"Timothy R. Cook" wrote:
> 
> Ron Parker wrote:
> > Want it changed?  Stop bitching and start writing code.
> 
> So the only way to get anything done in the world is to do it
> yourself, even if other people have more aptitude with what you
> want changed?

Essentially, yes.

The advantage of the free/open development model is that anyone who
wants to, and can, can modify the code, either for their own purposes,
or for the sake of making general improvements (optimization, debugging,
porting, etc). However, one problem with that model is that it assumes
that anyone who would use the compiled software is *capable* of
successfully modifying it, and this is more often not the case.
Non-programmers are implicitly or explicitly asked to contribute what
they can, but usually the only things they can contribute are
suggestions and bug reports, which the self-appointed caretakers of the
code seem to resent at least as often as they welcome them, since they
represent more work for the programmer. Eventually, the programmers
start rejecting things, either for design reasons, or because they don't
feel that the bugs or suggestions are worth their time to fix. The
coders start to see the non-coders as whiny ingrates, while the
non-coders start to see the coders as arrogant, unreasonable, and/or lazy.

It's a poor situation for both sides, which is why disputes between
coders and non-coders typically boil down to "if you want something done
right, do it yourself".

-Xplo

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