IRC conversation with Mirko from the Paroli team

Mirko Lindner mirko at openmoko.com
Sun Mar 15 08:00:01 CET 2009


Hej,

I tried to stay out of this thread as the discussion drifted away from 
paroli towards general discussion about OM's behavior, which is not 
controlled by me, but it seems to me that here 2 things are mixed that 
simply are unrelated and I am being judged based on a conversation 
log(!) and deemed unfriendly and what not.

Jeremy McNaughton wrote:
> I've got to agree that some more communication about Paroli would be a
> good thing.

Ok, valid point.

> After all, what was the point of selling the phones so early in the
> development cycle in the first place?  Right on the main page of the
> wiki it says: "Openmoko is a project driven by a community of
> passionate and intelligent volunteers. If you have the ability, please
> contribute to our cause. Openmoko's ambitions far exceed the resources
> available."

What does that have to do with paroli?

> 
> It can't be both ways.  If Openmoko wants the community to help and/or
> develop for projects like Paroli, they need to be responsive when
> their volunteers ask for more information.

If I get asked about info regarding paroli, its code or what we are 
trying to achieve I am all in. But in this case I was not asked about 
any specifics but Paul asked about the "hidden" department which 
controls all of OM and I found his question demeaning and out of place, 
let alone his wording.

> 
> With Paroli in particular I can't see it being such a big deal to size
> the window so it can be used with Illume.  At least for right now,
> until more time can be dedicated to whatever mysterious way we'll
> eventually use to switch back and forth can be implemented.
>

Sorry to be a bit rough here, but:Have you looked at the code? Do you 
know what actually is the problem? If so why don't you simply send a 
patch? Or ask for commit rights?

What bugs me here is that I am being pushed around for a) things that 
are not related to paroli and b) based on your assumptions.

> And while I don't know anything about the previous conversations
> between Mirko and Paul, I really hope that I never get dealt with that
> way by anyone with an openmoko.com email account.  Nobody's perfect
> and I don't want to single Mirko out, but the conversation in the
> above IRC logs are less than stellar.  Not a great way to deal with
> volunteers whose effort you're hoping to benefit from, especially when
> those volunteers are also paying customers.

Paul and I have a short but drastic history of communication and I can 
assure you that is not my normal tone. I am not a fan of people going 
around a blaming so if that happens I either don't respond or become 
defensive, I think that is normal behavior.

In regards to the "anyone with an openmoko.com email account" I believe 
that the underpinning idea, which is we have to always suck up what ever 
we get thrown at us and smile, nod and be happy about it, is simply 
wrong. This is a community project and "volunteers whose effort I am 
[you're] hoping to benefit from" of course are not met with disrespect 
and rudeness. I spend much time talking and chatting to explain how 
stuff works and why we do it. And so far you are the first person to 
suggest I am rude, from a secondary source.

I am willing to put up with a lot because I know of the companies 
history and all that and I have done so. However there is a point when I 
simply have to say, Ok, suffered enough, now I think demanding fair 
treatment both ways is what is needed.

So to put it very simple, the way a question is asked determines the way 
I answer. If I feel mistreated I will certainly not play happy, because 
I am doing my best to drive this forward and and also spend my free time 
on this project (yes I work much more than my official hours) so I do 
not see why I should not react as anyone else would.

> 
> In general however I think Openmoko is starting to do better with
> communication, Paroli being a notable exception.  

Again I think you are going over the top and put negative energy that 
you have towards the company as a whole towards a single project that 
happens to come your way. Sorry to be so blunt but I see this mail as an 
attack on the work I have done so far and this attack is founded on 
false-grounds.

I agree with one point I could communicate more, but then also give me a 
point, there could be more patches and less complainging about 
unimplemented functions.

/mirko




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