[mythtv-users] Feature request. MythVideo folder browser.

[S. Baker]

On Sat, 22 May 2004, Isaac Richards wrote:

> On Saturday 22 May 2004 12:14 am, S. Baker wrote:
> > (can't do that 'cause there isn't a TODO list anywhere
> > to be found).
> 
> Bruce Markey just posted a short bug list to the -dev mailing list.  A few of 
> the items have been issues since the last release, if anyone's looking for 
> something to do.
> 
> Want to know what my TODO list is?
> 
> - Add info to the bottom of the music selection screen (would have been pretty 
> obvious to anyone using CVS mythmusic over the past few months that this was 
> on there).
> - Finish going over the UI to make sure all of the various patches I applied 
> from random people didn't make things look bad.
> - Fix whatever random bugs I find in the next few days.
> - Release 0.15.
> - Help Thor get mfd/mfe going and integrated into 0.16.
> 
> And that's it.  Want to know how long that's been my TODO list?  About a month 
> now.  Want to know why?  I'm pretty damn swamped.  Then, when I do have a 
> little time to work on Myth, I go read my friendly neighborhood -users list, 
> and it's full of people demanding my time and insisting that I run my project 
> in a certain way.  (Please note, I'm not directing this at you, S. Baker).
> 
> Random feature requests are an annoyance to me, especially poorly phrased ones 
> -- I don't have enough time to work on what _I_ want to work on, let alone 
> other people's suggestions.
> 
> If you're a developer and want to work on something, don't start off with a 
> feature request -- if you're making the request in the first place, why not 
> start off with trying to add the feature yourself?  An email with: 'I'd like 
> to make it do X, but I'm not sure exactly how to begin' would be a very 
> welcome change.  As far as code cleanup, I'd be unlikely to accept a cleanup 
> patch that just came out of the blue -- I'd want to have had some contact 
> with the person first.  I'm happy to answer development related questions on 
> the IRC channel, or the -dev list.
> 
> Isaac
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> 

As I mentioned before, for my first set of ideas, I did look at the code,
decided I didn't have nearly enough experience with the code to implement
what I was thinking of, and turned it into a request instead.  It's a 
matter of how much time I have, versus the amount of work to get to 
being productive.

I saw a couple of other posters hit some points that I was trying to
get to as well, much more clearly than I managed to:  Feature requests
are not feature demands (if they become so, that is when the vitriol
should come out).  TODO lists are not attacks on developers, and they
can be a very powerful tool.  If the primary developer(s) don't want
to run a TODO list, let someone else sign up to do it, and when feature
requests come up it is that person's responsibility to make sure the 
requests get added.   This takes even less developer time than
what has been happening so far, and the people who like to see 
a list of requests are much happier.  Right now I see one simple 
change to get to this point:  instead of asking for code when someone
posts a feature request, point them at the wiki.  It sounds like there
is already a volunteer to help keep it straight.

S. Baker