ANN: dbf.py 0.94

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:56:59 -0700, Temia Eszteri wrote:

>>I don't generally click on arbitrary links to find out whether or not
>>the link is something that interests me enough to click on it.
> 
> Can't really call a cheese shop link arbitrary. It's in the best place
> it could be for providing info about the package.

You've missed the point. Why should I bother to click on it at all, PyPI 
or not, if I'm going to find it is a library for something I don't care 
about? If the developer of the library doesn't write a few words to tell 
people what his library does when making an announcement, or what 
improvements there are from the previous release, he's going to struggle 
to attract even those users who *would* be interested, if only they knew 
about it.

This mailing list is about helping our fellow Python developers improve 
their skills and solve problems. That doesn't just mean *coding* 
problems, it also means helping them to write better documentation and 
promote their software better.

For every person like me who takes the time out to gently remind the 
developer that we aren't mind-readers and don't know WTF he's talking 
about, there are a thousand who just move on, and he's just lost 99% of his 
potential user-base. Since he's taken the time out to make a public 
announcement, I assume he would like people to use his software. If not, 
why bother making the announcement at all?

Unless the software is so well-known that everybody knows what it is, 
failure to mention what the software does gives the impression that: 

1) the software is so niche, or so ill-thought out, that the developer 
*can't* describe it succinctly;

2) the developer has such poor communication skills that trying to get 
support will be a nightmare;

3) that he just doesn't give a monkey's toss for anyone else's time

or all three. Ethan is a good, helpful member of this community, and
so I'm pretty sure that neither 2) nor 3) are true, but others may get
the wrong impression.

Here are a few randomly selected examples of good release announcements:

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-announce-list/2012-June/009528.html

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-announce-list/2012-June/009509.html

http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-announce-list/2012-June/009524.html



-- 
Steven