Hi Mark,
No need to to apologize since you are expressing your thoughts and
opinions as I did mine. I take them for who you are and as a way to
learn you better, but it doesn't follow I will necessarily agree. ;)
"RULES" Who said anything about "RULES?" I certainly didn't! I took
pains to make sure the reader understood *my* comments were simply
that... "mine." They were *my* opinions and views relating to my
experience. Unless you can tell me that you have received numerous
emails from trembling people who were intimidated by "my opinions," I
question how fair it is to state...
"I am afraid that your e-mail scared off dozens of people who were
thinking they might do a presentation at some time. These people have
seen your e-mail and are now backing off. I would like to say to those
people: don't worry, we are not going to demand anything from you."
Did you receive any emails from "dozens?" This is important for me to
know as I will have to do a major overhaul to my present understanding
of how to communicate.
On the issue of "... not demanding anything..." I am *not* demanding
anything.
I guess it really comes down to "why" people are presenting? I'm
persuaded the whole point of sharing something via "presentations"
(maybe this moniker should be renamed?) is to communicate knowledge and
understanding. If I am "sharing" via a USTREAM session, my intent is to
make what is mine, yours. I want to let what I understand be available
to let you add it to your understanding, if you wish.
The concept of making a "presentation" just to do a "presentation" is
absurd. If I do a USTREAM session and don't show the screen properly,
you will not be able to follow, especially if I never offer enough
commentary. Further, if I use my own custom naming conventions that
have no relation or context to what I am working on additional confusion
is added to the mix. How easy would it be for you to understand if I
chose to use animal names for different parts of a construct, instead of
related verbiage that makes sense in the routine's context? The answer:
very difficult at best. If I did use animal names and didn't watch the
chat, how would any questions on the chat seeking clarity ever be seen?
I'm not really sure what you were trying to convey in your remarks and I
have no desire to make any enemies here, but when someone offers a
criticism of my offerings that had no ill intention and was
painstakingly crafted to ensure the same, they had better be prepared to
substantiate their rebuttal. This does not mean I can't learn from
correction, but I can't learn if I don't understand the point(s) being
made. Keep in mind, I may attack a *message,* but I try hard to never
to attack a *messenger.*
Frankly, you might consider how the criticism of my comments you offered
has "...scared off dozens of people who were thinking they might..."
offer their own criticism of how things are around here? I can assure
you the acceptance or the resistance of such criticisms as I have
offered by long-standing members will speak volumes to any others as to
what they can expect. The response of ensconced membership to critical
comments and suggestions from the masses *will* encourage or discourage
a free-flow of dialog.
In closing, I would like to reiterate my original comments were my own
personal and unique observations. Nothing was intended (nor do I expect
it was universally construed) as heavy-handed directives or "rules." I
agree there are no "RULES" to follow in "presenting," but if anyone is
interested in myself (maybe others?) as participant(s) to gain anything
from what is being offered, common sense should dictate what conventions
should be adhered to. Given the above, I ask you or anyone else to
please highlight and explain which of my five suggestions were outside
the realms of common sense?
Mark, my comments above are a friendly response to your friendly
rebuttal and I look forward to further friendly dialectic. Since I am
very new to this group I need to state if anything I have stated or the
way I have stated it seems to have violated the context of an amiable
debate, please advise me via private email. I love a healthy argument
with an intelligent person, but I hate hurting anyone's feelings. You
may depend on me to make any public correction or public apology if
deemed necessary.
Fair winds,
Calvin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Schonewille <mailto:m.schonewi...@economy-x-talk.com>
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 5:47 PM
Hi Calvin,
Thanks, I appreciate your comments and I'm glad that the presentations
are useful for you. Unfortunately, we can't and don't want to tell
people how to present and we don't want them to follow any kind of
rules. There is only one rule: THERE ARE NO RULES!!!
I am afraid that your e-mail scared off dozens of people who were
thinking they might do a presentation at some time. These people have
seen your e-mail and are now backing off. I would like to say to those
people: don't worry, we are not going to demand anything from you.
If anyone would like to do a presentation, no matter if you hardly
speak English or have never released any product, you are always
welcome to show us what you do with Revolution/LiveCode. We usually
have more than 20 participants and some of them like to see a really
informal video chat while others prefer a more formal lecture. There
is no "right" way.
Sorry Calvin, I just had to say this. If the main goal would be to
teach, then you were absolutely right, but the true goal of the Live
LiveCode Code Event really just is to gather a bunch of people and
have some fun. I hope you don't mind.
--
Best regards,
Mark Schonewille
Economy-x-Talk Consulting and Software Engineering
Homepage: http://economy-x-talk.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/xtalkprogrammer
KvK: 50277553
New: Download the Installer Maker Plugin 1.5 for LiveCode here
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Calvin Waterbury <mailto:c...@eml.cc>
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 1:59 PM
Hello,
First off, "BRAVO!" to all who take their time and knowledge to make
these presentations! They have been extremely helpful in my learning
of LiveCode and in being introduced to the programming world outside
of Windows®!
I also wish to convey my comments herein are not intended as
criticisms, but as a "reflection" through the eyes of a student. If
nothing changes, I will still continue to participate and glean what I
can from each session. I realize that "newbies" are in the minority
and I do not expect nor desire the presentations to be "dumbed down."
I can understand that spicing up a presentation makes for a less
mundane experience.
My comments are from only seeing four presentations. Perhaps the
presenters were having "off days?"
Ok, with the above preamble/disclaimers in place, here are some
thoughts for your consideration when you present...
1. RECORDING - Please make sure you are recording, if you intend to do
so and let your audience know at the outset you are doing so. Others
mileage may vary, but for me knowing I will be able to review the
presentation allows me to relax and look at the bigger picture and
more robust interaction of Q&A during the live presentation. The
couple of times the chat had comments like "Is he recording?" and "Did
he turn on the recorder?" sent me into a quasi-panic of myopia and
tunnel-vision because I did not want to miss any details.
2. SCREEN VIEW - It is nice to match a face to a voice. Seeing the
"camera view" of the presenter at the beginning and briefly "here and
there" during the presentation certainly assists the tardy as well.
Aside from these brief displays, it is very helpful if the screen real
estate, the "screen view" is allocated to the computer desktop and
specific windows where the coding action is happening. Without doing
so, it is impossible to read the script, etc. windows.
3. DISTRACTIONS - Just a quick note to say I found the visual effects
and cartoon animations to distracting for my taste, besides taking up
screen area. This is my own personal opinion and not necessarily the
opinion of any other participant(s).
4. VERBOSITY - I realize this comes easier to some than others, but
try to verbalize your thought processes as you are working through
your presentation. This really helps to "connect the dots,"
especially for those of us who do not have the same familiarity yet.
While I am a newbie to LiveCode, I am not a novice programmer and
"hearing" the logic spoken allows my experience to assist my
learning. Also, if your presentation contains a bug, hearing the
logic may allow me to assist in debugging where otherwise I could not.
5. KEEP AN EYE ON THE CHAT - *We* are able to see and hear you via
USTREAM, but but the only way you can "see" or "hear" our feedback is
via the ChatRev. I noticed more than one instance where the presenter
was oblivious to what the audience was trying to "say," especially
when there were problems like sound issues, performance, clarity, etc.
Ok, there are my notes from *my* experiences. Use what you feel is
valid and throw out the rest, but by all means please continue to
present! :)
I would like to encourage everyone to present something. Everyone has
their own personal way of communicating and the way *you* might say
something could unlock someone's understanding where no one else's
would. You don't have to be a guru-coder to present either. Maybe
your presentation could be about how you lay out your LiveCode work
space, what ancillary tools you use to develop, etc. I am working on
a project that I will present, hopefully in about six weeks, if I
haven't bit off more than I can chew. ;)
FYI - I used to work in a television station years ago and have
coached people into getting over the intimidation, anxiety and stage
fright of being in front of an audience on camera. I'll be glad to
help if you want to try and present. Unfortunately, I will have to
defer the technical questions about using USTREAM to other experienced
presenters at this time.
Fair winds,
Calvin
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