Re: Leaving: "I can't help"

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi Graham,

Firstly, I wanted to add my voice to the chorus of "Thanks!" for all  
the work you've done -- Lilypond will miss you.  =)

But secondly, I wanted to comment on the following:

> I'm spend all my time writing music, so I don't have time!
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> This is my favorite excuse for not getting involved... and by
> "favorite", I mean "makes me grind my teeth".  If you're a
> professional composer and use lilypond every day, then IMO you
> should be the _most_ involved, not the least.  I mean, if the
> heaviest users don't contribute to the project, then who else should?

I'm not saying there *aren't* people out there -- including working  
composers -- who could help more than they do.
Nor am I arguing the fact that many people get more out of Lilypond  
-- and the work of people like you and the coding team -- than they  
put in.

However, I *DO* object to the generalized implication that  
"professional composers" who "use Lilypond every day" should be "the  
_most_ [visibly] involved [in documentation and coding efforts]" or  
else they're "not getting involved".

I'm a professional composer.
I use Lilypond (nearly) every day.
I don't actively (i.e., visibly) contribute to Lilypond code or  
documentation... and may not in the near future, despite attempts to  
guilt me into doing so.  ;-)

Does that mean I'm "not getting involved" and "don't contribute to  
the project"?

1. I do more Lilypond "advertising" (i.e., providing positive  
exposure) than anyone else I know. I am constantly putting *REAL*  
Lilypond scores in front of *REAL* working musicians and composers/ 
arrangers. On those rare occasions when I don't get unsolicited  
comments about the quality of the output, I make a point of telling  
anyone who will listen -- and many who won't -- about the benefits of  
Lilypond. The colophon of every published score explicitly mentions  
Lilypond and points to the website. Once I get my own website up and  
running (sometime this month), it will also have Lilypond kudos and  
links.

2. As a result of my being one of "the heaviest users" of Lilypond, I  
am constantly running into REAL-WORLD engraving problems, the kind  
that rarely come up in an "ivory-tower" (i.e., code and docs)  
situation. Not only does that mean I help push Lilypond to be a  
better program (by finding bugs and feature-holes), but it means that  
when another user in the 'Pond runs into similar issues, there's a  
good chance that I've got a solution or workaround to offer. And --  
as you probably are aware -- I constantly monitor the list, and  
contribute said solutions and workarounds when I can.

And finally,

3. I have personally put forward my own hard-earned dollars (well...  
Euros) to sponsor features that make Lilypond better. I continue to  
post sponsorship offers, though, for the record, nobody has taken me  
up on those offers recently. Ironically, I will soon have paid more  
*ACTUAL MONEY* for my use of the "free, open-source" Lilypond than I  
ever did for the "proprietary, commercial" Finale with all its annual  
upgrade fees!

So... if I make you grind your teeth, all I can say is "4 out of 5  
dentists recommend Trident".  =)

Best regards,
Kieren.