On Sun, May 01, 2011 at 01:32:19AM +0200, Pierre Habouzit wrote:
> Oh yes, you really want to "attract" new contributors ? build debhub.com
> (as in github) and force everyone to package stuff in there. Let people
> propose patches, packaging new upstreams and so forth using merge
> requests (as in github), and there you'll be attractive. We would have
> invented "social packaging" (so 2.0-ish), and also lower the difficulty
> to contribute patches in a more efficient way than the BTS (sorry but
> the BTS *isn't* a tractable way to do heavy lifting, it's only good to
> send small unrelated patches).
That is called Launchpad, I believe. Having all packages in there our
Ubuntu cousins can add menu items to applications that instantly branch
off a local directory where users can hack on the packaging (or source
code) and shortly after push a branch back to Launchpad with a merge
request. Once you have all packages in the same $VCS, imagining
applications like the above is not rocket science.
I've been dreaming of a similar integration in Debian since the days
where I was pushing for the Vcs-* headers, but as you explained later on
in your mail the problem is: how can we converge on a specific Vcs in
Debian? Or, even easier, how can we converge on the guarantee that all
packages are maintained within some VCS in the first place? Are we
ready to take votes on this and lose the people which won't like the
choice and will go away slamming the door? I appeal to all the
creativity people might have to solve the integration vs liberty
dilemma.
I essentially agree with everything you've written later about PPA.
Maybe that mail of yours will actually help finding someone drafting a
first implementation ....
Cheers.
--
Stefano Zacchiroli -o- PhD in Computer Science \ PostDoc @ Univ. Paris 7
zack@{upsilon.cc,pps.jussieu.fr,debian.org} -<>- http://upsilon.cc/zack/
Quando anche i santi ti voltano le spalle, | . |. I've fans everywhere
ti resta John Fante -- V. Capossela .......| ..: |.......... -- C. Adams
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