Re: [gentoo-project] gentoo dev map info

[Sebastian Pipping]

On 02/23/2011 06:37 PM, Ciaran McCreesh wrote:
> On Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:59:56 +0200
> Alex Alexander <wired@g.o> wrote:
>> Yes, some types of humor should be avoided to prevent cultural
>> misunderstandings.
> <snip>
>> That way we can improve our public image and users are less likely to
>> get the wrong impression and/or get offended :)
>
> Quite right too. I think the best thing Gentoo can do right now to
> improve its public image is to publish a twenty page dress code for
> what developers should wear when appearing at conventions. After all,
> some people find some types of clothing offensive, and Gentoo cannot be
> seen as the type of project that allows developers to wear jeans in
> public.

While that's rational in a way, it misses something that may match the
word empathy, though I'm not 100% sure if that words is what I mean inside.

I guess Gentoo missed to set a tone (that at least I would like better)
when the project was still young.  If I'm interpreting Karl Fogel
correctly, then we may well be damned with the current tone forever:

  "This effort is aided by the fact that people generally show up
  expecting and looking for social norms. That's just how humans are
  built. In any group unified by a common endeavor, people who join
  instinctively search for behaviors that will mark them as part of
  the group. The goal of setting precedents early is to make those
  "in-group" behaviors be ones that are useful to the project; for
  once established, they will be largely self-perpetuating."
  (from http://producingoss.com/en/setting-tone.html

So I guess I'll just try to be welcoming and friendly myself and leave
the rest of Gentoo's tone alone, mostly.  When it get's unbarable, I'll
just quit: in small (selected mediums or channels) or big (the whole
project).

Best,



Sebastian