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^ I don't see it as indicating undesirable character at all. I read the piece as more an indication that the guy knows when to cut his losses and stop allocati

^ I don't see it as indicating undesirable character at all. I read the piece as more an indication that the guy knows when to cut his losses and stop allocating resources to unprofitable activity. Which to me, from a business perspective, is a sign of someone with their head screwed on straight. I also don't grasp the logic behind the notion that once a creator shows his work -- or work-in-progress -- to the public that he is somehow bound by duty, honor, respect for his 'followers', or some other compelling consideration, to finish that work. If Beethoven starts writing a string quartet, and posts the first movement on the internet, but then realizes that the Duke isn't going to commission it and he'd rather be writing a sonata anyway, does it really reflect badly on LvB if he abandons the quartet?

oldandtired 8y ago
> I also don't grasp the logic behind the notion that once a creator shows his work -- or work-in-progress -- to the public that he is somehow bound by duty, honor, respect for his 'followers', or some other compelling consideration, to finish that work. You can show off your work in any way that you want. You are also not bound by duty or anything else to finish that work. However, if you are putting it out there for other to see and or use, at least say that this may or may not be useful in some way. To cover yourself, you could say that it will be a work in progress and that the progress will move in fits and starts as you have time to devote to it. At that point, there will never be a need to say that you are giving up on it. Bad comparison with Beethoven. But to answer your question, if he had said that this is the first movement and may have a potential to be completed if the Duke commissions it, then it doesn't reflect badly on him when the Duke doesn't commission it. It is a matter of what expectation you are creating in those who are viewing your work. If you are saying that it is there as an example of something, then so it is. But if you go out and say "here is the bee's knees", and then you decide that it is no longer worth your while because the amount of work is now too much, then you have created the problem for yourself. There is a project called Axiom, which has inspired me to look at my own code and projects in a different light. But to follow in the footsteps presented by Axiom in my own projects involves a lot of tedious hard work. The benefit that I see is that anyone who comes after me and is interested in what I have done will be able to follow. That "anyone" may only ever be me, so be it.
- projektir 8y ago
  Pretty much nobody but you has this perspective, it's completely irrelevant to the reality other people live in. And such a perspective is harmful, as it could discourage people from work under the false perception that an unfinished piece of work is worse than none. I'm not sure where you got this whole idea from, but it's not true, neither in the real sense nor in the perceived sense. People benefit from working on projects they do not finish, and plenty of people are impressed with unfinished projects. This person is going to be a much better developer than average from this experience. There is literally no issue here. It's his work and it's his time and what he does with it is none of anyone else's business. The only issue here is you making an issue out of it according to some strange ethical norms that nobody else shares. This is a massive overthinking/overjudge and the thinking here is rather unhealthy.
  - oldandtired 8y ago
    See my responses elsewhere in this discussion. Simply put, he is closing down the project because to continue requires too much hard work and is boring and uninteresting. It is not that he has found an answer to his investigations and so he can move on and here are the lessons learned. Yet I suspect that the intent of what he may have wanted to say is that final sentence above. But that's not what he said. I'll say it again, there is no problem with unfinished work, if what you were trying to achieve has been completed. But please, don't then say that you won't complete the work your doing because to do so would require hard work and it's just boring and tedious. This is what reflects negatively on you. If you have achieved your goal then just say that and show what has been learned from the exercise. If you would like it to be continued but can't do so for whatever reason, which you do not have to state, then offer it to anyone else who might be able to take it on. You never know, you might get some takers. This reflects positively on you.

oldandtired 8y ago

> I also don't grasp the logic behind the notion that once a creator shows his work -- or work-in-progress -- to the public that he is somehow bound by duty, honor, respect for his 'followers', or some other compelling consideration, to finish that work. You can show off your work in any way that you want. You are also not bound by duty or anything else to finish that work. However, if you are putting it out there for other to see and or use, at least say that this may or may not be useful in some way. To cover yourself, you could say that it will be a work in progress and that the progress will move in fits and starts as you have time to devote to it. At that point, there will never be a need to say that you are giving up on it. Bad comparison with Beethoven. But to answer your question, if he had said that this is the first movement and may have a potential to be completed if the Duke commissions it, then it doesn't reflect badly on him when the Duke doesn't commission it. It is a matter of what expectation you are creating in those who are viewing your work. If you are saying that it is there as an example of something, then so it is. But if you go out and say "here is the bee's knees", and then you decide that it is no longer worth your while because the amount of work is now too much, then you have created the problem for yourself. There is a project called Axiom, which has inspired me to look at my own code and projects in a different light. But to follow in the footsteps presented by Axiom in my own projects involves a lot of tedious hard work. The benefit that I see is that anyone who comes after me and is interested in what I have done will be able to follow. That "anyone" may only ever be me, so be it.

projektir 8y ago
Pretty much nobody but you has this perspective, it's completely irrelevant to the reality other people live in. And such a perspective is harmful, as it could discourage people from work under the false perception that an unfinished piece of work is worse than none. I'm not sure where you got this whole idea from, but it's not true, neither in the real sense nor in the perceived sense. People benefit from working on projects they do not finish, and plenty of people are impressed with unfinished projects. This person is going to be a much better developer than average from this experience. There is literally no issue here. It's his work and it's his time and what he does with it is none of anyone else's business. The only issue here is you making an issue out of it according to some strange ethical norms that nobody else shares. This is a massive overthinking/overjudge and the thinking here is rather unhealthy.
- oldandtired 8y ago
  See my responses elsewhere in this discussion. Simply put, he is closing down the project because to continue requires too much hard work and is boring and uninteresting. It is not that he has found an answer to his investigations and so he can move on and here are the lessons learned. Yet I suspect that the intent of what he may have wanted to say is that final sentence above. But that's not what he said. I'll say it again, there is no problem with unfinished work, if what you were trying to achieve has been completed. But please, don't then say that you won't complete the work your doing because to do so would require hard work and it's just boring and tedious. This is what reflects negatively on you. If you have achieved your goal then just say that and show what has been learned from the exercise. If you would like it to be continued but can't do so for whatever reason, which you do not have to state, then offer it to anyone else who might be able to take it on. You never know, you might get some takers. This reflects positively on you.