RE: Is Ernest still here? ( kbin.social )

uhmge , 2 months ago

Thanks ernest, hope you feel better soon!

HopeOfTheGunblade , 2 months ago

Thanks for the communication! It sounds like you've been having a rough go of it. I hope things get better for you soon.

BolexForSoup , 2 months ago

Thank you for the update Ernest, here's hoping your treatments and recovery are respectively effective and swift!

boolean , 2 months ago

This is a good reminder to remember people are human and may have a life outside of the computer.

Thanks Ernest. Hope you get your issue fixed up. Your health is more important that software.

theinspectorst , 2 months ago

Thanks for the update Ernest! I hope you continue getting well soon and I look forward to everything you've got planned for this place.

Rayspekt , 2 months ago

The Fediverse gives a whole new meaning to "The Importance of Being Ernest".

ThatOneKirbyMain2568 , 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

Thanks a ton for the update Ernest! It's great to hear from you, and I hope your health improves soon.

That being said, I do have a few things I'd like to suggest.

--

In February, I spent my time visiting doctors and undergoing treatment with medications, which often had very unpleasant side effects. Therefore, I decided to hold off on any major updates to avoid causing even more chaos.

If I'm interpreting this correctly (i.e., that you chose not to give any updates as to prevent people freaking out), I don't think this was the best move. I understand where you were coming from, but (if you were able) some sort of small status update would've been preferable to a month-long silence (especially since you'd previously said that you'd be unavailable for only 2–4 days). A simple "Hey, I'm currently not doing well. I'll get back to things as soon as I'm feeling better," would've at least let us know that you were alive and that the project hadn't been abandoned.

--

Just because it's not visible that something is happening doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything during this time. In fact, two really significant things have been successful, which I've been working on for a long time and which I intended to announce soon once I recover.

I don't think this whole "holding off for a big announcement" thing is a great approach, at least not now. There are currently several issues that we're waiting to see fixed, and we have no idea which ones (if any) are being worked on. If you must wait for a big reveal though, at least telling us, "I'm still working on stuff" would be better than nothing.

--

And finally, I really suggest getting some more admins for the instance. You're absolutely correct to prioritize your health over Kbin; nevertheless, it's far from ideal for your absence to mean that spam piles up, moderation requests lie unanswered, and accounts can't be deleted. We'd all appreciate it if you could have at least one extra person on deck for whenever you're ill or in need of a break.

--

Thanks again for all you do for Kbin, and I hope things get better!

stopthatgirl7 , 2 months ago

Agreed with all of this.

ProdigalFrog , 2 months ago

His reasoning is kind've... Like, off, isn't it? How would a single paragraph message saying "Hey guys, I'm not dead." cause... Chaos? Like what?

And him saying he's been working on stuff... So, he's been around and watching, but chose to work exclusively on the code when Kbin was under assault with spam, some of it illegal?

It's so crazily clear that Kbin needs additional admins to fill in for Ernest, to add more mods, to combat spam, to delete communities and accounts that have been sitting around for months, and yet still, there is absolutely no move toward rectifying any of that.

This isn't sustainable. People are saying it in this post, people have been saying it for months, there's no change. I don't mean to come down on Ernest, the dude is putting out all this work and effort for free selflessly, but it's becoming painfully clear that his personality traits (specifically the desire to do everything himself) is not only putting incredible stress onto Ernest himself, but it's severely effecting Kbin itself negatively, to the point that people are leaving and Ernest's response is... Basically business as usual.

I don't see a positive outcome here.

mizzyc , 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

I hope Ernest gets well soon and can pass through all of these stuff, but I must add one point to this:

And finally, I really suggest getting some more admins for the instance.

And, as important as this, letting more people help with Kbin development.

It's impossible to maintain the code and develop new features, while dealing with all his personal life problems (which of course are a priority) and maintaining the instance all at once and almost alone.

Why not getting some help? I know that Ernest already said he has a problem trusting people, but come on, it's visible that this approach is not working and it’s not benefiting anyone.

zeluko , 2 months ago

Good luck to you!
But i think instead of waiting to announce planned things you should just show them, even in early stages.
Then we can give feedback, check your code and contribute ourselves.
You dont have to do everything, we really want to help.

Pamasich , 2 months ago

On the other hand, if people really wanted to contribute, there's plenty of open issues on Codeberg that are unadressed. I agree that it would be better to announce plans in advance rather than surprise drop them, but I doubt there would be more contributions from the community.

melroy Admin , 2 months ago

Done that, tried that. Not working great. Hence Mbin was created.

sab , 2 months ago

Sometimes showing that things are being done is more work and way more stressful than the act of doing them, so I can relate to that.

But it would probably be a good idea to get more admins on board - sometimes one needs to take a break, and a one-person moderation team for a page with this many users cannot be sustainable in the long run. But I guess getting to a point where that is feasible, not to mention finding qualified people, might in itself be a fair share of work. :)

And of course - get well soon, Ernest! It's great to hear from you.

Maestro , 2 months ago

It doesn't have to be a show-and-tell. Just pushing your changes to a branch is enough. That way people can at least see that something is being worked on.

As a software dev I find it strange that you can go a month or more without pushing. At work I push at least daily, even if it's just a WIP commit that I reset the next day.

zeluko , 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

Exactly this is what i mean.
Name your branch something useful and push reguarly.
Ernest feels like doing so much secrecy for code that is ultimately going to be public anyways.. We wont scold you for having fucked up code. We will fix it ourselves if we have to.

bananaghost , 2 months ago

Thank you very much for the communications! We were worried about you

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the year, I developed a skin condition that worsened from week to week, reaching a point where I couldn't even leave the house. In February, I spent my time visiting doctors and undergoing treatment with medications, which often had very unpleasant side effects.

I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope things will turn well in the end. I wish you the best outcome.

Therefore, I decided to hold off on any major updates to avoid causing even more chaos.

Yes please. First thing is your health. For me and for many people the site is still good as it is, we can wait a little more.

Just because it's not visible that something is happening doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything during this time.

This is exactly the thing that some people need to understand. The best proof is that the site is still on and working.

In fact, two really significant things have been successful, which I've been working on for a long time and which I intended to announce soon once I recover.

And I will be waiting to see them.

This weekend, I also plan to work on infrastructure with Piotr, and from next week onwards, I intend to resume committing, provided my health allows it. I understand if you're exploring alternatives, but I hope I've exhausted my bad luck limit for this year, and the remaining time will be marked by gradual, steady progress, especially since new opportunities have emerged, about which I will hopefully write soon.

Good. But again, don't neglect your health. We don't want you to overwork yourself and end up worsening your health.

I always read your posts and, although I don't always comment, you seem to be a good person. You are going through a difficult time, don't let some bad comments affect you. I have been here since a little before the great migration and, with all the problems that there were, I saw all the effort you put into getting us to where we are now. That is not something that goes unnoticed. I'm going to continue here for everything that comes, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the same.

Get well soon.

1Fuji2Taka3Nasubi , 2 months ago

Please take good care Ernest.

pro , 2 months ago

Get well soon!

HarkMahlberg , 2 months ago

I hope the procedure goes well and you have a speedy recovery! ❤️

elgordio , 2 months ago

Thanks for the update Ernest, and best wishes for your health to improve.

Teon , 2 months ago

Thank goodness you are alive. We thought you had been abducted by aliens!! :)
Sorry to hear that your medical issues escalated.
Hoping you have a painless and speedy recovery.

guyrocket , 2 months ago

I thought he was eaten by a grue.

Best wishes, Ernest!

density , 1 month ago

Hope you feel better soon!

I have to say that I agree with others there are significant structural issues with the benevolent dictatorship type governance model. A team of people with diverse skills, strengths, weaknesses, commitments and all that is needed to bring a project like this to its potential.

Establishing a committee of some sort to share the work is really going to allow your efforts to shine to a greater degree and highlight your contributions, not diminish them. Perhaps getting in touch with some organization like Software Freedom Conservancy for advice? They exist to help with this sort of thing:

Conservancy assists FLOSS project leaders by handling all matters other than software development and documentation, so the developers can focus on what they do best: improving the software for the public good.