This is not an issue with Joe, it’s an issue with Blender and the Blender Foundation. Whether we call it BMesh or not, the missing data structures in code, and the lack of nGon support is a “big” disadvantage in Blender vs. every other 3D program, free or not. This is a big project, and the level to which it was supported by BF was nearly nil, until very recently, and a mistake IMHO. Personally every other development project should be put on hold and this should be put into trunk and stabilized first given how many different things in the program this will touch in the future (modeling, sculpting, UV’s, triangulation before rendering, shaders). I mean it’s a CORE functionality, and should never have been carried along by ONE novice coder transitioning to professional coder over the past few years. In that regard Joe deserves significant kudos for carrying this torch.
The only issue with Joe I’ve had is that I feel he should have kept his “health” to himself, particularly since this information was passed right after he started asking for donations. From the standpoint of a professional, and also a donator, this is NOT something I want hanging over me or anyone else.
Tons of people have personal and family illnesses to deal with, but they shouldn’t be brought out as part of the request for donations for a project. I mean if he is/was that sick, then he should stop working on the project, for his own good, and not “toe some line” while continuing to accept donations. Even worse, we now have the “sympathy police” bring it up every single post related to B-mesh, when the discussion is just about the progression and necessity of the project itself.
Whether it’s “intentional” or not, it feels manipulative to me and quite unprofessional. Myself, my mother, and my father have been sick with hospital time in the last three years, but if I was working on a project and asking for donations I would “never” bring this up to a group of strangers as reasoning for slow progress.
I’d evaluate whether or not I could continue (and stop asking for money), not mention it all, or just put the project on pause for a while and make it very clear that donations can and should stop.
Just my personal take on it of course, and hopefully people can see where I’m coming from, no “ill will” towards Joe at all, or anyone working on Blender code/projects. Personal problems and projects monitored by strangers who really become your customer once they give you money, no matter how little that may be, don’t mix. Like it or not, that’s not an unreasonable opinion, and one of the reasons open source projects with “volunteers” sometimes take some heat. This is further compounded when people are “learning as they go”, which tends to make the project take time and cost more than it would just to pay a professional to do it. Even worse when the progress of the project is hindered by the adoption timetable of the primary development system (Blender Foundation), as is the case here.
That said, I hope this gets finished soon, and I hope Joe feels well and has a good life. I’ll certainly be happy to send him a generous “tip” once this whole thing is finalized and in the trunk, he deserves it.
