Mon, 23 May 2011
Another Waffle (alter ego)
I've noticed that I've been using asheesh.org lately to write positive things and announcements, but I don't have a good outlet for sharing criticism of the projects that I like.
I have used asheesh.org for writing critical pieces sometimes, like last year's note about some FSF activism. For all the small ways that projects I like could be improved, I don't want to write a blog post that implies that I only have negative things to say. If I did that, when new readers come to asheesh.org, they'll see a big long complaint and think that I don't like the project as a whole.
I'm going to try something new, then: when I want to write a bit of criticism for a project I generally like, I will stash it in the comments section: I will write up a blog post explaining something positive about the effort, and then my alter ego will leave a comment taking a more critical perspective. (His name will be Another Waffle, a punny reference to my etymologies course at CTY in 2000.)
I will also apply this to my own projects, like on the recent note about the Boston Python meetup's gender diversity. I think it's especially useful on notes about my own work; when I write announcements that mention the positive, I sometimes feel a bit hollow about not mentioning my nagging doubts. This way, I can still share my mixed feelings while retaining the announcement format.
Constructive criticism is important, I believe, as is context.
