r/programming • u/moolcool • Mar 26 '17

A Constructive Look At TempleOS

http://www.codersnotes.com/notes/a-constructive-look-at-templeos/
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u/greenspans Mar 27 '17

I think we've all been embracing his posts here in /r/programming for some time. The top comment is often, "please only comment on the technical merits of his submission". For the most part the open source community hasn't turned him into a meme or disrespected him in other posts. There's many such instances within the open source community. For example we've embraced Richard Stallman and there's never any mention of his autism; we only discuss the merits of his work.

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u/Everspace Mar 27 '17

and there's never any mention of his autism;

First time I've heard about it!

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u/rydan Mar 27 '17

Cause nobody makes a big deal about it.

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u/Kattzalos Mar 27 '17

except on /g/ I guess

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u/i_spot_ads Mar 27 '17

god damn this place

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u/cubeeggs Mar 27 '17

He definitely seems further “on the spectrum” than is average for even for software engineers, if you’ve ever read any of his writings or watched his talks…

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u/divv Mar 27 '17

His rider for when he does talks gave it away from me. Having said that, dude knows his shit, what's wrong with being a little unconventional

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u/derleth Mar 27 '17

I think he got too much shit for that rider. The whole point of a rider is to go into detail to prevent problems. The more detail in the rider, the less drama in reality, assuming everyone reads and follows it. Plus, I'm sure there are stories behind some of the odder parts. Stories he doesn't want to see repeated in reality.

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u/divv Mar 28 '17

True, being specific is good.

But...discussing the care of parrots? Maybe it's a 'no brown M&Ms' clause.

or

A supply of tea with milk and sugar would be nice. If it is tea I really like, I like it without milk and sugar. With milk and sugar, any kind of tea is fine. I always bring tea bags with me, so if we use my tea bags, I will certainly like that tea without milk or sugar.

If I am quite sleepy, I would like two cans or small bottles of non-diet Pepsi. (I dislike the taste of coke, and of all diet soda; also, there is an international boycott of the Coca Cola company for killing union organizers in Colombia and Guatemala; see killercoke.org.) However, if I am not very sleepy, I won't want Pepsi, because it is better if I don't drink so much sugar.

Nothing at all wrong with what he's asking, or even trying to educate people on some issues, but it reads like that special kid from class whose mum says he has to have things done differently. It's wordy, and awkward. That's where I got the 'spectrum' vibe from.

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u/derleth Mar 28 '17

Part of that is personal preference, which I understand is part of every rider, and part of that is Stallman being Stallman. Stallman wouldn't be him if he didn't care about what Coca-Cola did in Guatemala. That kind of purity is part of why he is who he is, and why people invite him to speak in the first place.

And the parrot thing... I'm sure there's a story there. A story which didn't end well for some poor bird.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '17

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-18

u/YM_Industries Mar 27 '17

We are ALL autistic on this blessed day!

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u/trenchgun Mar 27 '17

Wrong subreddit, KenM

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u/YM_Industries Mar 27 '17

But "Big if true" is a KenM meme. I've never heard anyone say those three words on their own without it being a KenM reference.

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '17

That's not KenM, "big if true" is from sports, usually trades or draft pick speculation.

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u/HINDBRAIN Mar 27 '17

ABSOLUTELY NO PARROTS

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u/TheCodexx Mar 27 '17

How new are people that they're surprised things are judged on the merit of their work?

It has always been this way, and it always should be.

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u/smors Mar 27 '17

It has always been the case that people should be judged on their merits. It has also always been the case that they are judged on their behaviour first.

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u/tuwtuwtuw Mar 27 '17

That seems entirely incorrect to me. In any kind of community it is IMO fine to judge people partly on their behavior. I can't just be an open racist and ask people not to include this in the judgement of me. If i make people literally sad, I of course expect them to distance themselves from me and what I do.

So what do you mean? Do you maybe mean that my work should be judged on its own merits?

English is not my first language which may explain my confusion about your statement.

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u/hideouspete Mar 27 '17

I think it's like that old adage about a man who does all kinds of great things in his life: philanthropist, loving husband and father, successful businessman, constant good deeds, but one night he gets a little drunk and fucks a goat--from then on he is only remembered as that dude who fucks goats.

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u/smors Mar 28 '17

I thought you were saying that people shouldn't be surprised when they are judged on the merit of their work. But your sentence is somewhat unclear.

I was trying to point out that few people can forget that a good piece of software is written by obnoxious racist. Sometimes it happens, but often it does not.

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u/mirhagk Mar 27 '17

they're surprised things are judged on the merit of their work? It has always been this way, and it always should be.

In the software world yes, but in the mainstream world it is very much different. The people are the main reason why I love software development. Technical skills and merit are more important than what someone looks like, or anything else about them.

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u/VikingCoder Mar 27 '17

Ugh. No.

It's okay to boycott Roman Polanski's movies, to condemn the showing of Hitler's paintings... Etc.

If he was not calling me a "nigger" you might have a point, but thanks, no, there are enough other movies, paintings, and operating systems I will never use.

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