[mythtv-users] Re: Wife Acceptance Factor question: dealing withcrashes

[huffman at graze.net]

Jonathan Link <jonathan.link at gmail.com>,  Discussion about mythtv
<mythtv-users at mythtv.org> wrote: 
> 
> I don't expect developers to get involved uless they're given enough
> information to fix a specific individual user issue, OR there is such
> a volume of problems, which are correctly documented that they've been
> able to determine there is an acutal bug.  If a developer has anything
> to say at all before that time, I'd be suprised if it weren't
> sarcastic, terse or biting.

Knowing this list, I'm not surprised either.  However, that doesn't make it
right.  I rarely post on this list...due to the fact that I don't want to start
a flame war.  I've been on both the Fedora and the Fedora-test lists have never
seen the level of anger and bitterness that I see here.  And I certainly don't
see it from lead developers like I do here.  

The thing that concerns me is that for my own part, I very much want MythTV to
succeed AND to continue the trend of OpenSource to prove to be a viable and
perhaps better alternative to "other" options.  So what happens if a reviewer
comes along (like we've seen recently in the past) and has some questions about
his installation.  He gets slammed on this list and then proceeds to go out and
write a scathing review of MythTV and explains why Microsoft Windows XP Media
Edition is much better.  After all - the biggest question that I see in the
corporate world isn't with thet quality of the software, it's with the support.

Perhaps the developers have no such high aims.  I don't know.

> 
> One thing many people don't seem to understand is that MythTV is built
> on a lot of dependencies, when a dependency doesn't work, they tend to
> blame MythTV (e.g. recent lirc problems on FC2).  Having an easily
> installable set of packages (from atrpms.net) is a downside to
> actually understanding everything that is involved, even if Jaro'ds
> guide does tell you apt-get install mythtv-suite installs 50 some
> items, most people don't even think about it.
> 

I know that once again speaking from experience I'm well aware of all the
variables involved.  You didn't even mention flaws in the specific linux
distribution itself - after all, it does happen.  But I don't think I've ever
written an email that intentially was pointing to MythTV as the culprit of my
problems.  But I think that the developers often take a very defensive attitude.
 No doubt I'll get some nasty responses to this email.  

All I'm trying to say is that this is a "users" list. There will be some newbie
questions.  There will be people that while they intend no malice have *not*
done their homework...some of them probably don't know how.  And there *will* be
some people that truly are causing trouble.  Perhaps it might be a good idea for
the developers to stay mostly silent on this list and only respond if they truly
feel that there's a well researched and valid question that might lead to a
*development* issue.  There are certainly enough people like Jarod and many many
others that can provide the assistance that newbies may need.

Brian