community at lists.openmoko.org

[Carlo E. Prelz]

	Subject: community at lists.openmoko.org
	Date: mer 24 ott 07 03:48:18 -0600

Quoting Mark (wolfmane at gmail.com):

> You need to keep in mind that:
> 
> - It takes maybe a couple of minutes at most to fire off a
> one-paragraph email.

and then it takes untold time and energy to extinguish the fire if the
promises made in that two-minute, one-paragraph e-mail eventually
prove to have been too optimist.

here we are not talking about describing the past or present, but
about foreseeing the future. If you are careful, and make appropriate
use of past experience, there are good, solid possibilities that your
forecast may prove true. Two minutes are way too short for this sort
of exercises.

> - If somebody, anybody, had taken 30 seconds to post a message to the
> list we wouldn't be having this flood of posts on this topic right
> now.

No. The flood is caused by lack of patience. An unripe message that
were to make wild promises may only work as a painkiller.
Painkillers remove the symptom, but they do not cure the problem.

> - Nobody is asking for an "official", press-release-ready corporate
> announcement. All we're asking for is something like this:
> 
> "Sorry, folks, but due to circumstances beyond our control we are not
> going to be able to make the release at the previously announced time.
> We are working on the issues and hope to be ready for sale in
> December."

During the life of this project I have seen several announcements of
this kind. Coming at the right time. 

I prefer not to see messages and to know the energy of the team is
focused towards having a working hardware as soon as possible, rather
than to have my impatience quelled by official postponements that have
no base in real events.

I rest comforted by the facts that a) it is their jobs, not mine, that
are in relation with a speedy delivery of both openmoko and the neo,
and b) if, come the worst, no functional phone were to eventually
surface from this project, well, my old treo still works OK... 

The best we can do to help is to provide support and encouragement to
the hard-working team. And to exercise the subtle art of patience.

Carlo

-- 
  *         Se la Strada e la sua Virtu' non fossero state messe da parte,
* K * Carlo E. Prelz - fluido at fluido.as             che bisogno ci sarebbe
  *               di parlare tanto di amore e di rettitudine? (Chuang-Tzu)