Re: Popularity / SPLIT OFF -Re: Forum is so SLOOOW... Again!

[LV]

An unexpected reaction to my sincere admiration for FPC and Lazarus and my honesty about my programming skills.

Don't look for the black cat in the dark room when it isn't there.

[silvercoder70]

It’s nice that you have made a YouTube video but I don’t watch things with advertising.

Cool! But don't worry, I hear you about the ads. There are actually no ads in the content I create (at least not that I'm aware of!).

And ... it's not just one video, it's a whole YouTube channel dedicated to Object Pascal! Plus, I'm not in it for the money, just sharing my passion for the language and my experiences.

You could even say I'm promoting a hidden gem! Free Pascal (FPC) and similar languages deserve some love, and maybe my channel can help others discover them, especially since good info on FPC can be hard to find online (I know, I've been stuck with outdated resources!).

People learn better in different ways, and these days many folks prefer watching videos over reading. Maybe my channel can be a helpful...? I hope so.

- Tim

[Joanna]

It’s possible that the developers of fpc and Lazarus just want to create these things as a hobby for their own use and are nice enough to share them with people who want them. Maybe having a lot of users isn’t their goal.

It seems to me that it is not only for my own use. In addition, the more users there are, the greater the chance that the product (the package as a whole: compiler, IDE, libraries) will be improved. Because there will always be someone who will improve some part of the package. And other users will benefit from it.

I have reached the conclusion I have after many years of frustration trying to get people interested in using free pascal. There is no doubt that fpc is a great project but this doesn’t help if nobody knows about it. The things that make people want to use things When there are other choices is the perception that it’s popular and reliable.

If people think that pascal is an outdated obselete language it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy with people not even willing to try fpc or Lazarus at all.
I have had plenty of futile discussions with fpc developers about having a presence on other platforms like other popular programming languages do.
{Before I proceed any further I’d like to say that this forum is a great resource and I’ve always recommended it}
The conversations often go like this

Me: please help me help make your fpc project more popular. Can you participate on this other platform or at least inform the forum members about it so that they can participate ?
Developer: no that doesn’t matter I don’t want to do that. It’s easier to avoid other platforms to avoid controversy.
Me: what good does it do to develop a project if no new people will use it?
Developer:the project is not about being in a particular place. The project will not be affected by not being there..
Me:the project might not disappear but the people using it certainly will..

So there you have it, from the perspective of people on other platforms fpc looks rather abandoned, so they choose a language with a large active community that is easy to find and participate in. That’s how people are. We have a public relations problem. Less and less people are around to discuss fpc with every year.
Thus my conclusion that this is just a hobby project where some people want to develop a compiler with as few distractions as possible. Nothing wrong with that I guess but it sure gets lonely ..

[duralast]

But I'm afraid that my level of competence can only worsen the Free Pascal compiler 

Using the word “worsen” in same sentence as fpc compiler implies that the fpc compiler will be made worse than it already is. This is hardly a flattering thing to say about it is it?

Yes at first glance it might seem like he is being modest about his abilities and jokingly insulting himself. Either way his post doesn’t inspire anyone to want to use fpc. He is passive aggressive.

English is my native language. You are taking things too literally because you have a need to prove that everyone hates Pascal as much as you love it, and it is unhealthy. Your obsession is making you a whack job.

[Joanna]

Wow he switched to his other account...

[rvk]

Using the word “worsen” in same sentence as fpc compiler implies that the fpc compiler will be made worse than it already is. This is hardly a flattering thing to say about it is it?

I'm interested... Joanna... is English you native language?

Worsen... from our unnamed friend :

Yes, "worsen" can be used to describe the process of making something good into not so good. The term generally means to make or become worse, and it doesn't specify the starting quality of the thing being worsened. Thus, you can use it to describe a situation where something that was initially good becomes less good or bad.

So worsen can be used to describe making something good into something less good or even bad. There is no specification for the starting quality. Just that it is going to be worse than is was before (and that could have been something good). It does NOT imply that the starting product was already worse/bad.

Just my 2 cents.

[Martin_fr]

I'm afraid that my level of competence can only worsen the Free Pascal compiler 

Insults make a community look toxic and unappealing regardless of whom they are directed at. I’ve seen this behavior many times here in forums I am not sure if the accounts doing it are owned by the same person. It is a sabotage technique.

Insults? He is speaking about his own skills. Of those he should be allowed to be the judge, shouldn't he?

-- EDIT: +1 to rvk

[Martin_fr]

Wow he switched to his other account...

Highly unlikely, based on what I can see...

[Handoko]

Based on the information I collected, they're not same person. I could be wrong, but I believe I am correct.

[cdbc]

...Shush Joanna! Go lay down in your basket...
NO Biting duralast, he's a friend 
Regards Benny

[Thaddy]

Based on the information I collected, they're not same person. I could be wrong, but I believe I am correct.

They are bots by big data.

[Joanna]

Yes Rvk I know English and it works like this
Good better best
Bad worse worst

 Therefore as the patronizing poster stated that he would make it worse it Implies that already is either bad or worse. It’s a strange choice of Words that do not flatter the fpc project at all. Even if dictionary doesn’t define the starting point of worsening.
He could have said that he lacked the skills to contribute right? There are many ways to express not having enough skill without saying that fpc will be even worse.

Hi thaddy what do you mean?

[Martin_fr]

Yes Rvk I know English and it works like this
Good better best
Bad worse worst

 Therefore as the patronizing poster stated that he would make it worse it Implies that already is either bad or worse. It’s a strange choice of Words that do not flatter the fpc project at all. Even if dictionary doesn’t define the starting point of worsening.

If "make it worse" implies "already bad" then that would mean, that once something is good (or better/best), it can never go down in quality.
Because "going down in quality" = "getting worse", but if it is "good or better" then it isn't "bad" and the implication would not hold up...

No that is not how it works. Even the most perfect thing can get worse.

His words do in no way imply anything bad about FPC.

[440bx]

Joanna, the following is meant as constructive criticism:
at least when it comes to Pascal, you need to control your tendency to sweat the small stuff.

Yes, the way he worded his sentence can be interpreted as having the meaning you are assigning to it but, given that in an earlier post he stated that both Lazarus and FPC are "excellent products" conflating that his use of the word "worsen" reflects an underhanded way of putting them down is in direct conflict with previous statements he has made about them.

As far as native language, it has been my experience that native English speakers (at least in America) have a somewhat deficient command of the English language which is evident by statements such as "he don't", writing "your" when what is correct is "you're", writing "I should of" instead of "I should have" and literally _hundreds_ of small mistakes like that.   The average native English speaker could definitely benefit from a few English classes.

Also, in casual conversation, it is extremely common for anyone, including myself, to not pay as much attention as we should to our choice of words and I believe the choice of "worsen" is just an example of such an occasion.  Small stuff... doesn't deserve anyone's sweat.

[Handoko]

Good intention but executed stupidly may cause damages:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgPmSVYvemw