[Epic 4G General] ptfdmedic:
I want to be very clear. I KNOW noobnl is extremely talented. I also have NO problem with him not wanting to work on something regardless of his reasons, it's his choice and I respect that. What I DO take issue with is the bashing of other developers and or their work as well as character assassination (we saw that earlier this week in his attack on the bonsai team). Someone in noobnl's position should be a positive example for others to emulate here. Instead he chooses to show up and incite drama. You ALL should hold the developers here to a higher standard. With all do respect to you DCRocks, you shouldn't have to put up with this crap in order to reap the benefits of a developers work.

The biggest loss to this community, in my opinion, was k0nane. Not only is he an amazing developer who made MANY contributions to this community, he treated people with respect and played well with others. He was a great example of what a developer and productive member of this community should be. If we want to keep this community moving forward not only do we talent but we need a mutual respect for one another. Reality dictates that we won't always get along. However, that doesn't mean we should stoop to such lows as to attack other peoples contributions or even worse, attack their character. If you don't have something nice to say then say nothing at all. If we have disputes address them privately. Respect is earned and something you have to give in order to get.

We have worked very hard to pick this community up and make it a better place for everyone. If we want this to continue we need to hold people to a higher standard. Support the people that SUPPORT this community not the one's that seem to want to derail it.. I also agree that ego can drive people to succeed. However, that doesn't mean that they have to run people down along the way. As a community we need to decide what direction we want to proceed in. I would LOVE for noobnl to be a productive member of this community but ego trips, bashing others contributions and/or character is NOT a price I'm willing to pay for it. You need to decide for yourself if your willing to pay that price. We are doing just fine on our own. We even have some new developers stepping up to fill the voids left by others. I find that very encouraging and we should foster and help grow this new talent.

Also, on an ironic side note, you mentioned this is a common trait among very skilled software developers. Many adults with Aspergers or high functioning Autism work in this field (not saying anything about noobnl as the behavior is much different) just seizing the opportunity to spread some awareness. Bill Gates is believed to an adult with Aspergers as well. Many researchers, IT people, software designers, scientists, engineers and even rocket scientists are comprised of adults with Autism more specifically, Aspergers. Many Autistic people gravitate to these fields and make MAJOR contributions to humanity. As gifted as they are in these fields though, they can be abrasive, very often lack people skills and often times misunderstood. They aren't mean, they just don't know how to appropriately interact with other people and are simply socially awkward. Just some food for thought ;)