> SourceForge for public consumption, but
> it is not for YOU or anybody else to
> 'assign' me additional duties as you see
> fit, and trust me, you will not. I wrote
> my ideal Y! application and posted it to
> the net in case somebody else found it
> useful, but I am under NO obligation to
> 'help' anybody use it, build it, install
> it, or anything else. The GNU General
> Public License entitles you to free
> software, NOT 'free technical support'.
> You can think whatever you want about my
> attitude, but rather than whining, maybe
> you should do as I did and actually
> write some code and FIX these 'problems'
> you see with open source software:
> Whining on forum boards doesn't get
> applications written, writing code DOES.
> Expect nothing in this world because you
> are 'owed' nothing, and you won't be let
> down. Think of GPL software as a
> one-night-stand: It might be good, it
> might be bad...but it either case, it
> comes with NO COMMITMENT.
>
>
>
> % From the website:
> % "DO NOT E-MAIL ME WITH QUESTIONS,
> % REQUESTS FOR HELP, OR REQUESTS FOR
> % TECHNICAL SUPPORT REGARDING ANY OF
> THE
> % SOFTWARE ON THIS SITE: NO
> EXCEPTIONS."
> %
> % The author of this software seems to
> be
> % pretty contemptuous of his users :-/
>
>
>
If this was the attitude of linus, Linux must'nt have been developed. it
would have been ignored like the other software in the net..
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Re: Bad attitude
by Ian Clarke - Feb 28th 2006 20:46:36
I don't understand why you bothered to paste that
paragraph since nobody is questioning whether you have the
legal right, under the terms of the GPL, to refuse to help
your users with problems.
The fact that you do refuse to help your users is a good
reason for users to think twice before using your software,
hence my warning.
The tone of your responses here only reinforce my opinion
that you have a serious attitude problem, judging by other
comments here, I am not alone.
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Re: Bad attitude
by opalblue - Dec 25th 2006 22:02:06
A flame-worthy attitude.
PhrozenSmoke, you're contradicting yourself. Why are you sharing your code
and app via GPL if they are supposed to be for YOUR OWN USE only? Why not
just keep it to yourself??
I wrote my ideal Y! application and posted
it to the net in case somebody else found it useful, but I am under NO
obligation to 'help' anybody use it, build it, install
it, or anything else.
[...]
You can think whatever you want about my attitude, but rather than
whining, maybe you should do as I did and actually write
some code and FIX these 'problems' you see with open source software
You are hoping that users will find your open-source software useful. You
even want them to "fix these 'problems'" they see in your software. Yet
you're not kind to them and even refuse to help them. What a gratitude!
What an attitude!
The fact that your users see bugs in your app means that they appreciate
and use your software. They are giving you knowledge about the bugs, which
means that you now have the opportunity to learn more and improve your
software more. Some of these users can even contribute patches to your
code. But if you keep on rejecting your users, they will stop helping you
and your software as well.
You are not obliged to help your users. And the users are not obliged to
help you, too. But give it some kindness, show some appreciation to your
users, listen to them and your software will bloom with increased usability
and acceptance. That's what Linus Torvalds did to Linux, that's what
Richard Stallman did to GNU tools. That's what free software and open
source is all about.
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One more thing....
by PhrozenSmoke - Mar 7th 2004 05:49:18
One more problem I noted with FreshMeat's editing: The 'edited' version
added a number of grammatical errors.
FIRST ERROR:
"This version adds instant messaging support, extends proxy support,
adds a tool for configuring blended color tags, corrects problems with file
sharing, improves boot prevention and spam control."
This is a PHRASE, not a complete sentence: You must add "and"
before the last item listed, like so:
"This version adds instant messaging support, extends proxy support,
adds a tool for configuring blended color tags, corrects problems with file
sharing, AND improves boot prevention and spam control."
It doesn't make sense that FreshMeat encourages authors to send in posts
that use only complete phrases, only to convert that information back to
broken phrases and incomplete sentences.
Second Error:
"It includes new buddy list icons, and support for SmileyCentral.com
emoticons."
A comma should only be present in a list that contains THREE or more
items: You can't just slap in commas randomly, or wherever you feel like
pausing for a breath.
Again, I am MORE than willing to contribute to FreshMeat.net as an editor
for the site, as I see no good reason for authors' announcements to be
edited for the purpose of ADDING grammatical errors and incorrect
information. Email me, if interested.
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A comment FROM the author...
by PhrozenSmoke - Mar 7th 2004 05:38:30
I'm not sure I fully like the way FreshMeat.net 'edits' the new release
information submitted by the authors, especially when that editing produces
incorrect information. The FreshMeat.net-'edited' version of the
announcement I sent in for version 1.0.2 begins: "This version adds
instant messaging support...". What I SENT in was "Support for
encrypted instant messaging has been added..." (note the word
ENCRYPTED). The erroneous editing by FreshMeat seems to suggest that,
until now, there was no instant messaging support in the program. Instead
of conveying in the information that ENCRYPTED instant messaging support
has been added, the focus is now on the instant messaging, instead of on
the new encryption capabilities: A complete distortion of the original post
I submitted to FreshMeat.net. While, as the author, I understand Freshmeat
must edit posted announcements, I really wish that the 'editing' would keep
with the information the author is trying to convey instead of completely
distorting those meanings and propogating misinformation. It is
particularly NOT a good idea to edit out words if you don't understand
their significance in the context of the particular program: You end up
completely misquoting the author and misinforming everyone who reads the
edited post.
Here is what I originally submitted:
"Support for encrypted instant messaging has been added, and proxy
support has been extended. A tool for configuring blended color tags is now
included, and problems with file sharing have been corrected. Improvements
to boot prevention and corrections to spam control have been made. The
buddy list features new icons, and the chat implementation now supports
SmileyCentral.com emoticons. Locale, UTF-8, and logging support have been
improved. Numerous memory leaks and potental buffer overflows have been
eliminated."
Here is what FreshMeat editors posted:
"This version adds instant messaging support, extends proxy support,
adds a tool for configuring blended color tags, corrects problems with file
sharing, improves boot prevention and spam control. It includes new buddy
list icons, and support for SmileyCentral.com emoticons. It improves
locale, UTF-8, and logging support, and eliminates a variety of memory
leaks and potential buffer overflows."
Another error in the editing: Problems with spam control were fixed (bug
fix) and FreshMeat's editing suggests that spam control was in someway
strenghtened. Honestly, I think when the author submits a grammatically
correct, clear posting, FreshMeat should stick with that post and only edit
when necessary (for grammar and etiquette), instead of posting 'edited'
versions that completely distort the original meanings of the author's
posting and eliminate the most important parts of the author's submission.
(THE most important part of my submission was the addition of encryption
support to ALREADY EXISTING instant messaging support. Instead, the
'edited' version falsely suggests to users that instant messaging has just
been added, when, in reality, instant messaging support has been available
for over 6 months.) Let's not sacrifice accuracy for the sake or brevity.
I love FreshMeat and all they do for developers, but I would hope the
editors would focus on posting ACCURATE information. (i.e., if the author
says ENCRYPTED instant messaging has been added...it should not be
erroneously changed to 'instant messaging has been added') Honestly, I
think the 'edited' version doesn't look very clean either: Long laundry
lists of comma-seperated information make the paragraph somewhat confusing,
not to mention the overuse of the word 'It'.
"It".."it"..."it"...it what? If you guys are
in the market for new editors who can produce clear, correct entries, I
would be happy to lend a hand. (One of my degrees is in English.)
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Re: A comment FROM the author...
by jeff covey - Mar 10th 2004 10:22:11
Your comments are correct. The only thing that should have been changed
in your submission was the word "potental". I'm sorry these mistakes
were made, and I'll point the staff to these comments for their
reference.
Sincerely,
Jeff
--
vs lbh pna ernq guvf, lbh'er n trrx.
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