I think with everything that happened, the focus got shifted from 1 problem, to another. It's a little like going to the doctor for a broken toe, but getting shot while in the waiting room. Of course the bullet wound is a more pressing matter, so everyone turns their attention to That! problem.
After a few hectic hours, you sit in a hospital bed with your gunshot wound repaired and bandaged, but you still have your broken toe. Thomas' return reminds me of this. The actual issue was about Thomas pushing his programming practices onto other developers. Whether he admits it or not, he makes comments that put others programmers down, in order to raise himself up. The excuse was that he never meant to come across as condescending, but the problem was people being overly sensitive, and misunderstanding his comments. Only a fool would believe this is the true problem here. If he honestly has only good intentions in his posts, to other programmers about what methods they use, why then, would he continue to write those posts even after people tell him they don't want to hear it anymore? This kind of reoccurring pressure is the problem that started this entire thing. Lets not forget about the broken toe that brought us to the hospital to begin with! Of course as thread went on, people got irritated, and things heated up. While "defending" his actions, Thomas write all about his marriage problems. This was completely unrelated, but everyone went off on That! topic, because it seemed more pressing. His raving, curse filled attack of Che, became an entirely new problem. Now we were focusing on his vulgar language, and how he, a moderator, reacted when faced with a post he didn't like. Once again, focus shifted to something that seemed more pressing. Now that Thomas is back, and he has written his apology, we find ourselves in that hospital bed. In many people's minds, his home life situation, and his apology, have mended the wound caused by his cussing rant. People have discussed how unfair it is for people to pressure him about his game releases, so that wound is treated and healing. But we are still sitting in the hospital bed with this broken toe. Of course there are exceptions to this, but in general, the people here, who are not developers, were the ones who pushed focus off of the way developers have been treated because it is more important for them to focus on the other issues. Well the other issues have been taken care of now, and time will likely heal those wounds. We can't just ignore a problem because it doesn't specifically impact us, because the point is, it is affecting Someone! If anything good is going to come out of this situation, it has to be the fixing of the original problem, otherwise we are right back where we started! Thomas, I respect you as a developer, but you have a few things you need to work on. We all have faults, but the important thing is that we acknowledge them so that we can keep them under control. I laugh about it on the list sometimes, but the truth is, I honestly DO! have a Fault! that I can't stick to a single project for very long. When I work on things, I must finish them within a certain amount of time, or I know I'm in danger of dropping it for something new. This is a huge annoyance, but since I've learned I can't help it, I must change my behavior accordingly. I believe You! must do the same. You may not see it this way, but to many people around here, you come across as an elitist programmer, who puts himself above everyone else. When you give "advice" and "suggestions", you strongly appear to be putting others down who disagree. In the past I have seen other developers harassed by you in this way, and after stepping in on one of those conversations, I too started being badgered endlessly in the same way. Only after finally losing my temper, did you stop pushing your views on me, and as it turned out, this was only a temporary break. The events that unfolded recently, were a direct result of you jumping into a Castaways thread, to push more of that Same! views you had been asked, and told, were offending people. I personally think you Are! an elitist, based on much evidence written in your posts, but even if you Aren't! That is how you come across to other developers. I suppose in the end, how others perceive what you say, is the most important thing to consider. So, I can't stick to a project, and you offend other developers with "advice". We both have our faults, and we must both alter our behavior so that the faults don't get in the way. For me, I know that if I'm going to start on a project, I need to push myself 100% so that it can stand on its own before my problem kicks in, and I abandon it for something new. For you, well I believe you need to simply stop giving people programming advice, unless they specifically ask for it. I also don't think this means someone asking 1 question, should lead to a 10 post long campaign about why you should, or shouldn't, do something. >From what I can tell, we are both degree holding programmers, both graduates >from respectable universities, and both clearly interested in making audio >games. After that, our views, opinions, and styles are clearly about as far >apart as they can get. If anything, this only proves that any method can be >the right method, depending on the person. As far as I can tell, I've never >pressured you about your programming methods. In fact, I think I've even >defended you in situations, where people began comparing our different >approaches. All we (the developers) ask, is that you show the same respect. >Don't try to change anyone into another you, but rather support them in being >who They! are, and what They! want to do. This is rather long, but I've said, what I believe, needed to be said. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
