Re:The Poetterisation of GNU/Linux (2013)
by notalaser on Monday February 15, 2016 @01:46AM
(#11101857)
> Where the admin knows it will not work because he has seen it fail time and again, but the developer insists it will work because thats what his carefully optimized code is supposed to.
Dude, I'm offended :-). Not all programmers build castles in the sky.
But seriously, I tend to concur with this view. I've seen many programmers unwilling to accept the limits of their own ability to grasp the full scale of reality. I've seen it in myself countless times, and I still do it, sadly. Complexity is very often overwhelming, and you think you have it under control because "you designed it", but you don't.
I think we'd all benefit from insulting the meat [1] every once in a while. Twenty years from now, there's a good chance there won't even be computers that can run our code anymore, except maybe for prized collectors' items. Why be so stubborn about it?
Meaning that people involved with Gnome and Freedesktop related projects are cock sure that they know better than the person before the keyboard how to run the system.
Or perhaps it is a rerun of the old admin vs developer duel. Where the admin knows it will not work because he has seen it fail time and again, but the developer insists it will work because thats what his carefully optimized code is supposed to.
Meaning that admins are dealing with everyday reality, while developers are contemplating platonic ideals.
https://xkcd.com/1172/
When most people see the strip above, they laugh at the crazy user. What i see is someone who has found a way to work his computer that fits him, and a developer that has taken that away.
The most accommodating action the developer could take at this stage would be to implement a timer that approximate the old behavior. But if he was a Gnome/Freedesktop school dev, he would likely make a snarky comment about "holding it wrong" and close the report wontfix.