R P Herrold wrote on 03/29/2011 09:10 AM:
On Tue, 29 Mar 2011, Marian Marinov wrote:
Here is the first part of the article( the one that made me ask if I can help): ...
Now please read the thread 'polite request' from last Thursday in the list's archive
Then please read the post 'how can we help' on the main mailing list the day before
People who wander in after reading a month old article and do not 'do the homework' of learning the culture of a project and its history before posting are probably not going to be particularly productive, and would represent a net expenditure of effort to 'bring up to speed'. This is not the time for such efforts, and as indicated by the first post mentioned, not the venue, either
Russ,
I cannot understand why someone coming in with an offer of substantial help, to provide both hardware and labor, should get this abusive response. I understand that there is overhead to get someone up to speed, but the current lateness of 5.6 and 6.0 seems to underscore the need for more and better help. Some guidance about how to get involved or even, "Yes we could use help, but are too busy right not to talk about it." would be understandable. Telling a potential contributor in essence - "Go away and don't bother us." defies logic and common courtesy.
If this is not the proper venue for volunteers wanting to help with resources to be applied to DEVELOPMENT to come to, then what is? I see no relevance of the "polite request" from Karanbir to this situation. It was in apparently targeted at some participants in the wandering thread "Why not a fusion between CentOS and SL?". This type of abusive treatment of potential contributors is exactly what many users complain about on other CentOS venues; the other major complaint being lack of information, or misinformation, about timing of the release of critical security updates, and to a lesser extent, new releases.
It seems apparent to me that CentOS is badly in need of some fresh blood and new approaches to conducting business. If all comers are to be turned away and there is no change in a positive direction, then perhaps some of the doomsayers predicting the demise of CentOS are correct. I sincerely hope that is not the case.
Phil