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On 28 March 2015 at 00:21, Sean Dague <sean at dague.net> wrote:
> On 03/26/2015 06:46 PM, Robert Collins wrote:
...
>> Once everything is covered, and we're dealing with commits that change
>> things async (via the job above), then we can talk about how to help
>> developers submit code using it in the first place.
>
> Honestly, is there a problem here that really needs to be solved? I've
> been a little confused about this thread because I thought we're all
> actively calling people out for nit picking irrelevant style issues.

These things aren't incompatible.

The benefit of consistent code formatting is fairly well documented -
we learn how to read code more quickly and efficiently if its
consistently presented (and research is ongoing into what presentation
forms work best, but thats a different discussion).

We've decided - and I think its clearly true - that we were spending a
lot of effort to achieve this consistency in presentation, and that
its benefits, while real, were not worth the costs - latency on code
landing, additional testing, frustration, and worst of all
back-and-forths on minutiae.

> I feel like building a large system to avoid not being human to each
> other as completely dysfunctional.

Thats really framing the discussion oddly.

I'd frame it like this: there is this thing that computer could do for
us (formatting code), which brings undisputed benefits, should we make
the computers do it.

We have three choices:
 - don't have the thing (or have it sporadically)
 - have the thing with human enforcement (ugh, no, and we've concluded
we're not willing to do it that way)
 - have it via automation (this discussion)

-Rob

-- 
Robert Collins <rbtcollins at hp.com>
Distinguished Technologist
HP Converged Cloud