Re: User vs Developer: Round 2 (and half-time?) (was: Re: music font)

[Tim McNamara]

Sometimes it happens that a non-programer user reports some issue or makes some 
request and gets metaphorically punched by a developer.  This occurs in all 
open-source projects.  Some developers are much tetchier than the Lilypond 
developers (such as the GNU Emacs developers.  Whoa.  Their attitude is "if you 
can't fix it yourself, you shouldn't be using the software.")!

Lilypond developers work hard, usually in their spare time and almost always 
for free.  The end result is that Lilypond produces the best looking scores 
(IMHO) of any music engraving software package available.

Users work hard to try to figure out how to use what is still a very 
challenging application with a very steep learning curve.  Like me, many users 
have no idea how to code anything in C, C++, Scheme, etc.  In my case, as is 
probably true of many others, I have a full time (plus) occupation that leaves 
me no time to learn how to write Scheme, C++, etc.  We can only offer feedback 
on how it works (and, of course, if it works well there is probably no 
feedback!).

Sometimes developers and users tread on each others' toes.  The task for all of 
us is to not take too much umbrage when that happens.  Life goes on, Lilypond 
gets better.