[prog] "Show us the code" and working in Free Software
Mary
mary-linuxchix at puzzling.org
Wed Apr 16 10:59:55 EST 2003
So since my analogy with Jimen's argument has managed to derail and
become quibble in its own right:
Martin Pool roughly supports my take on it:
http://www.advogato.org/person/mbp/diary.html?start=227
Excerpt:
The motto "show me the code" doesn't literally mean that source code
is the only acceptable demonstration. Other phrases that get at the
same idea are "talk is cheap" and (my current favourite) "all hat
and no cattle". (That doesn't, by the way, mean that you need to
literally own cows to get respect.)
For a meritocracy to be meaningful, people's contributions have to
be visible in some way that can be assessed by their peers. This can
be in ways other than code: artwork, writing, speaking, web sites,
and organizing conferences spring to mind.
The "talk is cheap" is a better summation of the original point I was
making to Jimen.
-Mary
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