But at the risk of having my programmer’s license revoked, I have to confess I don’t really care about version control systems. I mean, I think it’s important to use version control, but I don’t get all excited about the latest ideas in version control technology or the newest VCS on the block. It’s just a tool. It keeps versions of all my code, and allows me to revert to previous versions, see when and how things changed, and collaborate with other programmers working in the same codebase. Beyond that I don’t much care.

The tools don’t make the programmer.

What’s new with DVCS is the proponents seem to think they need to evangelize their system. Unfortunately they rather suck at it, and their arguments usually leave me feeling that I don’t want to use software used by such jerks, on account that it might make me into a jerk. Or at least a bigger one.

However, I do think that a DVCS can be a really useful tool so I’ve come up with some suggestions for those wanting to effectively evangelize their favorite version control system, or at least annoy me less when they talk.

1. Don’t be condescending or insulting

   I think it’s part of human nature — or at least programmer nature — to assume you’re the smartest guy in the room, and think that anyone who disagrees with you is a real buffon. Programmers seem to take great pleasure in showing that the other person is an idiot, or didn’t know something they did, or is at least not as clever as they are. A lot of arguments for git or Mercurial seem to revolve around explaining how git or Mercurial are so clearly superior that only morons would use something else.

   While this works great for rallying the troops, it’s counterproductive when trying to win someone over to your side.

   Think of it this way: suppose someone comes to your door to tell you about their religion. During the discussion they are self righteous and condescending; they don’t listen to your arguments, but are only interested in proving that they’re right. Are you likely to be swayed to believe in their religion? If you’re like the other hairless bipedal mammals inhabiting this planet you won’t be, even if they had some valid points.

   As soon as you become insulting or condescending, your arguments will be rejected out of hand. I know this will upset some programmers because they believe if you show your argument is superior, everyone will accept it. But that’s not the way people work.

2. Try to be helpful

   The best way to introduce someone to your DVCS is by trying to help them. Not in the “I have all the answers” way, but in the “I’ve dealt with that before, and here’s what I did” kind of way. People will run into the kinds of problems that DVCS are good at solving. When they do, you can helpfully suggest a solution.

   However, some care should be taken so the suggestion doesn’t come off the wrong way.

   Wrong	Right
   Dude, why are you using subversion?	I’ve run into that problem before. I solved it by using feature X of git/hg in this way.
   Dude, just use git/hg.	You smell nice.

   Be aware that people may not know where their pain points are. I’ve seen customers jump through some excruciating hoops to get a piece of software to do something when there was an easier way. People get used to pain and begin to assume it’s normal. If you notice something like that, even if they’re not complaining about it, you can politely suggest a better way.

   Instead of a list of features that a DVCS provides or abstract arguments as to why they should be using it, people respond better to concrete examples of how a piece of software can make their lives better. People are also more responsive when they know you’re on their side, trying to help them, even if they don’t — or currently can’t — take your suggestion. Keep in mind switching VCS in the middle of product cycle is likely something most people can’t do.

   The right attitude is that of trying to help a friend, not conquer an enemy.

3. Be willing to answer questions, even dumb ones

   Distributed version control works differently from centralized version control, and it does require a different way of thinking. I know I was confused by it when I first started looking into it. A lot of tutorials jump into the mechanics of how to perform certain tasks, but rarely talk about the philosophy of the system or why things are the way they are. If you want to successfully persuade people that your DVCS is the best then you need to be willing to do a lot of patient education.

   I say “patient” because after using centralized version control they might have difficulty switching over to a new mental model. Or they might have heard a lot of FUD about your DVCS that you need to put to rest. It’s important to do this patiently, respectfully, and not insultingly because they’ve picked up misinformation or don’t immediately “get it” like you do. Otherwise they might ignore your DVCS so they don’t have to deal with people who look down on them because they don’t “get it.”

4. Make it trivial to install and use

   This seems like a no brainer, but it is an important part of any software. If it’s hard to try out and use your DVCS, it simply won’t get used. I think that for the most part both git and Mercurial succeed in this respect. My only complaint is neither has a good Mac GUI client. Contrast that with Subversion which has both Versions and Cornerstone on the Mac. You shouldn’t underestimate the draw of an easy to use, beautiful GUI.

I think Joel Spolsky has given the best example of how to properly promote and evangelize a DVCS. He wrote a blog post — Distributed Version Control is here to stay, baby — about how he came to learn and use DVCS. It’s well written, and instead of condescending, he’s actually humble and admits he was wrong about DVCS to begin with. Joel also created a site called HgInit that does an amazing job of explaining the philosophy behind Mercurial and gives a solid introduction to right way to use it. It’s actually the site that convinced me to start using Mercurial for real.

If you would like to follow me, I’m macgeek02. I’ll update my contact page to contain my handle as well.

I still definitely have plans for more graphics articles, it will just take me a while to write and post them.

I’ve always assumed that when presenting code, I should use the the <code> tag. Unfortunately, the default formatting of this tag is indeterminate at best. From trial and error I’ve determined that it’s usually best to put each line of code in its own set of <code></code> tags, otherwise formatting gets really wonked. I’ve also found, depending on the CSS, I might have to put a <br> after each line of code, otherwise my nice, pretty function all ends up on one line.

And this completely ignores indented code. There seem to be a couple of ways to making indentation work. The first is to use the white-space: pre; CSS rule and make sure the tab characters are in the <code> tags. The second is to use the text-indent CSS attribute for each line of code I want to indent.

None of these options are easy or simple, which makes me think I’m doing something wrong. Are there are any web designers/HTML coders in the audience that know the proper way of doing this? Surely it’s not intended to be this painful.

The problem with formatting code on this blog has led me to the conclusion that I’m probably going to have to ditch my current WordPress theme. Sure it’s pretty, but it does float: right on my images with a rule that has high specificity, making it very difficult to not float my images to the right, which is what I usually want. It also has a fixed width, which doesn’t really mix well with my code examples, not to mention it doesn’t style the <code> tags well.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to to find an appropriate WordPress theme that will fit my needs. I’d really like a two column layout, with a fluid width, and, if it’s not too much to ask, decent <code> tag handling.

I had to visit the Bay Area twice before I found any place that was worth having. Not a great place, but I was really pressed for time and it had the least number of things wrong with it. I get to pay over twice what the same apartment would cost in Dallas for the privilege of being in great state of California. For a place that’s famous for people claiming you can’t own property, property sure does cost a lot there.

Anyway, with all the running around and whatnot, there hasn’t been that much time to blog. Now that I’m back in Dallas I have to finalize all the move details within the next two weeks, after which the movers arrive and move all my junk to an undisclosed, but highly expensive, location. It is doing wonders for my stress level. It’s a good thing I only move across the country every two years.

This is coupled with a new contract that finally started after literally two months of negotiation. The problem was the client’s lawyers got involved. In small companies, the client’s lawyers are on the same side as their client, because they’re not in-house and can be let go easily. In large companies, the lawyers are on neither our side nor the side of the client. Their side is the side in which nothing happens, therefore they cannot be blamed for it. Anyway, the contract is a week old and already a month behind. It’s gonna be fun, I can tell.

All this is to say I’m not going to posting for a while. At least until all this stupid move stuff calms down, which will probably won’t be until mid-April or so.

P.S. Is there anyone in the Dallas area who would like to buy a full size washer and dryer? I’ll sell them on cheap. It is apparently illegal in California to own such things. Some people smuggle in those stackable mini washer-dryer units that have the capacity of a small salad bowl, which is what the owner of the “condo” I’m renting has done.

Sunday nights are usually slow. But not this one. There was definitely a growth in traffic, and it appeared to be coming from Cocoa Dev Central. hmmm… that’s odd. Why would anyone over there link to me? Using my powerful investigative and deductive skills, I uncovered this (it was on the front page):

Oh my.

I have to admit my first reaction was: Why did they link to me? I mean, they should be linking to Wil Shipley or Daniel Jalkut, who actually write about Cocoa regularly, and have a great deal more experience with it than me. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to see the link, but I was worried that people would assume I was some sort of Cocoa master, or that I only wrote about Cocoa.

After a while I began to relax and realize that all the other blogs cover somewhat diverse topics as well, and that I had been covering Cocoa recently, in the form of Core Data. So I calmed down. Calm. Calm is good.

Then came today. I’m not sure if it was because Scott Stevenson announced the redesign of Cocoa Dev Central on his site or what, but I got an even bigger spike in traffic. Scott’s post also confirmed my suspicion that he was the one running Cocoa Dev Central. So, thank you Scott. I really appreciate the link.

…

I’m still in shock that I’m on the same list that includes Wil Shipley and John “Wolf” Rentzsch. Hopefully they’re not too offended about the whole thing.

I should also point out the other new addition to the Cocoa Dev Central blog roll: Cocoa Samurai by Colin Wheeler. He appears to be just as surprised as I am, albeit a bit more on topic with the whole Cocoa thing.

1. Pretend that you are expert of some kind, and write a blog entry on how to increase traffic to your blog. The fact that your girlfriend is the only one who reads your blog is immaterial.
2. Find a colorful, festive way to off yourself. In your will, nominate yourself for a Darwin Award. Be sure to include the URL to your blog in your nomination (you won’t believe how many people forget that part).
3. Attempt some sort of criminal activity in which you are embarrassingly foiled by someone who wears diapers. For example, being beaten senseless with dentures wielded by a 93 year old man in a wheelchair, whom you were trying to mug. When being put into the police car, yell out the URL for your blog. Fark will pick the story up immediately.
4. Per Wil Shipley, simply add the phrase “Kyle orton drunk”, and you will be rolling in hits.
5. In the late 90′s start a blog with an obscure, technical name. Post links to technical news, anime, and other geekery. Later, the unemployed and/or students who love Linux and not paying for stuff you might be advertising, will flock to your site and remove any value it might have had.
6. Create a blog with a name that’s a derivative of a curse word. Until you have actual content to put up, use a placeholder that is a picture of a squirrel with a peculiar glandular problem. Later, post links about criminals getting beaten up by 93 year olds in wheelchairs.
7. Read the hundreds of posts on how to increase traffic to your site, and determine that that’s too much work. Instead, write about what your cat, Mittens, threw up this morning. Despite the odds, cat lovers will flock to your site, eager to tell you how cute that is, and what their cat just left in the litter-box.
8. Browse over to Dave Barry’s blog to get ideas. Think, “I could have a much better haircut than that!” Scoff at his writing since he retired. Pretend that its your blog.
9. Find a way to insult Muslims and/or the Koran, such as drawing a cartoon. Have a well-known cleric declare a jihad on you. In a press release, mention your exact location will be posted daily on your blog. Watch the death threats, erm traffic, roll in.
10. Write an article on how this will be “The Year of Linux” and how much better it will be than Windows. Be sure to abbreviate Microsoft as M$ a lot. Post it where the unemployed and/or students can find it. Prepare to be slashdotted.

Some of these might even be legal in your state!

The first train of thought was actually pretty short. I was simply noticing the categories that I have in this blog, and how many posts of each kind I have. (Yes, I know I have a lot of spare time.) Even though I have several in the Christianity category, they’re all about the recent missions trip I was on. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it sent me down the path of “is that all God has done in my life recently?” I don’t think those few posts are very representative of what God has done for me. I began musing about what I could possibly write about. The problem is: I’m not a teacher, I’m not a pastor or even a deacon, I’ve never been to seminary or been ordained. I definitely don’t feel comfortable or qualified for writing essays about theology or philosophy. Not being a teacher or inspirational speaker, I don’t think I could write posts about uplifting stories or Bible studies or devotions. So what is it that I could do?

The second train of thought got started during one of my quiet times. I was thinking about evangelism, and how I could grow in that area. The missions trip was the only conscious effort I’ve had recently towards evangelism, and I wanted to change that. But being an introverted self-employed software engineer, I spend most of my time at home. Regular social activities usually involve Christian friends or people from church. I don’t meet that many non-Christian people because of this, so who am I to be a witness to?

That’s where these two trains bumped into each other. The easiest way to evangelize to people is to tell them what God has done for you. All I need to do is tell about how I’ve seen God working in my life. I can leave the teaching up to the experts. As far as to whom do I be a witness to, I can be witness to whomever reads this blog. I honestly don’t think there’s all that many people that ready this blog, but it is an audience, and its still probably larger than the number of people I talk to daily.

So from time to time I’m going to post about what God has done in my life. The first step is to post my testimony, which I’ve already done. I’m not sure how frequently I’ll end up posting, but I’m hoping with a certain regularity. If I’m feeling frisky, I’ll not only post what God has done for me, but what I learned from the experience and how I think it applies to my life. I’m hoping this forces me to be more aware and conscious of how God is moving in my life.

Or maybe its my engineering side wanting more toys.

I’ve also found that my “professional blog” isn’t being updated regularly. That’s why I started the second blog. The idea was I would keep “professional” ideas separate from my personal ones. But the more I’ve thought about it, the less sense that really makes. “Professional” posts will probably continue to be scarce, but that’s no reason to continue to isolate them in their own blog.

Whatever the reason, I’m going to playing around with this blog to see if it lives up to my expectations. I’ll probably start migrating the old entries over to this blog to see how they look.

The iWeb experiment is officially a failure.

It has a nice GUI and all, but it won’t let you do comments or anything remotely interesting.

Oh well.

Its all Elaine’s fault, as usual. I was going about my merry way when she starts pestering me that I haven’t posted to my blog recently. That’s why this atrocity was born.

I actually have another blog, Safe from the Losing Fight, but I haven’t posted to it in a while. Its mainly about professional endeavors and thoughts, and I’d like to keep it that way. I haven’t updated it recently because of various NDAs and just simple lack of time. Since I’d like it to be professional the posts there take longer to compose and edit than the simple “what I had for breakfast this morning…” posts.

I’m starting this blog for several reasons:

1. I have a new toy to play with (i.e. iWeb. A hint to those with engineers in their lives: If want something done, buy the engineer a toy that does said job. They still might not finish the job, but at least they’ll be happy for a while. And really, isn’t that the point? To make your engineer happy?)
2. A place to log thoughts that aren’t necessarily professional, well composed, logical, or human.
3. For the proud llamas. You know who you are.

As you might note, with some dismay no doubt, the name of this blog is even geekier than that of my “professional” geek blog. I’m quite proud of that. It just goes to show I’m even more of a dork in my personal life than in my professional. I try not to disappoint.