Alex Fernandez wrote:

>> Both questions are valid.
> 
> They are not valid. If someone said she was a KDE developer on a
> Mozilla list, would you think it right to ask why is she using Firefox
> instead of helping out with Konqueror?

If he wants to convert Firefox into Konqueror, I would ask this, yes.

>> How would you phrase them to be less harsh?
> 
> Not making them. It is one thing to be curt and to the point; but
> suggesting your users to go use something else is always harsh. To do
> it with potential developers is just crazy.

Well, if a user comes with needs that your product can't fulfill, isn't
it polite to tell them that there are others (Alexandre did this) and
then ask them why they don't use it? E.g. people are pointed to
ImageMagick, Inkscape, Blender and Cinepaint on gimp lists and forums,
because each of these apps ahs different strengths than GIMP. This time,
it was Krita.

> How about "Hey Brendan, glad you use our program even if your primary
> desktop is KDE; we would be glad to accept any patches you cared to
> send our way, but our primary focus is not Photoshop emulation"?

See, now this is something I'd read as ironic :)

>> Please also keep in mind that many people here aren't native speakers,
>> and this question wouldn't necessarily be harsh in any way in e.g.
>> German (it would depend a lot on the tone to make it harsh there).
> 
> Not true. In any language they translate to "why do you keep playing
> in our playground? why don't you go play in yours instead?" Not very
> polite.

If you like to read them like this, it's your opinion. But maybe you
should lower your expectations in regard to politeness on a mailing list
and assume that as long as someone isn't insulting others directly (by
using words that clearly indicate that he is), he isn't trying to be
impolite either?


HTH,
Michael

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