Dominic Clifton is a software developer, consumer tech enthusiast and creator of a popular internet relay chat (IRC) client for the Windows operating system. In designing "yet another" chat client, Clifton was up to the challenge of contributing something different to a crowded field of such applications, most of which are usually compared by IRC enthusiasts to the revered mIRC client. To this end, Clifton has certainly created a viable and distinguishable alternative with his HydraIRC, which pleases users with its stability while at the same time annoying others with some rather irritating and superfluous features. Most review sites assign the program a solid rating, citing its easy configuration options and user friendly design, while users have remarked on the program's small footprint, light demand on computer resources and the fact that it simply doesn't crash. This all points to some very carefully tested builds and solid programming on behalf of Clifton, who offers plenty of documentation on the project's website and does appear very committed to its support. Despite his obvious skill and talent as a programmer, Clifton appears a bit resistant to some very valid criticism concerning his application. Many users complain about the ridiculous quit messages that Hydra generates when a user signs out of IRC; while most regard these promotional messages as "spammy", Clifton regards them as "funny", while promising to do away with them - a commitment whose fulfillment is running on about 5 years now. Furthermore, though he maintains an "open source" status for HydraIRC, Clifton seems a little control-freaky about contributions, refusing redistribution of the program as well as revoking a contributor's ownership to the code they add. He even acknowledges that his license is "restrictive" but has the attitude that other developers should be grateful that the code is open enough for them to "learn" from him, seemingly blind to the possiblity that someone might have something to teach him. While this attitude doesn't take away from the fact that Clifton has really showed alot as a programmer with a solid, stable piece of software like HydraIRC, his approach to code contribution seems contrary in some ways to the cooperative spirit of open source development - and thus, potentially, to the evolution of his product.
Dominic Clifton is a software developer, consumer tech enthusiast and creator of a popular internet relay chat (IRC) client for the Windows operating system. In designing "yet another" chat client, Clifton was up to the challenge of contributing something different to a crowded field of such applications, most of which are usually compared by IRC enthusiasts to the revered mIRC client. To this end, Clifton has certainly created a viable and distinguishable alternative with his HydraIRC, which pleases users with its stability while at the same time annoying others with some rather irritating and superfluous features. Most review sites assign the program a solid rating, citing its easy configuration options and user friendly design, while users have remarked on the program's small footprint, light demand on computer resources and the fact that it simply doesn't crash. This all points to some very carefully tested builds and solid programming on behalf of Clifton, who offers plenty of documentation on the project's website and does appear very committed to its support. Despite his obvious skill and talent as a programmer, Clifton appears a bit resistant to some very valid criticism concerning his application. Many users complain about the ridiculous quit messages that Hydra generates when a user signs out of IRC; while most regard these promotional messages as "spammy", Clifton regards them as "funny", while promising to do away with them - a commitment whose fulfillment is running on about 5 years now. Furthermore, though he maintains an "open source" status for HydraIRC, Clifton seems a little control-freaky about contributions, refusing redistribution of the program as well as revoking a contributor's ownership to the code they add. He even acknowledges that his license is "restrictive" but has the attitude that other developers should be grateful that the code is open enough for them to "learn" from him, seemingly blind to the possiblity that someone might have something to teach him. While this attitude doesn't take away from the fact that Clifton has really showed alot as a programmer with a solid, stable piece of software like HydraIRC, his approach to code contribution seems contrary in some ways to the cooperative spirit of open source development - and thus, potentially, to the evolution of his product.