Are Java Programmers Less Altruistic than Other Programmers?

[Skip Cole]

I have recently heard that Java Programmers are less altruistic than other programmers.
(It was also linked to Java Programmers generally working 12 hours a day so having less energy to be altruistic.)

Is this true?

I have been trying to kick off an open source java project for the US Institute of Peace now for over a year without any takers. Maybe I should rewrite it all in php?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Skip

[Bear Bibeault]

I love Boston Cream Pie -- even if it really isn't a "pie".

[Skip Cole]

"I'd call that a big yes."

[Bear Bibeault]

I'd call that a ridiculous generalization, just like all other generalizations.

[Skip Cole]

As the old saw goes, "All generalizations are false. Including this one."

Another common quote, by George Box, is that “All models are wrong, but some are useful.” If the reality is that Java programmers tend to be less altruistic, then that has to be taken into consideration when launching a large scale open source project.

I'm not saying its true, just trying to get some opinions. I'm a Java programmer myself and I have donated thousands and thousands of hours toward open source. (Read 'donated' - not paid work.)

Hope I didn't touch a nerve here.

[marc weber]

Bear Bibeault wrote:I love Boston Cream Pie -- even if it really isn't a "pie"...

Me too. And if there's Cool-Whip involved, then I might be inclined to refactor. Either way, coffee is a must.

On the other hand, I like Hostess Sno-Balls too.

[David Newton]

On the other hand, I like Hostess Sno-Balls too.

Especially the holiday ones.

Mmm, green.

[Henry Wong]

I remember seeing a call for developers, for open source projects, in the job offered forum. It was clear that it would be unpaid. And there seems to be tons of people signing on, within hours of the posting request.

If you can't find anyone after a year, maybe you are doing something wrong. Perhaps you can give us a link to the open source project that you are referring to?

Henry

[Vikas Kapoor]

Irrespective of question you might get PIE as an answer. Can somebody tell me the humor part behind that so that I can also enjoy.

[Andrew Monkhouse]

Yeah, can you imagine the hundreds of thousands of hours that would go into making robust forum software capable of handling nearly 200,000 users and half a million topics with well over 2 million posts. And then try to imagine teams of people working on it for free in Java?

Oh wait

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Vishal Pandya wrote:Irrespective of question you might get PIE as an answer. Can somebody tell me the humor part behind that so that I can also enjoy.

Paul likes pie. Pie is fun and yummy .

As far as the question goes, this site is run by volunteers. What do you think?

[David Newton]

I agree with Bear: while not technically a pie, Boston Cream Pie is *really* good.

I'm not a fan of coffee, however.

[Skip Cole]

How can anyone not like coffee?

It is baffling.

[Skip Cole]

Henry Wong wrote:I remember seeing a call for developers, for open source projects, in the job offered forum. It was clear that it would be unpaid. And there seems to be tons of people signing on, within hours of the posting request.

Thanks for mentioning that. I will have to try it.

Henry Wong wrote:
If you can't find anyone after a year, maybe you are doing something wrong. Perhaps you can give us a link to the open source project that you are referring to?

Henry

http://www.opensimplatform.org/

(see also http://docs.opensimplatform.org)

I work for the United States Institute of Peace, and currently I'm trying to an 'official' blog set up on our institute's main site. But the site above does have links to our mailing lists, google code base, etc.

[Steve Luke]

Bear Bibeault wrote:I love Boston Cream Pie -- even if it really isn't a "pie".

My favorite Pie :-)

I recently went on a 4-day canoe trip (down the Delaware River in NY/NJ/PA). I brought along a frozen Boston Cream Pie for first night's dessert (I know, hard life canoe/camping :-). But despite it being buried in ice it thawed and was a chocolate-covered mush by the time we got off the river. Devastating. Ruined the trip.

[Bear Bibeault]

Just eat it with a spoon!

[Skip Cole]

You know, this 'meaningless drivel' forum has been here for a while.

No one has discussed these pie issues before?

What are the central pie issues and tactics? How do we divide the pie 'space' and begin to understand it?

I know this is meaningless drivel, but if we don't approach it with the same intensity and focus that we approach life, aren't we doing it a disservice?

And BTW, Blueberry Pie Rules!

[Bear Bibeault]

Speaking from a producer's view, Blueberry Pie is problematic. Getting the filling to set up properly is a tight-rope between a soupy mess, and a jiggling jelly-like texture more appropriate for ballistics tests than eating.

Now custard pie! There's a kitchen geek's dream pie.

[Jesper de Jong]

Now that's a truly meaningless question. Fits well in the "Meaningless Drivel" forum.

You could just as well have asked "I recently read that Java programmers prefer to drive in blue cars. Is that true? I know it's a generalization, but I still want to hear your opinion about it.".

Even if people will give their opinions here, the subject will still be a ridiculous generalization and people's opinions aren't going to lead to any meaningful conclusion.

[Joe Ess]

Henry Wong wrote:
If you can't find anyone after a year, maybe you are doing something wrong.

I concur. You go to the official blog page and there are no posts. Heck, it looks like the first post was a month ago. There's links to a mailing list, but no mailing list archives or forums to browse. If I were looking for a simulation platform, this would not inspire me with confidence.
How am I supposed to find your project? Googling for "java open simulation" didn't find it in the first few pages. Again, does not bode well.
There's all manner of successful Java open-source projects that I use every day: JEdit, Tomcat, Ant, The Grinder to name a few. What makes them different?
What have you done to get the message out? Pointing the blame at the community is no way to get people to lend a hand.

[Frank Silbermann]

David Newton wrote:I agree with Bear: while not technically a pie, Boston Cream Pie is *really* good.

I'm not a fan of coffee, however.

Was he referencing a Dilbert cartoon? I don't remember the joke, but the punchline was the pointy-haired boss sitting at his desk thinking, "I like pie."

[Skip Cole]

Bear Bibeault wrote:Speaking from a producer's view, Blueberry Pie is problematic. Getting the filling to set up properly is a tight-rope between a soupy mess, and a jiggling jelly-like texture more appropriate for ballistics tests than eating.

You know, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
I like blueberry pie, and I'm willing to shell out 15 bucks to get a really good one :-)

[Skip Cole]

Joe Ess wrote:
I concur. You go to the official blog page and there are no posts. Heck, it looks like the first post was a month ago. There's links to a mailing list, but no mailing list archives or forums to browse. If I were looking for a simulation platform, this would not inspire me with confidence.
How am I supposed to find your project? Googling for "java open simulation" didn't find it in the first few pages. Again, does not bode well.
There's all manner of successful Java open-source projects that I use every day: JEdit, Tomcat, Ant, The Grinder to name a few. What makes them different?
What have you done to get the message out? Pointing the blame at the community is no way to get people to lend a hand.

Hi Joe,

We used to have many blog posts there, but then my organization came out with a 'blog policy' so I put them into pending until I get the 'official' blog set up.
I work for the United States Institute of Peace . Its a great organization, but like any governmental organization, people like to have all of their ducks in a row before they do things. I think we are breaking new ground here in having a US government organization initiate and host an open source project**. So please cut us a little bit of slack

I didn't mean to be pointing the blame at the community, just looking to find out more information to help us move this thing forward. I really do appreciate your feedback and will incorporate all of your good advice as soon as possible.

Sincerely,
Skip
** Thinking about this, I guess it could have happened and I just don't know about it. If you do know about it, please do let me know.