[Python-Dev] altruism

[Nick Coghlan]

Antoine Pitrou wrote:
> Brett Cannon <brett <at> python.org> writes:
>> Trust me, if you are doing open source for
>> anything other than altruistic reasons you are bound to be
>> disappointed.
> 
> I'm surprised by this statement but perhaps it's a matter of vocabulary.
> Having fun and doing things you like to do does not strike me as "altruistic".
> Being involved in a FOSS project is not the same as participating in a charity.

I'd agree that 'altruism' isn't quite the right word - there's also the
fact that plenty of folks these days contribute to open source because
someone is paying them to :)

However, Brett's basic point that good input may sometimes go uncredited
through no fault of the poster's remains valid.

Patches and particularly good bug reports/suggestions get credited in
commit messages and sometimes NEWS items and the What's New, significant
patches generally earn a mention in the ACKS file and each PEP usually
has an acknowledgement section that lists major contributors to the
associated discussion and reviews.

Posts (even well-thought out ones) on the various discussion lists? Not
so much - it's too easy to lose track of who posted what in an involved
discussion. The highest respect you can really earn in those is to make
a valid point clearly enough that you convince others to adopt your
point of view. Although sometimes you can still persuade others even
when you later turn out to be wrong* ;)

Cheers,
Nick.

* See a couple of the footnotes to PEP 343 if you want to know what that
smiley is about :)

-- 
Nick Coghlan   |   ncoghlan at gmail.com   |   Brisbane, Australia
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