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by latexr 53 days ago
I’d rather have a good browser which took its time to get things right than a speed run one.

Too much software is written like that, and the result is that most things are shit. What are we in such a hurry for? To get more time to work more? Fucking chill. Do things slowly and right.

As a side thought, speed running seems like the wrong analogy for software. Speed runners in games are people who spend a ton of time doing the exact same steps over and over to find tiny optimisations and develop muscle memory to do something repeatable. They take the time to do it well. Being a good speed runner means embracing slow progress. It’s the antithesis of software, where rushing to get it out also means you barely look at it. You do it fast but seldom right.

3 comments

What are your thoughts on the current code quality? Have you had a chance to review it?
I have, but that’s irrelevant. I’m commenting on the general sentiment, not any specific project.
I think there's a balance to be struck between code quality and delivery speed.

GNU Hurd is a well known example where they spent a so much time on getting the code right that the project became irrelevant. And of course you made the case for erring on the "too much code too quickly" side

The comment I responded to talked of “speedrun” and “full speed ahead”. That’s the antithesis of balance.

The point you’re making is valid but has no bearing on the current conversation. GNU Hurd is also an extreme case, the overwhelming majority of software suffers more from being rushed than from being so slow it becomes irrelevant.

are you willing to contribute time, money and code?
Your argument is so removed from the point, it’s an entirely different conversation.

I already contribute time and code to open source projects, and I promise you’ll have heard of some of the things I contributed a lot to. That’s beside the point.

This is like saying “I’d prefer if doctors took their time with patients to understand their cases and provide meaningful accurate resolutions to ailments instead of rushing” and you replying with ”oh yeah, are you willing to contribute with medicine and triage?”.