[mythtv-users] Simultaneous recordings fail spectacularly [SOLVED!]

[f-myth-users at media.mit.edu]

    Date: Fri, 4 Nov 2005 10:27:36 -0600
    From: Josh Burks <dotnofoolin at gmail.com>

    Then why aren't you the one fixing these "problems". For as much
    effort that you put into your posts to this list, you could have
    rewritten all the code/bugs you're constantly complaining about.

Are you kidding me?  You're saying I could have fixed every one of
these bugs, including (a) discussion about whether it's really the
right thing to do, (b) design, (c) coding, (d) documentation, (e)
testing, (f) packaging, in less than then ~4 hours it's taken me so
far to point them out?  Wow, you're -way- more productive than any
programmer -I've- ever met...

    In case you haven't noticed, the unoffical motto seems to be "by
    developers, for developers".

Myth's motto is "by developers, for developers"?  Really?

Does that motto also mean, "We won't lift a finger to make things
easier for anybody"?

On the other hand, if your argument is that MythTV is -supposed- to be
annoying and (often) a PITA to install, then that would explain the
numerous usability issues I've discovered---they're features, not
bugs.  I'd be really surprised if you got widespread agreement on
that, but if you do, I guess I'll go elsewhere---I deal with enough
software that's an unintentional PITA that I have no desire to deal
with some where it's a design goal.

Or perhaps your argument is, "Real developers write code.  They do not
try to make their users' lives easier, so they do not do usability
testing, nor do they point out where that testing shows problems.  All
that stuff is for wussies."  That's a really common attitude among
geeks.  It would also go fairly far towards explaining some of these
apparently-longstanding usability issues.

				 If you don't like something (and it
    bothers you so bad that it requires a 9391 char post to describe it),
    then fix it yourself. The code is available, everything you need to
    know is on svn.mythtv.org, and in the documentation on mythtv.org.

There's a reason why I will not, and for that matter -should not-,
at least for a while.  Why?  Because I am brand-spanking-new to the
codebase, that's why.

If you want people who've never read the code to just dive in with no
oversight---and give them privs to commit to the repository---then
you're not going to get a very high-quality project.  I'm sure as hell
not going to claim that I'm going to be able to fix these bugs with
good quality from a standing start.  And that assumes that those who
-do- have commit privs even agree that they're bugs and need fixing.
A prerequisite for  -that- is making the case for their existence,
which is what I'm doing.

The first step is to figure out where the bugs lie (Myth? Knoppix?
KnoppMyth? ivtv? elsewhere?) and then see if any of them are (a) fixed
already, (b) will never be fixed, by fiat of their maintainers, (c)
have a possibility of being fixed by someone who already knows the
code well, or (d) must be fixed by an outside party.  Once we get to
(d), that's where I might be able to help.

Meanwhile, getting these usability bugs -out there- for consideration
is the most effective thing I can do at the moment---especially while
they're fresh in my mind, and -before- I'm so close to the problem
that I don't consider them bugs any more because I'm too familiar with
all the problems.

So for the moment, I'll limit my help to "gadfly", e.g., "what would a
reasonably intelligent but FIRST TIME USER think about the usability
of the product?"

Installing Myth shouldn't be a fraternity hazing.  One of the problems
with -some- F/OSS software is that making it difficult makes those
who've managed to struggle through it feel good about themselves, and
gives them cognitive dissonance about making it easier for others
("hey, why -they- have it so easy when I had to struggle?").  One of
the reasons for the spectacular uptake of both Mac OSX and Ubuntu,
especially among the geek set, is because both projects made a
conscious decision to remove as many unnecessary tripwires and
inconveniences as possible.  Some people have real work to do,
and resent wasting their time on rough edges that, with just
a little bit of work, could have been removed in the first place.