[wp-hackers] Bug Rot

[Otto]

On 12/9/07, Bob <wp-hackers at nj-arp.org> wrote:
> Jacob wrote:
> >What more fun can you get out of coding than writing code
> >that tests code! Eh.
>
> I have 27 years of software engineering experience, and the thing I hate the
> most is writing test code.

And carnies. Circus folk. Nomads, you know. Smell like cabbage. Small hands...

> I've never been on a project with such lack of supervision in my 27 years.
> It would be nice if someone in a position of responsibility could say, "Go
> work on this, we want to put it in," so you know the work wouldn't be
> wasted.  But that doesn't happen, and it makes me wonder if I want to be
> involved further.

Well, there are priorities of course, but like it is with most open
source systems, people make the improvements they want and then try to
argue them into the main line code. The methodology itself is somewhat
incompatible with steering it in a specific direction because the
people doing the work are also those deciding what work it is that
needs to be done.

Don't think of it as potentially doing a lot of work that goes unused.
Make the changes that you personally want to get made and submit
those. Even if they don't get used or if they get refactored out,
you'll have those changes to use yourself.