[sword-devel] summary

[Wesley Harp]

Chris,

I realize I'm a new voice around here and a lot of the technical aspects of
this are over my head.  I do however have experience in other open source
communities so some things I know a little about.

First, let me say that no matter how many total people are on a mailing
list, the people who contribute frequently and even infrequently is the
number of people you should be talking about as your actual subscription
base.  The people who contribute often and are outspoken are the ones who
care the most.  If people aren't responding to at least agree or disagree
one way or the other, then they aren't as concerned with the outcome and in
many cases aren't even following the discussions at all, but are likely
deleting the messages outright.

While you might not think forking or dying is a concern, these are usually
things that happen and end up blindsiding someone or a group of people.
Your responses about this seem almost like a dismissal and not a more
appropriate desire to maintain a cohesive working group.  People in
positions of leadership need to respect and listen to others in the
community and need to work towards ensuring a smooth working system.  I'm
not sure if this community generally functions smoothly or not, but so far
it's not making a great impression on me.

You say that you are listening to feedback and opinions, but from what I've
seen in my admittedly short time here and what I've read in the archives,
you really aren't.  If a group of users is vocal enough to repeatedly ask
and plead for something, but you give them nothing, that's not listening.

To the list as a whole:

What concerns me most about this community from what I've seen so far is
that it seems to operate no differently than any other open source community
I've been a part of.  In fact, so far it seems to be worse off than most.
While obviously technical discussion are going to be a large part of this, I
am baffled that not once has anyone talked about the spiritual implications
of these decisions.  Is this making it harder to get content to believers
and non-believers?  Are delays in modules being published hindering people's
ability to study God's Word?  What's more important in God's Eyes - making
the content available in a timely manner, or crossing every t and dotting
every i?  I don't know what's in your heart, your reasons for doing
something, or even your relationship with God, but if a group of believers
cannot come together and work cohesively to further God's Kingdom what
chance do we have of winning even one soul?

 I'm sure many of you are familiar with this verse, but think of this when
communicating with others you may have trouble dealing with on this list,
and in general:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for
building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.


Ephesians 4:29

I hope my first impressions of this community are wrong and that I haven't
started off by alienating myself.

Wesley
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