Re: [Gnu-arch-users] Re: newbies should neither be seen nor heard

[Matthew Dempsky]

Zenaan Harkness <address@hidden> writes:

> There is actually a pretty good argument for keeping a high barrier to
> entry, particularly in the early days of the development (ie.
> prototyping) of new software - it ensures that only those who can
> provide quality feedback, and/ or contribute, and/ or are willing to
> endure the 'workaround learning curve' will participate ... thereby
> freeing up the list and the developers to get on with the most important
> job of getting the damn thing working.
>
> The argument _for_ such a barrier to entry is inversely proportional to
> the maturity of the project (unless the developers actually want to
> maintain a long term elite clique status). Assuming they don't, at some
> point on some curve, barriers to entry merely hinder adoption rather
> than filter worthy contributors.

Sure, but the naming conventions used in Arch aren't simply arbitrary
user interface details we can change to appease new users -- they have
deep hard coded meanings in archive history.