X-Authentication-Warning: delorie.com: mail set sender to geda-user-bounces using -f
X-Recipient: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
X-Virus-Scanned: amavisd-new at neurotica.com
Message-ID: <508AD014.7060003@neurotica.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2012 14:01:56 -0400
From: Dave McGuire <mcguire AT neurotica DOT com>
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:15.0) Gecko/20120912 Thunderbird/15.0.1
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: [geda-user] The state of gEDA/gaf (Was gEDA/PCBs diversity, Was:
 Pin hole size)
References: <CANqhZFxYH+Y5U1ai7ey-s+4nz6eYDM2vx3aMDb7WuigNXmi4AQ AT mail DOT gmail DOT com> <2CB304B5-9587-4734-84E4-49F464744D11 AT noqsi DOT com> <CANqhZFwPNG4R1dR2X0HB+tP1JzNXUAVg55gy54Lry5E49aAQ6Q AT mail DOT gmail DOT com>
In-Reply-To: <CANqhZFwPNG4R1dR2X0HB+tP1JzNXUAVg55gy54Lry5E49aAQ6Q@mail.gmail.com>
X-Enigmail-Version: 1.4.4
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Reply-To: geda-user AT delorie DOT com

On 10/26/2012 03:00 AM, Gareth Edwards wrote:
>>
>>   I am getting SO sick and tired of this broken-ass software world
>> thinking that a package is "dead" just because it isn't crapping out 48
>> new releases per year.
> 
> ("broken-ass software world thinking"? thanks)

  Do you disagree with my implicit assertion that this type of thinking
is pervasive in the free software world?

> You both miss half my point. What I was trying to point out is that
> gaf has many known bugs with fixes ready to go that can't be applied
> to HEAD. Furthermore, since our last stable release, there have been
> 561 commits to  HEAD; these changes won't be appearing in downstream
> distributions until we release again. That's before we've even thought
> about future enhancements and features.
> 
> In my opinion, both of these are due to lack of active developers with
> commit access, not because the software is stable - again, in my
> opinion, it isn't. It's just pretending to be.

  My comment above was complaining about the mindset, not trying to
assert that gEDA had reached "finished" status.  The automatic knee-jerk
assumption that something is "dead", and therefore should no longer be
used, because it's no longer under construction, is silly.  What if we
treated, say buildings or cars that way?

  Yes, gEDA needs some work done.  But you know, I use it every day, for
both personal and work projects.  I depend on it, and I trust it.  And
when I need help, I can either look at the source code, or ask here...in
the case of the latter, I never have to wait more than twenty minutes
for a response.  THAT trumps "constant development" and "new features
every time.

                -Dave

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA