[kwlug-disc] Security arguments

[unsolicited]

Khalid Baheyeldin wrote, On 10/02/2009 7:17 PM:
> 
>     What I mean by "guts" is a willingness to fall on your face in public.
> 
> 
> That is true, and I agree.
>  
> 
>     And this happens not just at the start, but at every sub-starting point
>     of your project, when you tackle something new.
> 
> 
> My take is a little bit different. The fear barrier is a mental one that
> is most difficult at the start. Once you jump in, it is no longer that
> fearsome.
.
.
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Diverging ... sort of ...

This thread resonates in many ways for me. In particular, it resonates 
  vis a vis kwlug meetings. Especially initially.

Guts for me is someone willing to stand up and present. And therefore 
willing to commit to putting in the time to put the presentation 
together, and to a deadline even.

Not long after I started coming, I came to realize ... no matter how 
bad the presentation or how boring the topic, nobody is going to 
embarrass you. (It helps if you can laugh at yourself though.) 
Everybody realizes "That could be me up there.", "They're doing their 
best.", "Better them than me.", and "Thank goodness they were willing 
to give it a go."

	I also came to realize I can only aspire to how well John and Richard 
present, and particularly how professional Raul and Paul seem.

 From what little I've seen, open source projects are no different. 
And anyone who does come after you non-constructively is likely to be 
dealt with severely by others. You won't have to do anything, 
yourself. Maybe your code won't be very good, but oodles will help you 
tweak it. And everyone gets better over time.

	A sort of example. Khalid's last presentation. Projector goes out. 
Long enough for some to think, perhaps, the bulb went. Flash to 
Khalid's face - I've seen deer with headlights on them look better. 
But only for a few seconds. (1) You could see him immediately working 
out an alternate presentation plan. (2) The group surged in support to 
figure out what could be done to support him. The TV's composite RCA / 
S-Video and audio cables were half out when ... the projector came 
back on.


Guts for me is someone willing to step off into the unknown into 
project participation. And herein I mean mechanically / technically.

How do I create a development environment (while protecting my 
'production' environment)? How do I get something out of the source / 
repository? How do I set up my development environment (what 
development environment!?!) and work with the code? How do I put it 
back? What section should I work on? How do I ...

	The mechanics.

Or, in kwlug parlance ... Me, present? On what for *&%$&^$ sakes, I 
don't know nuthin'! What the heck am I going to say during the 
presentation? Is it too technical? Is it too superficial? Slides? I 
don't know how to make slides? I'll freeze! I have no laptop? Never 
used a projector! What do I say? What's a VM? How do I set one up? 
Destructive testing! How do I fill up 2 hours! What do you mean I'm 
out of time, I just started 10 minutes ago ... it's WHAT time?!?

Now return to the first part: Guts for me is someone willing to stand 
up and present.


Hoo rah! for presenters. And project participants.

Just wish I felt comfortable with the mechanics. Of either.

Here's to toe dipping.