[CentOS] Air Conditioning - ON!

Mon Feb 21 18:21:20 UTC 2011
John Hinton <webmaster at ew3d.com>

All,

(and please do not turn this into the next long thread)

We have a small team which volunteers their time to create the CentOS 
releases. They are pounded right now with getting that done... it is as 
simple as that. Each of us 'chose' to use CentOS and with that choice 
comes nothing more.

Why are we complaining? To me, it is all very self-centered. Basically 
we're all complaining because we 'want' something. And yes, I'm on edge 
wanting something as well... but that is life with RedHat in general.

Some of the suggestions made:

1. Send money. OK, so using a very loose or reapplied definition of a 
word... we want to 'prostitute' the CentOS team. In other words, if we 
send money we have the 'right' to gripe and press for rapid releases? 
Demand services?

2. Add more staff. As a small business owner, the very last thing you 
want to do is add more staff when you are in a slammed state. It takes 
all of the 'productive' workers time to train the new staff and output 
slows to a crawl.

3. Make any other number of 'helpful' suggestions. Well, I think by now 
the CentOS team knows better than us how this needs to be done based on 
infrastructure and team members. And even if they aren't doing it right, 
we don't get to make demands that it be done differently as this is how 
they have decided to do it. Remember, you chose CentOS based on how they 
operate. You can go away if you like.

4. Bringing up other distros that are ahead of CentOS. This just an 
attempt at indirect pressure on the CentOS team to get a competition 
going. Only the team gets to choose their competition. CentOS 'rates' 
how it rates and that is up to the CentOS team and their decisions. Some 
cheerleading might be welcomed, as long as it doesn't become an "I cheer 
for you therefore you owe me".

5. MOST IMPORTANT---- discussing this right now is the wrong time. The 
CentOS team needs to be focused on the builds. They need to 'feel good'. 
They do not need these distractions, complaints, suggestions, pressures 
and generally negative comments at this moment in time. If it really 
bothers you, save it for later and bring it up when things are back to 
normal loads. Perhaps some good will come out of it, but not now. I know 
that most mean well, but look inside of yourself and the rush is about 
something you want... and YOU chose a FREE distro, which just so happens 
to convert to the paid version very easily.

6,7,8,9 and 10 (fill in your own but keep them to yourself)

If I were a member of the CentOS team right now, I'd likely be looking 
at the door. I positively would be needing to step back and take some 
time to myself to try to cool off and feel positive about what I'm 
doing. To me and from what I have heard from the CentOS team, very 
little of what is being said on the list is helping but instead is 
counterproductive at the moment. Obviously the team is 'reading' the 
list and 'obviously' some of us have pushed them further at a very high 
stress time, than they have ever been pushed before.

You may also note that upstream was also 'very late' with these new 
releases. Could it be we are discovering why? (please don't try to 
answer that)

Please please please... ease up, give them the time they need. Make 
notes for future conversations, but quit distracting them and making 
them feel bad. Or, write your scathing reply to a thread... get really 
down angry and in the dirt... then when you're done, just delete it.

CentOS team,

I do have just one suggestion (and I have no rights to ask this). It 
seems that the list goes quiet and waits for a while and then explodes a 
few days/weeks/months later with this banter. If you would consider a 
public release to this list, perhaps once per week during major releases 
with just some tidbit of how things are going, perhaps these threads 
wouldn't explode. With that would be the need for it to be an 
announcement or something that does not allow it to become a drawn out 
thread with hoards of perceived 'helpful' suggestions. I can't blame you 
for not doing this prior, as I'm sure it will fuel fires such as the one 
raging at the moment. Is there a way this could be done with a 
'no-reply' setting or something?

With Much Appreciation,
John Hinton