10 Feb
2013
10 Feb
'13
12:25 p.m.
On 02/05/2013 03:58 PM, Dave Phillips wrote:
Greetings,
<snip>
I'm not so interested in comments on the
commentary, I have my own, but
say what you will about the list. I figure that most denizens of these
lists already have ready replies and responses to these and other
criticisms, many of which have been voiced here previously. What I'm
more interested in is what *you* think is missing most or just plain
wrong about the situation. Please, try to speak your piece without
flames or dissing other developers and/or their work.
[drum roll, the following with at least 15% THD and the distinct sound
of a 50s ribbon mike after long abuse:]
ask not what free software can do for you, ask what you can do for free
software!
[enter brass band with some heroic yet totally cheesy hymn arrangement,
think charles ives stealing frank zappa's reggae horn arrangement of the
stairway to heaven solo.]
free software, my friends, is a natural resource. complaining about the
lack of this or that is just about as clever or useful as complaining
about the utter lack of oil or rare earth metals on your home turf,
which unjustly prevents you from becoming the next rockefeller.
making linux audio more approachable to people who have not grasped this
basic fact has no benefits at all, neither to developers nor to users.
personally, i find my days of linux audio evangelism are over. it suits
my needs better than ever before, and i make very sure that people i
talk to are made aware of the treasure trove of linux audio tools.
and of course i assume the lotus position and put on my most radiating
smile when people who have just figured that i'm a sort of computer
person then start complaining about their problems with operating system
$FOO and how proprietary tool $BAR is just a millstone around their
necks. but that's it.
if they need guitar rig or protools or garageband, we can't give it to
them, so obviously they are better off on other platforms. that is good.
it's even better than turning them into frustrated converts who then
keep complaining how they can't run TDM or RTAS plugins or their VSTs
keep crashing or whatever.
if somebody decides to take the plunge (which also implies some other
basic skills, such as being able to use email in a constructive manner,
learning what IRC is, aiming at learning to compile one's own software,
and so on), i will try to share tricks and help out as best as i can.
but why press-gang perfectly happy users of proprietary software into
linux, or put up with jerks who think the world has to support their
personal way of composing? that's just the lamest thing i can imagine.
don't get me wrong, i think it's perfectly ok for non-programmers to try
and nudge developers gently towards what you think are good ideas. i do
it myself all the time, but i try to do it
_from_the_inside_of_a_project. that means i try to make myself a little
useful, subscribe to the mailing list, learn the software, build from
the latest dev tree, lose some productive time dealing with crashes and
try to provide useful feedback. only then do i sound off about what new
stuff i'd like to see.
anything else is just bikeshedding.
my 200 €.
jörn
--
Jörn Nettingsmeier
Lortzingstr. 11, 45128 Essen, Tel. +49 177 7937487
Meister für Veranstaltungstechnik (Bühne/Studio)
Tonmeister VDT
http://stackingdwarves.net