[Twisted-Python] more on IRC frustration

[Andrew Bennetts]

On Tue, Sep 30, 2003 at 01:34:15PM -0400, Glyph Lefkowitz wrote:
> Mentioning IRC frustrations in my message to paul reminded me of something.
> 
> There is one stylistic hint in particular I'd like to point out, because 
> it causes the most misunderstanding, and it seems as though it may be 
> particular to our peculiar IRC subculture.  If you're in #twisted and 
> somebody says something like this:

That's all pretty obscure.  Honestly, if we're going to require people to
understand #twisted's in-jokes to be able to participate usefully, then I'd
rather we discouraged use of #twisted for giving advice and discussing code
with non-devs.  Being apparently rude to Twisted newbies is no better than
being really rude to them, in terms of damage done to Twisted's reputation,
and the reputation of its development team.

How is a #twisted newbie going to know to read this?  How are they going to
know who the regulars are?  If they get pissed off, are they really going to
feel better about being told "you just don't get our sense of humour?"

I'd like to offer a stylistic hint -- but for the development team.  If you
don't have something positive to say to a newbie, even if they seem to be
clueless, please please please consider not saying anything to them.  Let a
more sympathetic or tactful person respond instead.

We really should be trying to remove barriers to participation, not
fortifying the existing ones.  It saddens me to think that we're driving
away potential contributors because we arbitrarily require them to be
thick-skinned, regardless of their technical abilities.

-Andrew.