Ah! This is just like old times!
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Thanks for the update and great to hear that the PARSEC paper getâs a formal review process.
Iâm sorry to bring this up again but I still feel a bit lost regarding the scope and relative progress of Fleming.
In one of the last discussions David said, that all of the items (except SOLID) on the .tech timeline are âdoneâ. He went on saying that the last big thing is Network upgrades. Now Iâm confused by two things:
- Why are they still in the âNextâ section instead of being ticked off?
- The current update mentions node aging. This isnât mentioned at all in the timeline. Should it be added?
It would be really cool if you could provide a rough overview which mandatory components of FLEMING still need development / integration work and which are still in concept phase.
I think this would help outsiders a great deal in understanding the current state and manage expectations accordingly.
EDIT:
Just to clarify, Iâm not expecting any timelines or anything. Just a rough overview about the components and their current state. As it also concerns the website/communication, maybe @dugcampbell? Many thanks in advance!
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Thanks for saying my feedback may be useful, appreciated. Perhaps the delivery wasnât the best but it was my honesty. It wasnât retaliatory at all. It was through talking to Maidsafe that I was made to understand that Maidsafe only wanted to put professional material out there. As I said my rejection was disappointing but justifiable, I moved on and continued other projects with community members. When I saw the video I got confused. This video imo contradicts what I was told. I could of kept that to myself but feedback was asked for and people like it or not I am a community member. I only gave the history to give background on the contradiction and to share my opinion. I could have just made the points and I am sure the reaction would have been the same. It seems some of the written responses did not actually properly read my comment and just quickly emotionally replied.
@JPL not sure what old times you are referring to, I have been around about the same as you. You mean last yearâs fiasco or are you referring to my history personally here? Donât try to lump me in the same boat. All I did was give honest feedback with a background story.
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I liked the video, but I hear what youâre saying @Haigha about the lack of refinement. A couple of your suggestions would be pretty easy to fix in upcoming videos without costing a lot of time or money.
I think the issue is, What are they/we aiming for? If itâs to create an explainer video to be referenced for year/s ahead, itâs going to require one sort of approach (and budget). If youâre aiming to put short, several-minute videos out occasionally to give folks a taste of the behind-the-scenes flavorâwhich I take they were trying to do with this videoâthen the current expenditure of time/resources probably works the best.
There are downsides to any choice, and the downside to more resource-intensive videos is to make fewer of them. In this case, I think more videos that are âgood enoughâ for the occasion is the wisest choice.
But ⌠it doesnât costs anything to ask someone speaking in the background to please find another room, or to make sure the scene is centered. I didnât notice these things when I was watching, but I definitely think letting people know about these potential âquick fixesâ that bother at least one viewer is worthwhile.
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Great to see. Having a queryable language as a default wrapper around ID and MD/AD will be great.
Listed under Alternatives is âSupporting RDF in the Vaultsâ to which I would say please no. Dumb pipes has shown to be a better architecture than the alternative, and I would prefer to see vaults be as simple and dumb as possible. Maybe a âcomputeâ layer will arrive within vaults, but I think it should be general purpose, not RDF or SPARQL specific.
Also listed under Alternatives is âPutting RDF in a separate libraryâ which I do support. Iâm not particularly fussed either way, but I think having a lean powerful default client libs is preferable then add separate thicker layers on top for those who want it. RDF and SPARQL are convenient but should be opt-in. In the end itâs not that important since libraries can be forked and simplified, so either way I donât mind that much, but lean toward RDF in a separate library. I see RDF as the C Language of SAFE and Client Libs as the Assembly Language of SAFE, and I suspect theyâll end up being used in a similar historical pattern.
Does anyone know of good resources outlining the history of RDF and who the current major users are?
Sorry to hear about your prior disappointments. The relaxed approach doesnât bother me, but I can see your point. Iâm friends with videographers who would put together a more polished video âby defaultâ so seeing this does feel a bit DIY to me. Itâs about knowing the craft (ie making videos), and I would say this video does not show craftsmanship (which is fine, but Iâm glad you raised the point anyhow).
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Each to their own I guess. Apart from the background conversation, I enjoyed the informality and putting a face and character to the name. There should be more of this. Remember Substratum had very polished videos
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Thanks so much to all of the team for all of your hard work!
I didnât get all the way through the Jim Collinson video. Itâs because I have a short attention span. The way people in Scotland talk is very charming, though.
I always worry that if Maidsafe becomes really successful, powerful interests may go after the company and its employees. Personally, if I worked for Maidsafe, I would want people to know as little about me as possible. I wouldnât reveal any information that doesnât directly support marketing the network. I never see any of the bigger established companies doing this sort of thing.
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In general I would agree but wouldnât that be like long term choosing potential link rot by default and having to opt out of such?
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regarding the video/s
I try my very best not to be critical, especially when I know that I cannot do better.
Just as I would not ask the gardener to do my taxes or the maintenance guy to write some code, it is clear that these videos are done without the necessary expertise.
I find them hard to watch and to be honest often do not make it through.
It pains me as I honestly do not want to hurt any feelings, bruise any egos or come across as negative. I would jump off a cliff before getting in front of the camera to do the same.
So all due respect for having the kahunas to do so.
Ultimately though, I think that everything Maidsafe does put out there needs to be done by folk that do that specific task professionally or it is better not doing it at all.
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I thought the format worked for me personally. It felt personal, it was nice getting to know Jim, the interviewer (is her name Celia??) does very well on camera, the office looks nice, the sound quality was good though a bit low volume, and the video quality is good too. I do see others points and in comparison to other projects who are mostly about being flashy, yes itâs not on par with those but as usual they come at a cost. Whatâs more valuable? Learning about the team and the internal approaches or high bar production?
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Yes but donât spend too much money on the videos either. That would take away from the teamâs main focus of creating a fantastic network.
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Seemed like a general explination video about the concept of UI and the work that goes into it. There was no reference to how the work related to the specifics of interfacing with the network. For this reason I abandoned it early. Great effort on making it casual though. 
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Yes.
Now Iâll go on with what you didnât ask for and that is suggestions.
Many good points. I like that Jim is casual and obviously suppressed a number of space filling ummms and ahh
In summary - It was great, loved the idea and think it will really help the community too. Please continue it and keep the general format. Donât change anything.
I have a few suggestions of my own that hopefully would not change the format or effort but make it easier to watch.
- Its way too quiet. I have youtube at 1/5 the volume for loud. This video I had at full volume and was still not as loud as normal.
- Over 60 people find it increasingly harder with age to separate conversations from background conversations/noise. Especially if listening to unfamiliar words/accents/concepts.
- Need to have the microphones like newsreaders and pinned to their collars/tops. This will help both with clarity and the changing volume as they turn their heads. Both of those make it more difficult to hear what is said. Also it will help to reduce background noise (A LOT)
- Just centre the subjects will help too. It seems as it there is something on Jimâs left that you did not want in the scene but then had loads of the lunch room on the right of the speakers.
- The few times Iâve watched a news item on TV and they have a reporter with half second delay somewhere else nods and nods while that reporter cannot hear anything is so laughable. The nodding reminded me a little of that. As if the interviewer needs to be doing something. Reducing it a little would help a lot, probably mirroring Jimâs Head nodding would make it seem like the interviewer is more interested in what Jim is saying than all the mhmmmâs and yepâs will ever do.
- Just like in a date/relationship where the partners mirror the otherâs movements because they are (showing) interested in each other, so does a good interviewer do that to some extent with the one being interviewed. Hint: look at the video at double speed and youâll see the difference.
Again loved the interview and the few suggestions are just to hopefully make it even better for more people.
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Talk about the video has distracted a bit for me, from another very encouraging update, but to continue the distraction 
âŚ
I liked the video, the aims are spot on, and for a first go at this - very good IMO. Sound is tricky to get right and I did struggle with it, but the format, the style and both @Cgray and @jimcollinson were great IMO.
Nice to âmeetâ you Jim 
and to get an insight into your background (very interesting), motives 
and your role (very helpful).
Itâs a great way to connect us all, so moaaarrrr please, and by all means work on the rough edges, but donât be down hearted. Creating this stuff is something Iâd run a mile up Ben Nevis to avoid (and I donât do running, esp. not up little hills 
). I know I would feel hurt by the critique. Honesty is a fine value, but as a sensitive person I know there are many ways of giving honest feedback, and while Iâm often not good at it myself, I know it when I see it 
. And the more open and closer you are, or want to be, the more aware you need to be of the impact words have. I donât mean to get at you @Haigha, Iâm just giving honest feedback , and I think maybe you are sensitive too. So please donât think Iâm having a go. I will accept criticism of my words if anyone feels they deserve it. AnywayâŚ
This is another tremendous update for me on several fonts. Maidsafe, you have spoiled us and we are greedy. Please continue! The world is going to shit in many ways and as a result weâre putting so much on you - well I am - in desperation, for hope and something good to be part of.
But even if nothing came of this technology, I regularly remind myself that being part of this community and having given it what we can would still have been worth it. We can only do our best. But we shall not be defeated! You will have to take my keyboard from my cold dead hands first. I am touching the world through these incredible connecting machines. What a time to be alive.
And⌠on a lighter note. I donât really do light as folk may have noticed. Well not often anyway 
I have been dancing tonight, in part because of progress (more in due course), but also because life is such a wonderful thing and itâs a shame we humans easily lose sight of that.
Not wishing to get political, but wake up⌠(seriously watch this)
Letâs be meerkats! While some are busy, others are on the look out, and when the lion approaches, shout to everyone âget the heck out, thereâs a 
â!
In other words we are nothing if weâre not working as a team, at least overall. Not all the time, but when it matters: when there are lions - and many of us are here because we know there are lions.
Life is also a moment of joy and appreciating the good things, however small or in the past they may be. They are there, I trust, for each of us. Thatâs what Iâve learned in my life. 
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Agree! So much to unpack. These updates are getting better and better and as we move further along I think the community want others coming in to see the best of what Maidsafe can offer without losing their short attention, hence the increasing critiques. Iâve noticed an uptick. If itâs not marketing itâs how something is implemented and I think it mostly comes from a caring place.
@Cgray! I think you do excellent on camera, you certainly have a charisma about you and speak really clearly, I do like some of @neoâs suggestions about just nodding along occasionally with less umms etc but I totally understand youâre just trying to make sure youâre engaged in the conversation so you donât seem disinterested.
@JimCollinson It was great to learn more about your background and would love to chat sometime. Perhaps you could get early access to some upcoming progress in JAMS and give a little feedback? That would be so extremely valuable to us.
Excited to hear that PARSEC is going to be published and peer reviewed eventually! That would be a true first. I have an extreme amount of pride for the team.
The RDF RFC is a good read so far. 
The Crust developments are interesting as well and I hope QUIC works out. Cheers @maidsafe
You are making it happen at every level imo.
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Yes I agree that @Cgray did an excellent job and I was only giving suggestions (and reasons for them) as a suggestions for possible areas of improvement.
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This video makes me happy! Nice job MaidSafe Team! 
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Iâm sure there will be more to come on this, this was more of a way to say hello!
Iâd be delighted to Nigel, message me anytime!
Please donât worry that you offended. After a decade or two of design, you get used to critique, and you also get used to filtering criticism out from that critique.
I hope, and Iâm sure, marketing will continue to make these videos, and keep the informal style; but the takeaway is that if there are a few technical fixes, weâll allow folk to focus on and discuss the content rather than wasting effort talking about the delivery method.
This got me thinking though⌠An Idea!
For those who are comfortable with it, why donât we have some video introductions from some of you guys? Would be great to put faces to the names!
Tell us how you got to know SAFE, what youâre working on, why SAFE is important to you etc. Make it as lo-fi or hi-fi as you want, all welcome!
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Hi all, thanks for the feedback. I am no professional videographer but am learning everyday and will of course take this feedback into the next video. These were aimed to be informal style video in the hope of introducing more of the team to you. They filmed in the middle of our working day in the middle of the office which has obviously created too much background noise. Although I tried to damped this in the edit, it has obviously distracted some of you so I will try to reduce this in future. Completely agree about the framing and we are trialling new locations for the upcoming videos to help this. I have to say that I think both Jim and Ceilidh did a fantastic job! Please continue to give feedback cause it helps us all learn
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I thought it was fine and did what it was meant to do - introduce the person behind the project. You expect a bit of background noise in the workplace and it obviously wasnât a slick promo video but then it wasnât intended to be. Itâs something much more off the cuff, so I donât see any problems frankly.
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