Re: Newbie thoughts on Guile Hall + Guix

[Blake Shaw <blake@nonconstructivism.com>]

adriano <randomlooser@riseup.net> writes:

> Just don't
> That stuff is too low level for human beings
> [...]
> Anyway, I feel your frustration, I've been there myself
>
> Actually I've been there with Guile more than with Guix
>
> But still I feel you
>
> I hope this message of mine can sooth your frustration, to some extent
>

Wasn't intended for me, but I found it soothing!

Somewhat off topic, but I feel like briefly relating these types of
sentiment could even be useful to interject in within the Guix docs at
times.

There are many points of docs where the sales pitch bleeds into points
far past the point of sale, so to speak. There are lots of "Guix makes
this easy by x y z" deep in the docs, but the longer I've been in the
community the more I've seen long time contributors relate that there
are lots of points of frustration around certain things that may be
called easy in the docs. If you're frustrated, and someone is there
telling you what you're confused about this is simple and easy, that
can come across as rubbing salt in wounds. While I share the enthusiasm,
and I realize how much Guix eases things compared to traditional
methods, it has been de-motivating for me at times.

On the other hand, I think briefly relating, for example, "Depending on
the complexity of a package, packagers at times will be exposed to
low-level details that aren't traditionally meant for humans. This can
be a genuinely frustrating experience..." becomes encouraging.  

Hope that makes sense, just food for thought! We could all use a pat on
the back at times, especially given the human-ness of a project like
guix that is waivers between the social and solitary :)  

-- 
“In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni”