I swear I am stopping as I am contributing to the dilution of the topic, but:
What's there to understand about it? I ANAL. That's it.
My on-topic tl;dr, completely ignoring how I feel about trying to find Soarer or at least figure out what happened to him:ifohancroft wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:31I just wrote a reply that somehow didn't get posted.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:12I really don't see the problem with just reposting his publicly available views (which blatantly attack and disrespect a large amount of people, and this is just one of the many insane posts going after different marginalized groups). But if you really want something a bit more on topic, here's how he handled an open-source group project: https://invisible-island.net/ncurses/nc ... cense.htmlifohancroft wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 14:48
I don't wanna get into this but I feel like this needs to be said:
I may not agree with some of Eric's views (which for all we know, he may not even hold anymore), but you are the one here personally attacking people.
Stay far away from this guy.
Anyway, I was saying:
I guess I felt like you weren't being on topic and resorting to personal attacks instead of taking the time to argument yourself on why do you feel like it's not worth it or that it is a bad idea.
Anyway, for me, it's not just about the code (or even primarily). Many of us want to find out what happened and make sure (and hope) that he is ok. Finding a way to reach out is the best way to do that. Reaching out anyway, I don't see harm asking if we can use/modify/release the code. Just modifying and releasing it as it is and hoping it won't bite us in the ass for not doing it legally is a bad idea, but at the same time preserving his work and sharing it with others is a way to honour him. As for why his code and not something else - I feel like Muirium explained it well.
I'm still waiting for Round 7, my Spherical Buckling Spring key caps, my Model MF, and my new Beamspring keyboard.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:37Just wait a few weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK and Via/Vial converters. Will be even easier to configure than Soarer's, as well as be open-source, actually maintained, and the creater has not (and hopefully will not) ghost the project.
I am excited about Shallot's project and I was excited to find out about Vial (although I must say I was surprised they forked QMK instead of contributing to the project, but I have no way to know what's happening behind the scenes and maybe they tried to contribute and there was a disagreement that led to the fork) and I am waiting patiently for it. Regardless, I still feel it's worth it preserving Soarer's work and I would like to know what happened to him (once again, I'm hoping he's alive and well)kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:37My on-topic tl;dr, completely ignoring how I feel about trying to find Soarer or at least figure out what happened to him:ifohancroft wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:31I just wrote a reply that somehow didn't get posted.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:12
I really don't see the problem with just reposting his publicly available views (which blatantly attack and disrespect a large amount of people, and this is just one of the many insane posts going after different marginalized groups). But if you really want something a bit more on topic, here's how he handled an open-source group project: https://invisible-island.net/ncurses/nc ... cense.html
Stay far away from this guy.
Anyway, I was saying:
I guess I felt like you weren't being on topic and resorting to personal attacks instead of taking the time to argument yourself on why do you feel like it's not worth it or that it is a bad idea.
Anyway, for me, it's not just about the code (or even primarily). Many of us want to find out what happened and make sure (and hope) that he is ok. Finding a way to reach out is the best way to do that. Reaching out anyway, I don't see harm asking if we can use/modify/release the code. Just modifying and releasing it as it is and hoping it won't bite us in the ass for not doing it legally is a bad idea, but at the same time preserving his work and sharing it with others is a way to honour him. As for why his code and not something else - I feel like Muirium explained it well.
Just wait a few weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK and Via/Vial converters. Will be even easier to configure than Soarer's, as well as be open-source, actually maintained, and the creater has not (and hopefully will not) ghost the project.
I've been looking hard at QMK for my project. I'm no newbie to programming, even in the embedded environment (I made my living doing embedded systems C for several years). And I'm reasonably sure that making an M122 controller version of QMK will be straightforward, even though it's not a matter of dropping in source files here and there. I'm even thinking of doing the work needed to move it to the Teensy 3.5 and off of the Teensy 2.0++ platform, since the latter's going away some time this year. (My project needs 28 I/O lines, and the 3.5 seems the best answer for that.)kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:30If this thread has taught me anything, a large amount of the praise for Soarer's firmware is people stuck in their ways and who don't want to spend 10 minutes learning how to write a macro in QMK. Soarer's is far from bad, but QMK is much more powerful, open-source, actually maintained in 2021, etc etc etc.
I've known Eric for 30 years or so. I know what he thinks and believes, and how he gets to where he is. Rather than drag this thread even farther off into the weeds by debating real-world politics, I will simply repeat myself: Show us the code. What have you done for the well-being of open source and the users of open source software?kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:33You can go ahead and cry "cancel culture" for my disdain of someone's disgustingly racist, misogynist, and homophobic views, and you can dismiss them as "irrelevant political views" (they aren't), but if you do that I strongly suggest you read the ncurses link I posted in a previous reply and see how he can't even handle an open-source project maturely (which is precisely what he wants to do here!)
Be patient then. This is someone I know personally who is nearing completion and is actually motivated to finish. Skepticism is always good but it seems all the half-baked projects on this forum have made people expect unfinished crap.XMIT wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:40I'll believe it when I see it.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:37Just wait a few weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK and Via/Vial converters. Will be even easier to configure than Soarer's, as well as be open-source, actually maintained, and the creater has not (and hopefully will not) ghost the project.
I use both, and Soarer is quite different in its approach to QMK (as Muirim noted), making very easy to do some stuff that are mildly difficult in the latter. "Being stuck in one's ways" isn't a good argument here (as would be refusing to migrate from VisiCalc or Quattro to Excel). Also, getting Soarer back on track, and add the few features it does lack, would negate the "actually maintained in 2021" argument and diminish the "much more powerful" one.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:30If this thread has taught me anything, a large amount of the praise for Soarer's firmware is people stuck in their ways and who don't want to spend 10 minutes learning how to write a macro in QMK. Soarer's is far from bad, but QMK is much more powerful, open-source, actually maintained in 2021, etc etc etc.depletedvespene wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:22ALSO: "mediocre firmware"? That's probably why is it still so highly valued, despite its latest build being 7 years old, and the name/handle of its author still spoken of in high regard.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:14
Going after information sent in private messages and trying to contact his friends/family, getting lawyers involved, etc just so you can reverse-engineer some mediocre converter firmware is not respectful or "keeping the project alive" lmao, especially as we have no way of knowing he died or something. It's very, very possible he intentionally logged out of everything and cut all contact, yet clearly nobody here accepts or respects that.
I suggest you reread my comment as well as this thread: https://invisible-island.net/ncurses/nc ... cense.htmljmaynard wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:45I've known Eric for 30 years or so. I know what he thinks and believes, and how he gets to where he is. Rather than drag this thread even farther off into the weeds by debating real-world politics, I will simply repeat myself: Show us the code. What have you done for the well-being of open source and the users of open source software?kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:33You can go ahead and cry "cancel culture" for my disdain of someone's disgustingly racist, misogynist, and homophobic views, and you can dismiss them as "irrelevant political views" (they aren't), but if you do that I strongly suggest you read the ncurses link I posted in a previous reply and see how he can't even handle an open-source project maturely (which is precisely what he wants to do here!)
Fair. It is very different, but imo it is not objectively superior, especially if you're using QMK with Via or Vial instead of QMK alone which makes reprogramming macros and layouts even easier than Soarer's.depletedvespene wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:56I use both, and Soarer is quite different in its approach to QMK (as Muirim noted), making very easy to do some stuff that are mildly difficult in the latter. "Being stuck in one's ways" isn't a good argument here (as would be refusing to migrate from VisiCalc or Quattro to Excel). Also, getting Soarer back on track, and add the few features it does lack, would negate the "actually maintained in 2021" argument and diminish the "much more powerful" one.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:30If this thread has taught me anything, a large amount of the praise for Soarer's firmware is people stuck in their ways and who don't want to spend 10 minutes learning how to write a macro in QMK. Soarer's is far from bad, but QMK is much more powerful, open-source, actually maintained in 2021, etc etc etc.depletedvespene wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:22
ALSO: "mediocre firmware"? That's probably why is it still so highly valued, despite its latest build being 7 years old, and the name/handle of its author still spoken of in high regard.
I have a prototype of the ADB portion of the converter in hand right now. High quality, cheap, and overall very well done indeed. I think the only thing stopping Shallot would be sudden death, Soarer-style.XMIT wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:40I'm still waiting for Round 7, my Spherical Buckling Spring key caps, my Model MF, and my new Beamspring keyboard.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:37Just wait a few weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK and Via/Vial converters. Will be even easier to configure than Soarer's, as well as be open-source, actually maintained, and the creater has not (and hopefully will not) ghost the project.
The halls of this forum are littered with the bodies of half done projects.
I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, having explicitly open terms for Soarer's Converter makes it more attractive for me to use in my projects. If and when Shallot delivers, I can look into that as an option as well.
I don't see why these two need to be at odds with one another? A rising tide, after all.
Yup. It'll be done Real Soon Now(tm).kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:02just wait a couple weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK/Via/Vial converters
That definition is rather lacking, as the malicious intent is not a "typical" but a fundamental part of it.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:03This is LITERALLY the definition of doxxing. Unbelievable.
Screenshot_20210527_100314.png
I feel like at this point I helped dilute the topic too much but also at this point I think the topic is near its end and has served its purpose, so:headphone_jack wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:04I have a prototype of the ADB portion of the converter in hand right now. High quality, cheap, and overall very well done indeed. I think the only thing stopping Shallot would be sudden death, Soarer-style.XMIT wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:40I'm still waiting for Round 7, my Spherical Buckling Spring key caps, my Model MF, and my new Beamspring keyboard.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:37Just wait a few weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK and Via/Vial converters. Will be even easier to configure than Soarer's, as well as be open-source, actually maintained, and the creater has not (and hopefully will not) ghost the project.
The halls of this forum are littered with the bodies of half done projects.
I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, having explicitly open terms for Soarer's Converter makes it more attractive for me to use in my projects. If and when Shallot delivers, I can look into that as an option as well.
I don't see why these two need to be at odds with one another? A rising tide, after all.
For real though, the entire idea is akin to the Star Wars sequels. Instead of beating the shit out of a dead horse for no reason, why not create something new and better that is inspired by the original? Especially when the former involves doxxing someone who, as far as we know, very clearly does not want to be a part of this community anymore. Trust me, if you go through with this, you *will* get sued, and I *will* laugh at you when you do.
None of this is necessary. Either he's dead or he doesn't care. In my opinion (fuck legal precedent) doxxing somebody is worse than reverse engineering something they freely distributed.esr wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:43This is not doxxing, as nobody intends any harm to Soarer or his reputation and the facts create what lawyers call a rebuttable presumption that he is dead. Rather, we wish to honor him and carry forward his work I think it is vanishingly unlikely his heirs will say anything other than "carry on, he clearly would have wanted it that way". But, as I keep pointing out, establishing a public record that demonstrates we tried to do the right thing is the best protection we can have against legal trouble over the decompiled code.
...
I'm prepared to do the work required to verify Soarer's death; I have an attorney who can write the sorts of legal instruments that might be required. But I'm presently blocked from proceeding further. People who knew Soarer's meatspace identity and decompiled his code need to step up and do their part.
So you've known esr forever and you just happened to make your account 3 days ago? What a coincidence.jmaynard wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:45I've known Eric for 30 years or so. I know what he thinks and believes, and how he gets to where he is. Rather than drag this thread even farther off into the weeds by debating real-world politics, I will simply repeat myself: Show us the code. What have you done for the well-being of open source and the users of open source software?
I'll later tell you about the, by far, most infuriating aspect of my 9-to-5 job.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:02…
My point is that it is far, far more work (never mind the morality of reverse engineering someone's code who might be dead)
"Shoehorn" or "add elegantly"? We can't know just yet. It could be that the source code is a total mess that needs to be redone from scratch, or that is elegantly designed and full of future-proofing and feature-hooks (we... I don't know).kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:02… to try and get the source for Soarer's and shoehorn more features into it than it is to just wait a couple weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK/Via/Vial converters (or hell even build new firmware from the ground up, but I think that is equally wasteful as this Soarer's thing).
You are completely ignoring what I'm saying and being extremely pessimistic about Shallot's project when you have absolutely no info about it. This is someone I speak to on a daily basis and have helped with the converters themselves. I know they are nearing completion and I guarantee they will be ready for market in a couple weeks.jmaynard wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:05Yup. It'll be done Real Soon Now(tm).kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:02just wait a couple weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK/Via/Vial converters
Really, why are you trying to squash competition? In the world of open source software more is better.
Then what do you consider posting someone's full, legal name and home address on a public forum without their permission?depletedvespene wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:06That definition is rather lacking, as the malicious intent is not a "typical" but a fundamental part of it.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:03This is LITERALLY the definition of doxxing. Unbelievable.
Screenshot_20210527_100314.png
Yeah, that first part is true. But I highly doubt it will be more elegant of an integration than what Shallot has done with their converters.depletedvespene wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:11"Shoehorn" or "add elegantly"? We can't know just yet. It could be that the source code is a total mess that needs to be redone from scratch, or that is elegantly designed and full of future-proofing and feature-hooks (we... I don't know).
And perhaps some people would prefer a revived Soarer's Converter over a "yet another QMK wrapper" whose quality is still unknown (although a couple pointers in this thread do suggest what it actually is).
For what it's worth, even I feel that way, and I never knew Soarer when he was active here.ifohancroft wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:31[Many of us want to find out what happened and make sure (and hope) that he is ok.
Mind reader much? That's certainly a possibility. It's also a possibility that Soarer would be here today if he hadn't gotten hit by a London bus (or however he might have met an untimely demise). We don't know and won't until we find out what happened to him.headphone_jack wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:04involves doxxing someone who, as far as we know, very clearly does not want to be a part of this community anymore
Are you a lawyer? I can tell you with 100% certainty that there *is* one intimately involved in this effort.Trust me, if you go through with this, you *will* get sued, and I *will* laugh at you when you do.
You may not be interested in legal precedent, but legal precedent is interested in you. In particular, that they freely distributed the binary is not in and of itself sufficient to prove they intended to freely distribute the source, or that any source reverse engineered from those binaries should be freely distributed.
I came here 3 days ago to put in my two cents on the video script. Then I realized there was relevant expertise on my current project. Then this started up, with plenty of irrelevant Eric-bashing, and friends stick up for other friends.So you've known esr forever and you just happened to make your account 3 days ago? What a coincidence.
Don't get me wrong. If Shallot does produce a usable project, that will be great, and I will happily support his endeavor.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:11You are completely ignoring what I'm saying and being extremely pessimistic about Shallot's project when you have absolutely no info about it. This is someone I speak to on a daily basis and have helped with the converters themselves. I know they are nearing completion and I guarantee they will be ready for market in a couple weeks.
It is not for you to decide whether a project is so ridiculous that nobody should expend effort on it. After all, it was objectively ridiculous for a Finnish college student to reinvent Unix from scratch just to learn about a task descriptor.Also, this is not "squashing competition". This proposed project is ridiculous and I find it disgusting how many people here openly support doxxing someone who might be dead and harassing their friends and family for source code that may not even exist anymore.
Let us all remember that the general knowledge over here on DT is that we don't know what happened to Soarer. Therefore, we can NOT claim either that he "very clearly does not want to be a part of this community anymore" or that he "died unexpectedly, and his last words were «Oh, my, who will take care of my lifetime achievement, my converter, now?»".headphone_jack wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:04… Especially when the former involves doxxing someone who, as far as we know, very clearly does not want to be a part of this community anymore. Trust me, if you go through with this, you *will* get sued, and I *will* laugh at you when you do.
I can't believe it, this is ridiculous. Imagine the poor guy did die unexpectedly or intentionally left the community and you just go ahead and doxx his widow's/family's address. What the fuck. Who do you think you are? This is about a goddamn keyboard converter, don't forget that.
As many people have said in this thread, prototypes for various protocols are in the hands of several people. I am concomitantly releasing the software and physical hardware, because there are plenty of people in this hobby that like to scalp people on what should be a cheap bit of hardware and I don't particularly like the idea of people subverting the purpose of my work (cheap, modern, dynamically remappable and Good converters) by flashing it onto their $40 overpriced garbage before the alternative hardware is available.jmaynard wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:05Yup. It'll be done Real Soon Now(tm).kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:02just wait a couple weeks for Shallot to finish their QMK/Via/Vial converters
Really, why are you trying to squash competition? In the world of open source software more is better.
Case in point re: dinosaur thinking. Not all developers are men. Of course, your mate thinks me and my fellow vagowners are out to pin him on sexual harassment suits, so I'm kind of not surprised you'd make this kind of assumption.Don't get me wrong. If Shallot does produce a usable project, that will be great, and I will happily support his endeavor.
Same (I also don't know him besides from his work and message history, as he has already left by the time I have joined, but he seems to be a cool dude and I feel we owe it to him to honour his work and share it with others.)esr wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:17For what it's worth, even I feel that way, and I never knew Soarer when he was active here.ifohancroft wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 15:31[Many of us want to find out what happened and make sure (and hope) that he is ok.
I only know him through his work and his message history, but I think he was a good man whose memory should be honored. I think we will honor it best by carrying his work forward. It's not in my skillset to do that directly, I'm not enough of an embedded-systems programmer to lead the coding, but I'd like to enable it for others who are qualified.
And if Soarer is found alive, I will join in the celebration.
Well, was it done with malicious intent? (in today's day and age, it can be safely presumed so, unless there is evidence to the contrary). Also, if it came to having to identify Soarer, does that NEED to be done in a public forum? And, heck, given that IANAL, I also wonder: does that information NEED to be non-sealed in whatever filing to the court is made?kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:12Then what do you consider posting someone's full, legal name and home address on a public forum without their permission?depletedvespene wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:06That definition is rather lacking, as the malicious intent is not a "typical" but a fundamental part of it.kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑27 May 2021, 16:03
This is LITERALLY the definition of doxxing. Unbelievable.
Screenshot_20210527_100314.png