free software resistance

 the cost of computing freedom is eternal vigilance

### project-management-and-mistakes *originally posted:* jan 2025 i dont pretend to know a lot about project management, but that doesnt mean i dont have thoughts about it. when you manage a project, you want to help avoid mistakes- particularly you want to help avoid mistakes that will be catastrophic to users, or to the project itself. most mistakes will be smaller than that, and you can help with those too. you can save time for both the project and the people working on it, if you can help streamline the process of finding problems and fixing them. but one of the most important things you can do is include and enable other developers, as a vital part of that process. when you let people make mistakes, you give them the opportunity to fix them and stay in the practice of fixing them. when you let people make mistakes and discover and fix them, you allow them to grow in both confidence and competence. while overconfidence isnt often a virtue, the confidence needed to fix things and know that things can be fixed is important. competence is built over time and practice, and isnt something you want people to lose the need for. when you let people make mistakes, you dont just let them share in the credit for mistakes- you let them share in the credit for the things they do right. a monopoly on fixing mistakes can easily turn into a monopoly on credit for things that are done right. that sort of attitude is present in so many managers, and project managers are not immune to this. and when you let people make mistakes, when you let them share in the process of fixing mistakes, it also increases your own competence as a project manager. when you dont teach people to rely on you to find and fix every mistake, the number of people attacking each problem increases. and now there is a much greater possibility that when youre the one making a mistake, that someone else can catch it and fix it for you- before it becomes a more significant problem. the ability of your team increases with experience, and it makes you look like a better manager- as youre doing a better job at project management, which will (by definition) show in your team doing better. license: 0-clause bsd ``` # 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 # # Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any # purpose with or without fee is hereby granted. # # THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES # WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF # MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR # ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES # WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN # ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF # OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. ``` => https://freesoftwareresistance.neocities.org