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Hi All,<br>
<br>
Firstly I'd like to say I completely concur with Marc about this
person.<br>
<br>
I have been a subscriber to this list for a couple of years, as I
use the database. This is the first time I have actually felt that
I should contribute to this discussion.<br>
<br>
I do not believe that this person is even closely appropriate for
the role. <br>
<br>
<blockquote>zefram said : 'It's not necessary for me to be the TZ
Coordinator in <br>
order to proceed
with such a project, and I hope to do so anyway, <br>
but there's some level
of convenience in the roles being colocated.'<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
Convenient for who? Does this mean that you would find it easier to
circumvent people who do not agree with your thinking. if this is
the case then your next point : <br>
<br>
zefram said : 'I'm of the firm opinion that timezones
ought to be <br>
abolished, in favour of universal use of Universal
Time.'<br>
<br>
scares me quite a bit. it also shows just how much this person
needs to spend some time in the real world. I have spend over 25
years using timezones (in the aviation industry - where UTC is quite
well know) and anyone who thinks that abolishing them is a good
idea, hasn't spent time using them around the world. It would be
like mandating that English is now the Universal Language, and all
other languages are abolished; completely impractical. And the fact
that they have mentioned it just shows again how much this person is
not suitable for the responsibility of such a position.<br>
<br>
My 5 Cents - NZ did away with 2 cents a few years ago... :)<br>
<br>
Regards.<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">daff
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
andrew 'daff' niles | spidertracks | 117A The Square
po box 5203 | palmerston north 4441 | new zealand
P: +64-6-353-3395 | M: +64-21-515-548
E: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:daff@spidertracks.com">daff@spidertracks.com</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.spidertracks.com">www.spidertracks.com</a></pre>
<br>
On 03/10/2012 11:07 PM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pcg@goof.com">pcg@goof.com</a> ( Marc) (A.) (Lehmann ) wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:20120310100736.GD2753@schmorp.de" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">On Sat, Mar 10, 2012 at 08:38:53AM +0000, Zefram <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:zefram@fysh.org"><zefram@fysh.org></a> wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">With ado's retirement now almost upon us, I'd like to volunteer for the
role of TZ Coordinator. Although I've only been directly involved, on
the mailing list, for half a year, I've been peripherally involved for
much longer. I'm very comfortable working in this space, and I believe
I have the right personal qualities for the job.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
If this was a vote, I would vote against you.
The reason is that you are far from being calm or helpful - you often make
broad claims, but when asked to explain them, you never do. Later they
turn out to be evidence-less.
As a TZ maintainer, you should reason things out (at least once), and not
insist on you being right based on authority, but based on evidence.
>From previous threads on this list it also looks as if you often have a
non-technical agenda, which is probably bad for a technical project which
requires objective and impartial decisions ("calm").
As a TZ maintainer, you should not get influenced by your personal goals,
at least not too much.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">I have a calm temperament, which kre rightly identified (on 2009-09-04)
as a vital quality for this role.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Just to clear any misunderstandings that your statement might (or might
not) cause, kre did _NOT_ identify your calm temperament as a vital
quantity.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Particularly see the leap seconds mailing list, where in the past couple
of years many discussions have regrettably become much more heated
than befits the calibre of participant, and perl5-porters, where I've
occasionally dealt with a prickly CPAN author.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
So in the recent years when you joined discussions got more heated, and
you take part. That's not good advertising. Also, being member
of a perl mailinglist is hardly in any way relevant.
The job of a TZ maintainer is quite different from that of a perl module
author.
Also, while I don't know what prickly cpan author you dealt with, this
hardly belongs here, and the fact that you send thinly veiled insults
about other people (despite being anonymous) on unrelated lists is hardly
evidence for a "calm temperament".
A TZ maintainer should not bring his personal fights on other mailinglists
to his job as TZ maintainer.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Although it's not strictly necessary in a TZ Coordinator, I'm technically
well qualified to look after the timezone code. C was my main programming
language for about ten years, 1988 to 1998.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Ten years is hardly a long time - but I agree that's not vital, as others
on this list have, in the past, shown exceptionally competence in this
area and the willingness to help out if needed.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">has been Perl, but I still regularly work in C. About half of the Perl
modules that I've published are largely implemented in C, for one reason
or another, and I'm a contributor to the Perl core, which is written
in C. The quality of my code can be discerned by perusal of my published
Perl modules.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Again, perl module author is hardly relevant for the job at hand.
It would be much more interesting to hear about your qualities as a TZ
maintainer.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">As a bonus, I have some plans for how the database should develop from
where it is now.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
That sounds rather scary to me.
I am sure I am not the only one who'd rather not see any "developments",
but merely the enourmous stability that we have seen and appreciated in
the past.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">as TZ Coordinator. Most obviously, I haven't been on the TZ mailing list
very long. I tend to pick things up quickly, but this is a defect in the
experience I'd bring to the role.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap="">
Right.
To be honest, the thought of you becoming maintainer and changing things
a lot, as is clear form this and your previous mails, makes me outright
scared.
The greatest thing about the olson database and associated code is stability,
the strive for portability while keeping things simple.
The impression you give me is that the next thing you'll do is add
autoconf support, integrate it into your perl module etc. - I am
exaggerating, but change is so extraordinarily negative in this area that
proposing to "develop" into new directions instantly disqualifies somebody
from the role.
Just my ¢2.
</pre>
</blockquote>
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