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[Ethan Blanton]

Charliep spake unto us the following wisdom:
> The ONLY reason I was BLUNT in the past (for which I have apologized) is
> because you are (being and have been) so ABSOLUTE! Really I would love to
> help out within Pidgin from a UI perspective. This is what I used to do for
> my day job, but what is the point? The resolution of that bug submission was
> ... Its not a bug? PLENTY of people who were nice in the past have
> complained and that didn't get you to WAKE UP AND LISTEN.

It is pretty obvious that none of your UI opinions, nor your ideas
about how Open Source software work, nor your concept of software
support, are informed or valuable to us.  A few points, after which I,
at least, will cease paying any attention to any text which spews
forth from your keyboard in any but a logical and defensible argument:

1) You repeatedly assert that a UI design decision is "stupid",
   without any reasoning.  You claim that *our* lack of reasoning
   (which is not; in fact, we have pointed out numerous good reasons)
   is a flaw, but that your lack of reasoning is the mighty hammer of
   righteousness.

2) You seem to equate "I want X" with "X is good for all, or many,
   users".  This is completely baffling.

3) You have some sort of entitlement complex, whereby you believe that
   the software which we create, maintain, and support *for free* owes
   you something, and that in failing to immediately respond to a
   particular arbitrary whim of yours, we have offended the laws of
   nature and the spirit of software development.  Perhaps you are
   unaware of the absolutely enormous time commitment which is the
   maintenance and improvement of software projects; Pidgin represents
   years and years of effort on the part of hundreds of people, all of
   whom gave their work to you for free in the hopes that you might
   find it as useful as they did.  If you do not, you are free to
   suggest improvements or to dive in and lend a hand, but rants of
   entitlement are patently inappropriate.

4) Virtually no one has complained about this in the past; a few dozen
   users do not represent a significant portion of the Pidgin
   userbase. Since this debate heated up, far more people have stated
   that they *like* the new interface, than that they dislike it.  See
   1, 2, and 3 as to why this really doesn't matter anyway.

5) Support _is not free_.  People do not listen to statements like
   "make sure you are using the default skin", or "read the previous
   arguments on this topic before you spew ignorant vitriol." Notice
   that you have been spewing hundreds of lines of ignorant vitriol
   which is nothing new, and has been discussed (generally presented
   in just such an ineloquent and childish fashion as you have used)
   in the very threads you purport to have read.  If you cannot follow
   your own advice, then why do you assume that others will?

Please, either bring insightful and logically sound discussion to the
table, or walk away from it.  Every moment that a developer spends
replying politely to your digital vomit is a moment in which Pidgin is
not being improved.

Ethan

-- 
The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws [that have no remedy
for evils].  They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor
determined to commit crimes.
		-- Cesare Beccaria, "On Crimes and Punishments", 1764
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