Not long ago, chromatic wrote about one aspect of the quest to create software that doesn't suck . This time he's back with a proposal that's simultaneously practical and idealistic. Making Software Suck Less, Pt. Or Not The insidious thing about Free software, the really subversive part, is that it takes so little to start writing it. Anyone with a few tools, spare time, and the wherewithall to start hacking can.
People like to code.
Every new project represents a coder who wants to write free software, but chooses not to work with an existing project for whatever reason. For each veteran programmer, battle-hardened and wizened by experience, a dozen novices spend evenings honing their skills. The obvious solution is to match availability with opportunity and enthusiasm with experience. The free software community can produce better programmers by giving new recruits mentors to emulate. It offers the possibility for programmers to learn by improving existing projects, instead of reinventing wheels.