Re: [Texmacs-dev] Arch mirror (was: EPS bounding box bug)

[Alvaro Tejero Cantero]

Though I think David sometimes expresses his views somehow harshly (not
good for them), and at the risk of upsetting (more) Joris, I must say
that, to a certain extent I agree with what David is saying.

I do not agree for technical reasons, but for cultural ones. A free
software project should provide certain "expected" interfaces for the
people to be able to join and work cooperatively. This ends up in the
project leveraging lots of not-so-good technologies or at least
not-state-of-the art. It doesn't matter: it's use is in getting more
people to contribute, faster and better. They won't contaminate TeXmacs.

Usually in this case that would have implied adopting CVS and doing
webpages in whatever works and makes TeXmacs users happy and aware. I
see Joris trying to avoid crapware into or around TeXmacs even if that
comes at the price of the use of nonstandard tools. But nonstandard
(read advanced, elegant or experimental tools) does not mean
"self-coded". 

I guess some of us ask ourselves if there can be "intermediate steps"
between now and sometime in the future, where TeXmacs will be handling
the typesetting of the Hurd kernel boot to start with, and do revision
control by itself and have a revolutionary translation system...

There must be some compromise. I understand that the source control is a
delicate issue, one where you Joris must have the first and the last
word, because you do such an overwhelming part of the development. But
my point is not in that precise example, I intend to be more general

Additionally, not letting people help TeXmacs with suboptimal tools or
procedures helps discourage potential contributors. Not everything
should be allowed into the TM project, but not delegating anything isn't
much more smart.


Anyway, if you say "shut up and do something for TM" you'll be right.
BUT, quoting an earlier message:

>> Yet another point: would it be possible to add a link to Axiom on the
>> "Mathematics" link (http://texmacs.org/Web/Links3.html) on TeXmacs
>> web site?

> You may soon add an entry with explanation yourself :^) I am
> redesigning the web site at the moment and will soon put the stuff 
> on texmacs-doc.

I was doing something so that we would be able to edit TM's webpages and
doc with TM and a finegrained but easier-than-cvs permission system, but
apparently that got superseded before its birth by something you're
doing. 

It's just that I have the feeling that too much control over how things
are done and the people ends up not feeling identified with the project
(not my case, but I don't have much of the needed time and abilities).

My 0.02€, á.

-- 
Álvaro Tejero Cantero

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