this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
0 points (NaN% liked)

Programming

17391 readers
149 users here now

Welcome to the main community in programming.dev! Feel free to post anything relating to programming here!

Cross posting is strongly encouraged in the instance. If you feel your post or another person's post makes sense in another community cross post into it.

Hope you enjoy the instance!

Rules

Rules

  • Follow the programming.dev instance rules
  • Keep content related to programming in some way
  • If you're posting long videos try to add in some form of tldr for those who don't want to watch videos

Wormhole

Follow the wormhole through a path of communities !webdev@programming.dev

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
snowe@programming.dev
Ategon@programming.dev
MaungaHikoi@lemmy.nz
0
Linux file system developer: we're severely under-resourced (lore.kernel.org)
submitted 1 year ago by liori@lemm.ee to c/programming@programming.dev
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I've said this previously, and I'll say it again: we're severely under-resourced. Not just XFS, the whole fsdevel community. As a developer and later a maintainer, I've learnt the hard way that there is a very large amount of non-coding work is necessary to build a good filesystem. There's enough not-really-coding work for several people. Instead, we lean hard on maintainers to do all that work. That might've worked acceptably for the first 20 years, but it doesn't now.

[…]

Dave and I are both burned out. I'm not sure Dave ever got past the 2017 burnout that lead to his resignation. Remarkably, he's still around. Is this (extended burnout) where I want to be in 2024? 2030? Hell no.

top 11 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] NateNate60@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

This problem is pretty common across most parts of the Linux space. Everyone wants to volunteer coding work, which is great, but not what's desperately needed right now.

The Linux community needs more than programmers, or else it will consist only of programmers. We need UI/UX experts, or we'll never have the simplicity and ease of use of iOS. We need accessibility designers or we'll never match up to the accessibility of MacOS. We need graphic designers and artists or we'll never look as good as Windows 11. We need PR professionals and marketing experts or we'll never be as notable as the Windows XP startup sound.

We don't have enough volunteers that fit into these categories. The next best thing you can do is contribute your money so that your favourite project can hire the people they need.

[–] xilliah@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Isn't there some kind of volunteer-project market with easy access?

[–] heeplr@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago

there's https://bountysource.com/ or https://www.vamp.sh/

Bound to specific problems and limited to projects willing to pay money.

[–] yasha@beehaw.org 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How does someone like me, a PhD candidate who has a background in Human-Computer Interaction, contribute? Or the accessibility researchers I collaborate with who sit one office down and use and love Linux and make their own hacks for Linux to improve its accessibility?

I think part of the problem is a matchmaking (as as you said a PR) problem. I'm sure a lot of the experts you describe would love to contribute some cycles (including myself) but your post is the first time I'm hearing that people like me are needed in my HCI capacity. Otherwise I would have assumed there are plenty of programmers better than me available so why bother?

[–] heeplr@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

use open source software. whenever you see potential to improve, open an issue with detailed explaination.

try to solve the problem yourself. send pull requests. adapt them according to instructions by devs. when they're good, the will get merged.

if you use the software a lot, contribute whenever you think something is needed.

[–] uniqueid198x@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

that second part is exactly why there is a lack of hci work in the linux space. Hci is a specialty, just like coding is. The standard ask of "create a pr with the code" is asking peopae who don't typically code to do so, in addition to doing the work of researching the problm, designing a solution, and then testing that solution for suitability.

Since the only mechanism most open source projects have for accepting contribution is code, and the ask is usually for code, there is never even an opportunity to submit design work.

[–] heeplr@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

there is never even an opportunity to submit design work.

nowadays, design work is code (or at least markup). Like .qml or .glade or even html/css.

is asking people who don't typically code to do so

encounter a problem and learning a new tool to solve it, is a pretty standard situation in IT. Designers have varying capabilities in that domain. While a print designer might have trouble learning a new software, a MMI-Architect or UI Designer should commonly be able to learn a new UI framework (designer software).

Generally, if you like to contribute to any project (not limited to software), you can't expect the project to adapt to your toolset.

But often it's enough to share an idea for it to get adapted.

[–] uniqueid198x@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sure, you can pr the design files, but thats not how the messaging comes across. Even the "how to contribute" for most projects, if they have one, is usually entirely technical. The majority of designers (not all) I have worked with have been very shy about technical work, so having no clear "non-technical" contribution pathway is a deterent.

[–] heeplr@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

you can start by opening an issue, sharing your idea, uploading drafts etc. like I mentioned.

is usually entirely technical.

because what you wish contributing to is a technical matter. You can't modify airplane design without a single clue on aerodynamics. Same with software.

[–] uniqueid198x@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Design of UX is a separate craft from programing, to follow your own analogy, you don't need to know electrical engineering to design an airplane control panel

[–] heeplr@feddit.de 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

you don't need to know electrical engineering to design an airplane control panel

lol, of course you do. and A LOT more. Hence it's usually done by a team of experts. Pilots, eengineers, manufacturing, regulation/standards, safety,...

UX is just one of many parts of the expertise needed. same in software.

What you're claiming is wishful thinking that has nothing to do with real world workflows. I also don't know a single UI designer having the troubles you are pointing out.

The majority of designers (not all) I have worked with have been very shy about technical work, so having no clear "non-technical" contribution pathway is a deterent.

That's the difference between designer and UI Designer. Just because you can draw an UI with your favourite tool, doesn't make you an UI design expert.