niflheim

I don’t like to write blog entries about MySQL.

I doubt that planetmysql.org includes me in our feed anymore, and generally that works out fine for all concerned.  My rantings while quitting smoking were probably at least “a minor contributing factor” in the filtering we now employ.

It’s not for lack of things to write (trust me), so, why the reticence?

I suppose mostly it’s that I don’t like to read blog entries about MySQL.  Every time I dive into Ye Olde Blogosphere I see us revising the 80/20 rule into more of a 90/10 rule, or maybe 95/5, or 97/3.  Or: 3% of everything is Scottish; the remaining 97% is crap.

But the real reason is drama and my fondness for avoiding same.

Being online lost its newness and novelty for me some 26 years ago, so perhaps that causes me to be less inclined to take my 15 nanoseconds of soapboxery seriously.  I am certainly less inclined to take that belonging to others very seriously.

MySQL was blasted for being a “toy database” because it lacked features.  It continued to be blasted about some of them long after their lack was rectified.  All along, an ever-increasing number of users and customers happily went about their lives and their businesses with it.

Now it’s en vogue to bash MySQL for making business decisions, or for producing software that contains bugs, or whatever.  And again: all along, an ever-increasing number of users and customers happily go about their lives and their businesses with it.

It’s so easy to lose any sense of perpective.

What’s the goal?  What’s the mission?  What’s the point?

I don’t define the answers to those questions, except perhaps for the Support team, but from my perspective the MySQL “mission” is about enabling data management:  Everyone has data; everyone needs to manage their data.  Data management has become a utility even more vital than electricity, and we’re there helping to make it happen all over the globe.

It matters much more to me that we still try to accomplish our mission than that the road sometimes gets a little rough.  Nothing is perfect, therefore imperfection does not surprise me.  Everyone makes mistakes, therefore blunders do not offend me.  Some things must be seen through to the end to assess their outcome, therefore experimentation does not worry me.  All questions are worth asking.

I care too much, I’m told, but really I only care about the one thing: the mission.

It helps keep everything else in perspective.