Feedback on evolution

[pauby]

This was raised by @RogueScholar in this PR comment. I've brought it over here as the comment isn't helpful on that PR and off-topic, but I didn't want to ignore it. I have recreated the comment as faithfully as I can.

I don't have a dog in this fight except as a Chocolatey user that's become increasingly frustrated with the glacial pace of Chocolatey evolution, with well-recognized misbehaviors and acknowledged bugs seeing years go by without any discernible traction toward a resolution. This behavior in particular has had the status of "this project really eff-ing needs this feature like, yesterday" for me since COVID was in full swing. Apologies in advance for the incredulity that follows, but as an open source contributor and proponent, my blood pressure skyrockets to see a PR draw an initial reaction like…

chocolatey/choco#2003 (review) on May 16, 2020
Hi @johnstevenson! This is likely the most complete first time contribution I've ever seen coming to this codebase! This is awesome!
…

…albeit after three months of silence, then go so horribly awry. The author seems to have responded to the subsequent review notes in a timely fashion, only to be met with crickets …for over three years is truly a travesty. The coup de grâce of the silence only being broken by—of all things—a cleanup bot, has all the social currency of a huge raised middle finger, especially in the context of the high praise given initially. There could scarcely be a more conclusive signal to potential contributors, especially experienced ones, that to involve themself here will almost certainly amount to a waste of valuable time.

My nature as one whose passions are often swiftly caught ablaze leaves scarce hope that I might one day match the beautifully measured and considerate tone found in this response to the automated closure that came over 40 months after the initial submission, with the last 37 passing silently.

chocolatey/choco#2003 (comment) on Jun 25, 2023
Seems a shame that this has been automatically closed.

If you don't want to use it, then no problems at all. However, @ferventcoder did assign this to me: chocolatey/choco#1670 (comment)

I get that things have changed and this PR might no longer be relevant, but a more personalized closing comment would have been appreciated.

I make these observations without any personal animus toward those involved and assume that they are good people who are likely falling short of their own expectations as much as they are of mine at the moment. This note is intended only in the hope of bringing into sharp focus how failures like this one typically become force divisors that haunt a project far into the future. To wit, the happenstance of my own presence in this thread is the product of a long-simmering odium for the CCR package creation documentation that today became catalyzed into a tentative desire to try to improve upon them through contributions of my own. It probably goes without saying that I have now reconsidered those impulses after reading what happened here. I do wish you all the best, in particular @johnstevenson for his impressive work on these desirable changes and sage aplomb to the lack of interest that followed.

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“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — St. Louis Post Dispatch: April 2, 1902.

[pauby]

@RogueScholar I appreciate your concern and your comment. Without being flippant, as it can be difficult to determine intent in text, what is it you want to get out of a response from me?