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Thank u, next

words.steveklabnik.com

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Re: Thank u, next

#11

Post by steveklabnik »

nindalf wrote: post #6

I'm surprised and disappointed to learn that Mozilla didn't value Steve's work enough. The documentation, especially the book [1] which he authored, is the gold standard that every software project should aspire to. As someone who learned the language recently, it's possible that I might have abandoned it if the documentation and learning materials hadn't been so good. I also thought his work in evangelizing Rust on…

Thanks! To be clear, the doc work was my job, but the evangelizing wasn't.

I plan on continuing both, as much as time allows.

Re: Thank u, next

#12

Post by steveklabnik »

Xophmeister wrote: post #10

I'd be interested to know more about what disenchanted him -- if he's willing/able to share, of course -- from Mozilla, besides what he briefly mentioned regarding pay and opportunity. I can understand the need to move on from a position that is no longer of interest, but are there "political" reasons? He hints at incidents, for example.

I don't think it's particularly professional to get into more detail than I did in my post, as much as I'd like to. As the saying goes, there are three sides to every story. I'd rather focus on the future.

Re: Thank u, next

#13

Post by steveklabnik »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #9
mylons wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think the point he's making in that post is he does have the time, and more importantly the passion and will to do so. the compensation he was receiving for having to work at a large org wasn't fair, and that's why he's changing directions.

Are there companies (outside of Mozilla) that would hire (or at least pay) someone like that to keep working on Rust and its documentation? These people are too important to not pay enough. I know it's perceived to be the price you pay if you work for a foundation like Mozilla (or open source software), but it's not fair. I've seen a guy who worked full time on open source have a Patreon, which had a few big sponsors…

There are a few companies who give some of their employees paid time to contribute to the parts of Rust that matter to them. As a team, we've been trying to figure out how to increase that number. We'll see!

Re: Thank u, next

#14

Post by mindcrime »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #8
nailer wrote: post #4

> A company that thinks they can take webassembly (and their product built on it) to the next level Epic? Unreal Engine was one of the first 3D engines with WASM output, and if you thought you'd never work at a payments company and loved it, you might enjoy gamedev (or gamedevdev in this case). Also Raleigh NC is a nice place to live.

Raleigh’s nice. I grew up and went to school in Raleigh. It’s not nice enough to move cross country.

I dunno. Last I checked Raleigh was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. And I doubt all of those people are coming from the rest of the East Coast. I'm pretty sure at least a handful of people are, indeed, moving cross country to relocate here.

Re: Thank u, next

#15

Post by Touche »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #9
mylons wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think the point he's making in that post is he does have the time, and more importantly the passion and will to do so. the compensation he was receiving for having to work at a large org wasn't fair, and that's why he's changing directions.

Are there companies (outside of Mozilla) that would hire (or at least pay) someone like that to keep working on Rust and its documentation? These people are too important to not pay enough. I know it's perceived to be the price you pay if you work for a foundation like Mozilla (or open source software), but it's not fair. I've seen a guy who worked full time on open source have a Patreon, which had a few big sponsors…

There are a few, but by in large, no. You have to have a company where OSS is part of the business model to some degree.

For most companies, the proposition for open source is that you get something of value for (almost) free. If you start paying someone to work on that thing the equation becomes more complicated. Now you are competing with 1) A different flavor of free (another project) and 2) Non-free but with an SLA that you can count on.

Re: Thank u, next

#17

Post by strict9 »

nailer wrote: post #4

> A company that thinks they can take webassembly (and their product built on it) to the next level Epic? Unreal Engine was one of the first 3D engines with WASM output, and if you thought you'd never work at a payments company and loved it, you might enjoy gamedev (or gamedevdev in this case). Also Raleigh NC is a nice place to live.

Raleigh is great and is absolutely worth moving across the country for. Low cost of living, significant cultural capital, and very easy access to both the beach and mountains.

It's ideally located to live in a nice house, have a great job in software, and not die of boredom. Plus there's a lot happening in tech in nearby Durham.

Only complaint (and why I left) is that the region lacks good public transit. Having a car is pretty much a requirement.

Re: Thank u, next

#18

Post by steveklabnik »

blub wrote: post #5

Mozilla sounds like your average PHB-led corporation. This is also one of the reasons I'm skeptical about Rust, since Mozilla is the backbone of Rust development. They don't strike me as an organisation that can shepherd a programming language long term and with their market share taking a nose dive they're bound to get even more desperate and cut non-essential projects or make new data-sharing partnerships. Anyways,…

Mozilla doesn't really "shepherd" Rust development. We've constructed the Rust project so that Mozilla cannot control it; decisions are made via consensus, and Mozilla employees make up ~10% of the overall Rust team. There's never been some sort of mandate to do something specific with Rust from upon high, and I don't expect there to ever be. If they tried, it wouldn't work!

Re: Thank u, next

#20

Post by rl3 »

In my opinion Steve's efforts have been nothing short of herculean, proving invaluable to Rust. If Mozilla can't recognize this, then that is a tragedy.

Interacting with him on HN has been nothing short of a pleasure.

Best of luck wherever you go, Steve!

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