Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: Re: Seeking questions for a user survey
Steve Long wrote: > My apologies if I caused you any offense, Joe. I fully agree that choosing > not to have children is just as mature as deciding to procreate, and more > mature than simply drifting into parenthood. No offense taken, and I agree about the "drifting into" thing. My wife's brother asked why we are not having kids, and she asked him, in turn, why he had kids. His answer was simply, "Because it's what you do." I would have rather he said, "Because I want to be a parent." > I suppose what I am getting at is the idea that there are others in Gentoo > besides young single males. A responsible parent or a committed spouse has > a very different perspective to a teenager. Certainly my perspective now at > 37 is vastly different to when I was 18. Parenthood changed a great deal, > as did the earlier process of committing to marriage. Yep, and I'm one of the "older" devs here too (in fact, I've got you beat at 43!). Good to have a mix of ages, interests, and types of people, I think. And ashame we don't have more women. -Joe -- gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: Re: Seeking questions for a user survey
I totally agree with not asking such personal questions which really are not going to help the foundation, what we need to ask are questions that relate to the distribution, it's developers & user community as a whole. one question regarding children that I see as being appropriate is: Do children in your household use Gentoo? > Yes > No > It's to complicated for them > Prefer not to answer Which games-* category need more additions? > games-puzzles > games-kids > games-board > games-fps > games-strategy Other questions regarding personal things, like age,spouses & income are really for another type of survey, maybe a separate survey that only developers will fill out, users will feel like you're asking to much if asked those questions. We need to get questions that can help identify what will improve Gentoo and it's inner structure. Thanks, Fernando a.k.a likewhoa On Jan 18, 2008 7:41 AM, George Prowse <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Steve Long wrote: > > Joe Peterson wrote: > > > >> On Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 10:56:36AM +, Steve Long wrote: > >>> Ryan Hill wrote: > I agree, though year of birth might be interesting. Income and children > are a bit too private. > > >>> ++ in general although I do think parenthood (if responsible) is as > >>> relevant as age. A 28 year old with a 5 year old kid has a lot to show a > >>> 35 year old doctoral student with no kids, even if it's not all > >>> technical. # of kids isn't relevant. > >> Judging the maturity of users (or devs) by how many children they have > >> (or indeed *if* they have children) is pretty questionable. I know > >> people who have kids and are pretty irresponsible (that's not to say > >> most are, but one does not guarantee the other). And I'd argue that > >> someone with children does not necessarily have "a lot to show" someone > >> without kids, unless it is the specific experience of childrearing. > >> > >> There are many people (myself and my wife included) who choose > >> consciously not to have children. It is becoming more and more a > >> *choice* people can legitimately make rather than just an assumed part > >> of life. It is not selfish or immature, as some people think, so I'd be > >> careful about implying that such a question gauges maturity. > >> > > My apologies if I caused you any offense, Joe. I fully agree that choosing > > not to have children is just as mature as deciding to procreate, and more > > mature than simply drifting into parenthood. > > > > I suppose what I am getting at is the idea that there are others in Gentoo > > besides young single males. A responsible parent or a committed spouse has > > a very different perspective to a teenager. Certainly my perspective now at > > 37 is vastly different to when I was 18. Parenthood changed a great deal, > > as did the earlier process of committing to marriage. > > > > Which is not to denigrate people who chose not to marry; my godchildren's > > parents were dead-set about their commitment to each other without a piece > > of paper. I guess it's the change between being an individual and feeling a > > commitment to someone else. And yeah maybe it's not something we need to > > ask anyone, but it is good to consider that there are diverse perspectives > > within the group. > > > > In the same vein I asked on project wrt to number of female devs and was > > told there are perhaps 3 or 4 iirc. > > > > > For a survey of this kind I think questions about children etc are as > inappropriate as ones about sexual orientation. > > Personally i'd stick to the fundamentals. > > George > > -- > gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org mailing list > > -- gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org mailing list
Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: Re: Seeking questions for a user survey
Steve Long wrote: Joe Peterson wrote: On Thu, Jan 17, 2008 at 10:56:36AM +, Steve Long wrote: Ryan Hill wrote: I agree, though year of birth might be interesting. Income and children are a bit too private. ++ in general although I do think parenthood (if responsible) is as relevant as age. A 28 year old with a 5 year old kid has a lot to show a 35 year old doctoral student with no kids, even if it's not all technical. # of kids isn't relevant. Judging the maturity of users (or devs) by how many children they have (or indeed *if* they have children) is pretty questionable. I know people who have kids and are pretty irresponsible (that's not to say most are, but one does not guarantee the other). And I'd argue that someone with children does not necessarily have "a lot to show" someone without kids, unless it is the specific experience of childrearing. There are many people (myself and my wife included) who choose consciously not to have children. It is becoming more and more a *choice* people can legitimately make rather than just an assumed part of life. It is not selfish or immature, as some people think, so I'd be careful about implying that such a question gauges maturity. My apologies if I caused you any offense, Joe. I fully agree that choosing not to have children is just as mature as deciding to procreate, and more mature than simply drifting into parenthood. I suppose what I am getting at is the idea that there are others in Gentoo besides young single males. A responsible parent or a committed spouse has a very different perspective to a teenager. Certainly my perspective now at 37 is vastly different to when I was 18. Parenthood changed a great deal, as did the earlier process of committing to marriage. Which is not to denigrate people who chose not to marry; my godchildren's parents were dead-set about their commitment to each other without a piece of paper. I guess it's the change between being an individual and feeling a commitment to someone else. And yeah maybe it's not something we need to ask anyone, but it is good to consider that there are diverse perspectives within the group. In the same vein I asked on project wrt to number of female devs and was told there are perhaps 3 or 4 iirc. For a survey of this kind I think questions about children etc are as inappropriate as ones about sexual orientation. Personally i'd stick to the fundamentals. George -- gentoo-dev@lists.gentoo.org mailing list
