From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Mark H Weaver Subject: Re: IceWeasel-UXP and IceDove-UXP Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2019 20:43:03 -0400 Message-ID: <87tvbgb4jx.fsf@netris.org> References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Return-path: In-Reply-To: (guixuser@protonmail.com's message of "Fri, 19 Jul 2019 20:13:55 +0000") List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-guix-bounces+gcggh-help-guix=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: "Help-Guix" To: guixuser Cc: guix-devel@gnu.org, help-guix@gnu.org List-Id: guix-devel.gnu.org Hello, guixuser writes: > Asking the new users to package what they want and suggesting > alternative applications; is like passively showing middle finger to > them. This idea seems to pop up from time to time, and I think it deserves a closer look. First of all, we're not asking you to do anything. Rather, you are asking us to do something. You are asking us to do the development work to add the packages you need. For what it's worth, I've spent hundreds of hours over the last few years maintaining the GNU IceCat package in Guix, and at least 40 hours trying to get IceDove working. Sorry, but I got stuck and ran out of energy. I'm under no moral obligation to finish that work. I'm not standing in the way of someone else doing it, and I never promised anyone that I'd finish it. Also, incidentally, I've never made a penny from working on Guix. You seem to be suggesting that my failure to finish this work is tantamount to showing you my middle finger (which is a strong insult in my culture, for the benefit of those who might not know). More to the point, you seem to be implying that I have a moral obligation to add the missing packages that you desire. Please keep in mind that we are not a business who sold you a product. We are a widely dispersed group of volunteers from around the world who built this system to meet our own needs, and we decided to offer it as a gift to anyone else who wants it. Moreover, we have taken pains to ensure that you have the freedom to change this gift as you wish, to better meet your own needs. You apparently find this gift intriguing in some ways, but also disappointing in other ways. I'm sincerely sorry if this gift is not satisfactory to you, but please understand that we are under no obligation to do anything more for you. That's not an insult, it's simply me saying that you have no right to demand more of me. If you don't like the gift, don't use it. No one is pushing it on you. If you invited me to your home for dinner, and I didn't like the food, should I feel entitled to demand that you go back into the kitchen and cook my chosen dish? If you told me "you're free to use the kitchen to cook it yourself", should I take that as an insult? Mark