To all on the Tomcat Developer mailing list,
I recently joined this list to both gain knowledge about Tomcat which I
have been working with of late and to also hopefully contribute some of my
ideas for improvements to the Tomcat project. Since joining the list on
Friday I have received probably seventy-five emails, easily two thirds of
which were devoted to difficulties in group dynamics. As a new subscriber
to the group and user and developer of Tomcat I find this a rather
discouraging way to start my involvement in the project. I have know idea
what the exact nature of the exchange(s) that started all this was but I
would humbly suggest that all members of a development group like this
should be treated as coworkers. Different people will know a lot or a
little about various parts of the project depending of their level of
interest, ability, and experience. Regardless of your opinion of someone's
ability or the role that they play and for the sake of everyone involved in
the project, particularly in this environment where all exchanges are shared
with the entire group, it is of the utmost importance to treat one another
professionally. You may disagree passionately with someone's ideas and
opinions and you may even have personal reservations about that individual,
but under no circumstances should someone be personally attacked. Differing
opinions about ideas and development can be discussed vigorously and many
times no agreement will be reached but this should be an exchange of well
considered and supported arguments about software architecture, not
developers themselves. In addition I would suggest that when disagreeing
with someone on a development issue that respect be given to their ideas no
matter how wrong you think they are and the time be taken to understand
their reasoning and to help them understand yours. Calling someone's ideas
stupid is a bad idea no matter how incorrect and impractical they may really
be. Such attitudes stifle participation in any project and particularly one
where everyone is here out of personal interest. For the sake of the group
imagine your self in the other person's shoes and how you would treat them
at work if you sat in the cube next to them. Lastly, though I hope it
wouldn't be necessary, I would encourage the PMC to draw up a document or
amend an existing document to include a short statement of expected
behavioral standards. Let's please try and move past these exchanges and
get back to working on the project at hand. If you've made it this far
through my rant, thank you and I look forward to working with and learning
from you all and hopefully contributing to the project.
Best Regards,
James Courtney (Jamey)
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