[ Thanks to Kelly
McNeill for this link. ]
“I get a lot of e-mail about my essays. Some of it is laudatory
and filled with ego-boosting comments, but a lot of it is the usual
“you’re a complete retard” stuff that I usually just redirect to
/dev/null after reading the first semi-literate paragraph.
Occasionally, though, I get a thoughtful, well-reasoned reply
taking a contrary position, and I will generally respond to these
folks. In a few cases it has led to a fruitful exchange of
ideas.”
“A common thread in the e-mail is of the “if you’re so good, fix
it yourself” variety. This is ostensibly what Open Source is
about, after all; if you see a problem, you fix it and submit your
fix back to the community. Everyone wins. The hungry are fed, the
homeless given shelter, and the enslaved made free.
Kumbayah!”
“…except it doesn’t really work like that.“