Re: learning curve

[Arne Babenhauserheide]

Am Samstag, 28. November 2009 00:48:26 schrieb olafBuddenhagen@gmx.net:
> Sure, I don't question the need for smart developers... What I'm saying
> is that (unlike switching microkernels), the existing implementation
> requires a lot of less challenging work also -- it's just not true that
> we don't need many developers.

And that's why I started this thread. 

I write the Month Of The Hurd, because I want to make the Hurd more appealing 
to general users. 

Maybe some of the interested people will be the really smart developers, but 
most will be general users and "normal" developers. And I believe that these 
are the majority of the people who are important to the Hurd (if only because 
they are the majority of people in general). Once the basic foundation of the 
Hurd matures, it will be far easier to go into very low-level stuff for general 
desktop computing, and what good is it to write a great system and then 
attract only people who don't really benefit from that, because they could do 
the low-level almost as easily in Linux? 

The Hurd opens up options, not only to excellent developers but also to all 
those people who are very good game designers, very good documenters, very 
good community managers, etc. 

Giving all these people additional options means zip (at least from the view 
of society in general), if they never find the Hurd. 

And the learning curve of the Hurd - including closing in on its internals 
step by step - is an important part of that. When someone who finds the Hurd 
can easily see what he can do (and get a glimpse of the full potential), he's 
far more likely to tell others about that. If on the other hand most people 
aren't able to utilize the power of the Hurd in any way, they won't tell 
others how great the Hurd is. And one of those who then doesn't learn about 
the Hurd might be one of the excellent programmers who are needed for the 
delicate work. 

And that this isn't consensus in here shows me, that the decision to keep this 
thread in bug-hurd was right. More: The thread was needed badly. 

Best wishes, 
Arne

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