On Mon, 7 Mar 2011 11:37:24 -0500 "Stewart, Robert" <Robert.Stewart@sig.com> wrote:
I'm confident to the point of arrogance. It's a personality flaw that I know and detest in myself, and I've worked for years to mute it. I'm also by far the best programmer that I'd ever met before I joined this list, which exacerbates the problem greatly because I've never before had any reason to be humble in that area.
I understand the big fish in a small pond problem. Boost can be amazingly humbling in that regard.
Yeah, I've noticed. ;-)
To make things worse, XInt is the product of not just passion, but obsession. No completely sane human works on something like that for twelve or more hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end. There were several factors that contributed to that, but they're irrelevant.
I do hope you can regain some perspective on XInt versus other parts of your life!
Once I was able to call it ready, I recovered.
So when I joined this list and offered XInt, I subconsciously expected to be welcomed with open arms and lauded for my contribution. Instead, the masterpiece I was so proud of was torn apart and left in a bloody heap. Six times.
You learned the hard way just how small your pond had been.
Not for the first time, but it was the first time in a very long time.
I expected a humbler reaction to the design criticisms given the number of things those on this list obviously know about modern C++.
The people on this list vary in skill, and often even several people who seem equally skilled have given me exactly the opposite advice [...]
That you took someone's (strongly expressed?) opinion as "instructions" was clearly a mistake.
With the benefit of hindsight, yes. I was originally treating the Boost list members as a single client and trying to satisfy all of the concerns brought up. I have to say, this group makes a particularly difficult client. :-) I've dealt with a couple just as bad, but never with a project I was so emotionally caught up in.
If they convinced you, then you should stand by the decision. If not, you shouldn't change for their sake. [...]
The hard part is knowing when someone actually has a good idea that I'm not familiar with, and should be listened to, and when I've got more experience in the matter at hand and should stand firm.
[...] Your vision for the library should be paramount. It is your library and you must maintain it. However, recognizing that you don't know everything, you should be remain open to being convinced by superior arguments.
When I can recognize them as superior, I am. :-)
I understand the idea of marketing. I also understand that what you wrote was in some ways inconsistent (see my "staccato" comment), overstated (see our "complete" discussion), or misleading (see the "fast" discussions). For example, on the "fast" part, if you had said that portability was your first priority, but that speed was a close second, you would have gained your point without the negative backlash that ensued.
Which is confusing to me, because to my eyes, it's merely a rephrasing of what's already there. One that fails to convey the enthusiasm I felt at the time, and still do to a lesser extent.
Your saying that my "complete and carefully maintained documentation" comment was excessive stung, regardless of whether it was correct or not. I reacted badly to that. I'm sorry that I did, and I publicly apologize if it offended you.
You didn't offend me and I'm sorry that I phrased it in a way that "stung."
You couldn't know how much time, attention, and care went into those files. If you did, you'd likely have phrased it differently. Regardless, I overreacted. -- Chad Nelson Oak Circle Software, Inc. * * *