On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 7:54 PM Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> wrote:
> It's not helped by do-gooders who by their own admission have no idea of > the context sticking their nose in to tell off those who chastise Bart... I'm not sure if I am one of the "do-gooders" or not in your perspective, Steve. I have been sniffing around this list for about the past four years, so I believe I have a good understanding of the "context" you refer to. I just cannot help but think there must be a better way of interacting with Bart? But the last time I "stuck my nose in", Bart, by his own self-admission, stated he had no intentions of either contributing to Python or trying to properly learn Python. He is beginning to remind me of a curmudgeonly old uncle that many families have, that keeps unexpectedly popping in for a stay, leaving the family exasperated and wondering what to do as the uncle continually offers his unsolicited advice. But leaving all issues of Bart aside, the news of Mr. van Rossum abdicating his role of leadership leaves me wondering about the welcoming aspect of the Python community. If the creator himself apparently has been burdened by sharp criticisms of his decisions, something seems definitely awry. But I only occasionally poke about in the dev and ideas mail archives, and did not know about the committers one until yesterday, so I am definitely unqualified to comment here. However, I have been following this list for a few years now, and my emotional perception of this list is that its "snarky content" has been gradually rising over this time frame. Of course this is just my perception, unbacked by data, and I freely admit I may be mistaken. But I wonder ... A few weeks ago I spent a good chunk of my weekend looking at this list's Gmane archives from the earliest years available. I did not read every post, but I don't recall stumbling onto any of the Bart-like threads. I may have just gotten lucky and missed them, but instead I was left with the impression of the type of community that Mr. van Rossum has obviously worked so hard to foster. I have read several articles since yesterday that noted that Mr. van Rossum's leadership skills went beyond his technical competence to somehow creating this warm, open community of Python-loving folks. I have greatly benefited from this community in my on-and-off attempts to learn Python. For instance, Steve, I have lost count of how many times you have helped me out on the Tutor list with long, carefully written answers to my questions that must have taken good chunks of your valuable time. Many thanks to you and others who have been so generous in sharing their expertise and time with me! But after delving in the archives, I cannot help but feel that the "now" is not quite as good as the "then". So I continue to wonder ... Only those of you who have been there from Python's earliest years can truly know if my emotional perceptions have any validity. I was *not* there. But what I finally wonder is if this might not be the time for the community to engage in self-reflection, and see if we can do better on achieving the welcoming and openness that I think this community continually strives for, and, perhaps, even make room for those curmudgeonly, old uncles that keep popping in for unexpected visits? -- boB -- https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
