[TYPO3-hci] inspiring people to slave, WAS: 4.1 =menubar/iconbar/dashboard; lets go!

[Kasper Skårhøj]

>
> But I think a core developer has a much higher responsibility for the
> product TYPO3 than a simple contributor or extension author.

The fact is that half of the core developers are mostly contributing  
to scratch their own itch and much less motivated by a booming bug- 
tracker. I suggest we stop condemning that and work with it instead.  
In reality it means we should make sure everyone has a clear and fair  
path to the core. When this is the case, a core developer has no  
responsibility above whatever his personal motivation may be.

> There are
> umpteenthousands of people using your product, there are hundreds of
> agencies that founded their business based on TYPO3.
> And of course these
> people have a lot of expectations which is just comprehensible.They  
> believe
> in the project and its leaders and they expect you to set the  
> course in a
> way that will make this product a competitive one.

Seriously, why should I care? Do they pay me a license? Aren't they  
getting this whole deal for free? Who is getting a millionaire? Not me!
I suggest they offer me or whoever they have expectations to a  
motivation if they want me/others to care for their needs. Such a  
motivation doesn't have to be money, but surely there has to be a  
connection.

If TYPO3 is an abandoned project a year from now, I would be happy to  
drink the last free beer and find something else that's fun to do. If  
this view disturbs someone its a wake-up call to recognize that the  
biggest thread to TYPO3s future is not what Kasper thinks or does,  
but if the 90/10 balance shifts more into the 99/1 direction. This is  
not an opinion of mine, but a reality imposed from a public-service- 
culture. As a leader the only sane thing to do is making this  
unpleasant truth clear and then enabling people to participate in  
order to take responsibility for their investment. That is my  
dedication.

>
> And on the other hand there are people like Elmar or myself, who's
> motivation never was to "scratch their personal itches" but to give
> something back to the people who gave them such an incredible  
> product for
> free. If I want to make money, I can create a website or write  
> another book
> (and I don't even need TYPO3 for that). My contribution to the  
> project and
> especially my support on the different lists was almost unselfish and
> because I find it motivating to help other people.

I was happy to read "because I find it motivating to help other  
people." There's your motivation! (selfish or not). The point is; you  
never do things without one! So go figure, what can motivate a  
developer...

(I also help people when I can because I like to. I share my work for  
clients because its the right thing to do.)

>
> If you tell us now that the core developers have to be motivated to  
> realise
> the "usability-dictate" of the HCI team, I must ask you, why you  
> actually
> set up this team.

You are right. That was my hope. I have realized that it is  
incompatible with the "personal itch" reality which is confirmed in  
our culture. So, sadly, the team was founded on a wrong assumption on  
my part.


> Maybe I just got the whole concept of the HCI team wrong, but I  
> thought
> there is a demand to improve the overall usability of TYPO3 that  
> the core
> developers already agreed on and that the HCI team's goal is to get  
> more
> input from usability experts and similar people. If this is not the  
> case and
> we have to convince the core developers first, that there is a  
> necessity for
> usability improvements, to have them realise what we invented, we  
> can simply
> stop our efforts because it's just a waste of time then.

Exactly. Or we can take up the challenge to make the pain of end  
users real to developers so they get motivated. However, for my part,  
I will concentrate on the direct needs of those clients I have. In  
the light of this I should resign as the team leader if someone else  
wants to carry the original vision. Since we never formally set up  
the team, its a kind of artificial move. My current plan will be to  
redefine what this team will seek to do (what sort of input is  
encouraged and on which terms contribution will make sense) and then  
see if someone wants to go and make an alternative HCI team with a  
different approach.

>
> And just a last one regarding patches that are not accepted or  
> sometimes not
> even recognized or discussed: There were lots of different bugs in the
> bugtracker where people attached their patch that would have solved  
> the
> problems, but the bugs are still open (or closed now, after the
> "T3DD-bug-closing-session") even though some of them date from over  
> a year
> ago.

Could you ask for a more clear proof that in _reality_ ideals just  
doesn't push it!

> Since there is nobody else than the few core developers who is
> authorised to implement those patches, I don't think they should be  
> extra
> motivated to just do what they are supposed to do. If they prefer  
> to scratch
> their personal itches instead, I think it's time to restock the  
> team with
> people who will take more responsibility.

I agree. But rather than moralising and roll heads I would rather  
supplement the team. This is why I asked for ideas about how to  
expand possibilities of contribution!

I only feel sorry for people with personal itches who has no means to  
scratch them. Thats what I feel obliged to give them. Equal  
opportunity. No more, no less.


>
> Have a nice evening ...


You too.


- kasper

"Necessity is the mother of invention"
-------------------------------
kasper2006 at typo3.com | +45 20 999 115 | skype: kasperskaarhoej |  
gizmo: kasper_typo3