Providing Feedback with Courtesy
I don't mind people giving us feedback on our products. I don't mind people making suggestions on how the software could be improved. I don't mind people pointing out glaring omissions, substantial flaws, bugs & crashes. I know our software has bugs, can & should be improved substantially. As Dave Winer puts it: "We make shitty software and we know it".
In fact, we rely on the feedback to provide a better product.
What I mind is the way in which feedback is provided - and 37signals post showed some of the ways. What I mind is the general attitude of somebody not involved with the development of some piece of software presuming to know that some things are trivial & absurd.
I don't talk about diplomacy - I talk about courtesy. That's something we should have learned from mom and dad back when we were kids. Courtesy doesn't come in the way of pointing flaws & bugs precisely. In fact, courtesy requires us to point out flaws & bugs precisely. Courtesy also doesn't hinder us from cursing at software developers, screaming, yelling, wonder about their stupidity or using a broad selection of four-letter words. As long as we're doing it while in a room all by ourself.
Courtesy is about treating others with the respect they deserve. Because we want to be treated the same.
I stand by my statement that it's the attitude and lack of courtesy I'm criticizing - I'm not talking about sympathy, I'm talking about courtesy. Real basic rules for human interaction.
Interesting enough, the more decoupled a communication gets (face-to-face vs. phone vs. e-mail) the more flames can be found in the communication going on.