Jan Waclawek wrote:
Richard,
how? it suggests that someone who understands that there's a problem
should help solve that problem.
This is, in a sense, a circular argument. The one recognizing the problem,
in this case, at least, is least prepared to do anything about it.
Not quite. If he's willing to ask and understand/try/check/test/whatever the
offered answers, he might then very well be able to describe this particular
item.
The one "recognizing the problem", may be "willing to ask and
understand/try/check/test/whatever", and that is implied when he poses
the question. There are many examples where the "offered answers" are
helpful when the question addresses an application problem. But if the
question addresses documentation or an IDE heaven forbid, the "offered
answers" apparently have no perceptible value, so the one asking the
questions is not inspired to "understand/try/check/test/whatever".
2) Such requests typically come from _users_, not necessarily
developers.
who better than a user to help with documentation? after all, it's
users that know what questions need to be answered.
While inherently true and correct, this is misleading. Those who need the
documentation the most are new, actually would-be, users, like me, who'd use
a product if there were sufficient "instructional material" to make it
readily useable.
Most of the would-be users use SDCC and similar out of necessity - there's no
alternative given a certain budget (namely, $0). Only a few chose SDCC because
of other qualities of open-source software (e.g. possibility to add a feature),
but that's sort of a necessity as well. And, most of these users, who WILL use
SDCC anyway, need and will figure out this and that, given the incomplete
documentation.
The problem with this theory, is that the user of necessity will take
the same attitude which developers have about documentation, with one
significant exception. While the developer is merely doing something he
loves to do, the user of necessity (for the same reason he is a user),
has no time for any peripheral projects, but must remain focused on his
project upon which he depends to meet next months bills.
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