Comment by TZubiri
3 days ago
>>please let us know so we can uninstall and fork
>Sorry, these are not statements we can work with. Doing such threats and trying to intimidate it not going to bring you anywhere. If you want to do a
just wanted to add an outsider perspective here, not trying to add wood to the fire
but i don’t think it’s inappropriate or ‘a threat’ to let the dev know the user can stop using the software.
Is it inappropriate? Not really. Is it a threat? Yeah, it really is. “I’m going to stop using your software if you don’t change this” is a threat. “I’m going to fork it and ship a competing product” is a stronger threat.
It was a clear attempt to sway with intimidation. It was done politely but that doesn’t change what it was. (The dev had already closed as won’t fix, too, so they had preemptively answered.)
“hey, X is a dealbreaker for me, if this is not fixed please let me know so I can look for someone else”
“how dare you threaten me?”
I understand how one might feel attacked by an ultimatum, but a policy of rejecting ultimatums altogether only has the benefit of keeping pride intact, on the other hand it discourages people in your life from giving you a last chance, from communicating why they are leaving, and for letting them come back if the parting was amicable
best response is to just communicate you are not fixing X and parting ways amicably, no hard feelings. not only is it beneficial for the ultimated party, but it’s fair for the ultimating party, who is absolutely in their own right to rescind their voluntary relationship, in no way is it a threat to communicate that possibility, because a threat implies violence or damage.
An ultimatum is a threat. That’s literally the definition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimatum
Again, I did not say the threat in this case was inappropriate. It’s totally legitimate to say “this doesn’t work for me; change it or I’m out”. But it is a threat. We should be honest with what we are doing. If nothing else it makes it easier to understand (and predict) a defensive reaction when we understand and acknowledge a threat is being delivered.
13 replies →
> best response is to just communicate you are not fixing X
You mean the response that was already written in a previous message and the response user decided to ignore so they can pester more?
Is “I won’t buy this car if you don’t give me a discount” a threat too?
It is not a threat to pass along an intention of performing a non-harmful action.
Let me add some more double negatives in there.... It's not not a threat to not keep quiet about intention to not not cause pain to another person.
Sure. The threat here is the loss of the sale.
I don’t really care though. Call it whatever you want.
1 reply →
How is "_I really like your software but I the way X is solved bothers me, so I'm going to modify it thanks to your prior permission_" a threat?
"a competing product", perhaps for these pissed with the deb's human skills or those who want to use it in the unique environment he refuses them to adapt them to, contrary to his own licence?
No, seriously, intimidation? "Your position is untenable for us, we'll find another way forward" is a "let's agree to disagree", not more.
I responded to 100% of this in the thread.
You can disagree with my view on the situation, that’s fine. But I will decline to re-argue every point for you.
It is not a threat.
Threatening is expressing an intention to cause pain or harm.
This is not that.
Posting the same narrow definition 6 times doesn’t make it true. In one of your many replies you cite dictionary.com. This is the top definition on dictionary.com when I load it:
a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, etc., in retaliation for, or conditionally upon, some action or course.
But you do you.
1 reply →