[maemo-developers] How to destroy your community

[From: Stephan Jaensch]

> I guess that the problem is that you "demand" rather than request.

Really? That is the problem? The verb he used?

First of all, demand is the right word. It works like this with any website on the interwebs. It's always a give and take. Every user *demands* that a website is stable and fast, wether they formulate that on a mailing list or not. They demand that the site works or they'll leave - because that's the imaginary contract a website owner has with his/her users. I'll provide you a service and you'll come back, generate content for me etc. pp.

Now, Dave, if you don't care about Maemo's users (and I mean all kind of them - N900 end-users, FOSS developers, commercial developers), then you might have this attitude. Otherwise, you should be aware of this contract and thus realize why they have the right to demand a stable service - it's part of the payment for their time (which they could spend elsewhere). The other part of your payment is obviously some kind of service you provide them - if and when your servers run reliably.

Welcome to the internet age.

Second of all: he wrote a very insightful mail, highlighting many of the issues, mentioning the possible solutions he has suggested (and put on the maemo.org wiki) - and you decide to quote one sentence and comment on one verb he used. I think that is a very nice illustration of the *real* problem.

Cheers,
Stephan

P.S., out of curiosity: are you being paid for the work you do for maemo.org?