I posted in the Mac apps forum about a browser I build, and I was told — reasonably enough — that it reads like it was written by a machine, and that the whole thing looks rigged. I answered that where it was asked. This is the part that did not belong in that thread.
Nobody asked me why I do this. I think the absence of an answer is part of what made it look wrong, so here it is, and it is short.
My grandfather was deaf and mute from birth. My grandmother was left disabled after typhus. This was the Soviet Union, where that meant a great deal more than it would now — not because they suffered more nobly, but because the state simply had no place for them, and the weight of that fell on the people around them. Mostly on my mother.
I want to be exact about what this does and does not give me. It gives me no insight into being blind. I have not lived it, and I am not going to claim a share of something that is not mine. Deafness is not blindness, and a grandson is not a witness.
What it gives me is the reason I do not stop. I grew up knowing that whether a person gets to take part in ordinary life is mostly decided by whether anyone bothered to build the thing properly. Usually nobody bothered.
That is all. I am not asking for anything here and there is nothing in this to buy. It was a fair question and it deserved a plain answer instead of silence.
Dmytro Liesniak
Comments
On feedback
I think that anyone who talks about themselves is inviting commentary about themselves, and that includes me, but I avoid self-victimization. I know how to defend myself and that's what I do when things get out of control and the moderation does nothing. Long before I suggested that someone might have insecurities that should be addressed with a mental health counselor I was called a keyboard warrior, yet nothing was done about that, it was only when I started defending myself more vigorously that a moderator stepped in accusing me of trolling.
As for feedback, as I said earlier, all feedback is good as long as I get to learn something from it, so there's no reason to not want to be a developer just because of criticism. I personally prefer criticism over praise, because at least with criticism I get to improve even if it comes with insults. If I do something and it's a pile of shit, I want to be called out on that so that I know that I'm way in over my head, and I'll take advantage of the opportunity to ask what I must improve.
I agree with Ashley
He is one of the best developers I have ever had the privledge of working with. I'm sure my countless requests and bug reports yet he fixes all of them it may not get fixed the first time but he continues on until it is fixed. That is a truly great developer.
@Choom RE: On Feedback
Hi Choom,
A couple observations on your responses:
You wrote,
I reviewed the thread again, and the text of the comments does not support this. The comment you referenced stated:
No specific individuals were named in that comment.
Also, I think there is a difference between calling out a behavior ("Michael, you're being a keyboard warrior") and a personal attack ("Michael, you're an idiot"). To that end, on my own evaluation of your commentary in this and other threads, I think sometimes your actions on AppleVis do come across as keyboard warrior-type behavior, even if not intended by you.
You wrote,
My statement was actually that going forward, any future posts from you of a similar nature would be considered trolling:
In closing, my goal is to ensure that AppleVis continues to be a welcoming place where everyone feels valued and respected. This is expressed in the following from our Posting Guidelines page:
Part of being a member of any community is an implicit agreement to abide by its norms, even where those norms are not--and cannot possibly be--spelled out for every situation in a set of written guidelines. Being willing to get along with others, sometimes at the cost of adjusting how you say something or choosing not to say it at all, is part of that agreement. We do not expect perfection, of course, but we do expect that people will try to be nice to each other here and sensitive to and respectful of the feelings and lived experiences of others.
If you agree to follow our posting Guidelines going forward, you are absolutely welcome to continue contributing and participating on AppleVis.
If you do not agree to follow our guidelines, please let me know and I will assist with next steps related to your account.
Just one question
Having read the above, I wonder what's the optimal strategy to deal with people who self-victimize in order to sway the audience their way, generally post about themselves, or make personal attacks. My default when this happens is to address the personal nature of the comments, because as I mentioned earlier, anyone commenting about themselves is inviting commentary about themselves, and if the moderation doesn't do anything to tackle personal attacks that cast unfounded and misguided judgment on my intentions, I also feel the urge to defend myself.
RE: Just One Question
Hi Choom,
The AppleVis Editorial Team reviews all posts to the site 365 days per year, and we do our best to thoughtfully and appropriately address moderation issues as they arise. While I wish it weren't so, as generally outside observers reading lots of content every day, it is possible that sometimes we might not catch the nuance of an individual comment on a first reading, and certainly we can't know how you perceive something unless you tell us. If you feel personally attacked or otherwise wronged in some way by another member on AppleVis, rather than trying to handle it yourself, I ask that you please contact myself or another member of the AppleVis Editorial Team. My email address is michael@applevis.com, and you can also report any and all concerns about harassment to abuse@applevis.com. On a similar vein, if you feel that the conduct of another member violates our Posting Guidelines more generally and the situation has not been addressed to your satisfaction, rather than trying to handle it yourself, I similarly ask that you please also contact myself or another member of the AppleVis Editorial Team for assistance with resolution.
Regarding some of your other points,
Thank you for your understanding.
Topic Now Closed
Hi all,
This topic is now closed to further comments. If you have any questions, please contact the AppleVis Editorial Team directly.