--- title: "Fedora Problems or Complaints?" id: "1989" type: "post" slug: "fedora-problems-or-complaints" published_at: "2011-02-11T15:58:08+00:00" modified_at: "2014-04-12T20:30:39+00:00" url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints/" markdown_url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints.md" excerpt: "I’m following Fedora from afar these days, mostly from the planet and occasionally through people I know at Red Hat. Apparently some people are not happy with the direction Fedora is perceived to be going. This doesn’t come as a......" taxonomy_category: - "Productivity" - "Software & Technology" taxonomy_post_tag: - "Fedora" --- [Skip to the content](#site-content) [John Poelstra](https://johnpoelstra.com) ### Bringing order to chaos and clarity to confusion - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) Toggle search field - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) # [Fedora Problems or Complaints?](https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints/) [http://www.flickr.com/photos/zwww/3964495206/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/zwww/3964495206/) I’m following [Fedora](http://fedoraproject.org) from afar these days, mostly from [the planet](http://planet.fedoraproject.org/) and occasionally through people I know at Red Hat. Apparently some people are not happy with the direction Fedora is perceived to be going. This doesn’t come as a surprise. I’m not sure there has ever been a time when everyone thought Fedora was headed the right direction. At times I wasn’t happy with the direction Fedora was going either. I tried to spend more time moving things forward than talking about what was wrong–though I did some of that too. I wonder if this quote from a dialog in the [One Minute Manager](http://www.amazon.com/One-Minute-Manager-Kenneth-Blanchard/dp/0688014291/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297407300&sr=8-1) (p. 31) applies: > If you can’t tell me what you’d like to be happening, he said, you don’t have a problem. You’re just complaining. A problem only exists if there is a difference between what is actually happening and what you desire to be happening. *[Image by WallTea via flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/zwww/3964495206/) used under a [Creative Commons license](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/) .* #### John Poelstra John Poelstra, CPA, coaches directors in finance and software. Certified and trained by the Co-Active Training Institute, he has coached for more than 10 years, with over 520 clients and 3,150 sessions, including people at well-known Fortune 100 companies. In over 30 years of professional experience, he spent 25 in technology and finance: software testing, project management and team leadership at Red Hat and Dell/EMC, and finance as a bank auditor at Wells Fargo and a CPA at Grant Thornton. He hosts The John Poelstra Show podcast and is based in Portland, Oregon. [Author archive](https://johnpoelstra.com/author/john-poelstra/) [Author website](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-poelstra-show/id1130635146) February 11, 2011 [Productivity](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/productivity/) , [Software & Technology](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/software/) [Fedora](https://johnpoelstra.com/tag/fedora/) [Previous post](https://johnpoelstra.com/why-are-you-here/) [Next post](https://johnpoelstra.com/gnome-power-management-goes-too-far/) ## 4 Comments ## [Add yours](#respond) 1. Robert 'Bob' Jensen[February 12, 2011 at 6:09 am](https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints/#comment-463) [Reply](#comment-463) John, Sorry that should have been “I have liked and respected you” It should have been current not past tense. — Bob [Reply](#comment-463) 2. [Felix Pleșoianu](http://felix.plesoianu.ro/) [February 11, 2011 at 10:59 pm](https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints/#comment-460) [Reply](#comment-460) Um… when everyone who complains points in the same direction, then you know you have a problem. Unless your head is firmly planted in… ahem… the sand. Oh, and sometimes the answer to “what would you like to see happening” is “nothing different, we we doing just fine until this change”. And that’s perfectly valid. [Reply](#comment-460) 3. Robert 'Bob' Jensen[February 11, 2011 at 12:55 pm](https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints/#comment-458) [Reply](#comment-458) Seriously? Even you are going to start preaching the party line? Exactly when did the internal memo go out telling all you parrots what to say or was it a meeting? “Have a solution or shut up!” and “Pin point your slightest frustration and write an essay on it.” Wake up, there are clearly problems in Fedora. Some big, some small. Some new, some so old they are hard to pinpoint. Some are just part of bigger picture. I am developing a party line of my own, “Suck it up and try to see things from others point of view especially if they are not @redhat” Quit feeding the division and work at reuniting the community. I liked and respected you John… I did not expect this for some reason. [Reply](#comment-458) - John Poelstra[February 11, 2011 at 4:58 pm](https://johnpoelstra.com/fedora-problems-or-complaints/#comment-459) [Reply](#comment-459) Hi Bob, I’m afraid you’re bringing a lot more to that short quote than I ever intended. I saw the quote and wondered if it fit. If it doesn’t fit that’s okay. There was no intended sermon, directive, or implied right answer. I’d hope it would take more than pondering a quote to loose your respect. John [Reply](#comment-459) ### Leave a Reply [Cancel reply](/fedora-problems-or-complaints/#respond) ### John Poelstra [https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756](https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756) ### Work With Me I coach directors in finance and software who want to prioritize, delegate, and lead with clarity. Start with One Conversation, a complimentary 60-minute coaching conversation. 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