Re: long term goals of debian membership
On Mon, Dec 04, 2000 at 01:38:37PM -0900, Britton wrote:
>
> On Mon, 4 Dec 2000, Ben Collins wrote:
>
> > > How many packages did you have when you became a DD?
> >
> > None. I'll admit, looking back, I should have been more active before
> > being allowed to become a maintainer. Honestly I was so big headed at the
> > time that I actually nominated my self for DPL after only being in the
> > project for 2 whole months. I was innexperienced, and unready for the
> > work.
>
> And look what debian would ultimately have lost if someone had just told
> you to shove off and somehow kept you out of the project.
That ideal sitation would have been "Ben, start doing some work, get used
to how things operate around here, and once you prove yourself to be
competent, get other developers to be signed references, and you get to be
a maintainer".
I would have gladly started work, just as I have done in other similar
sitations within other projects. Debian is the largest project I have
worked in, and was the easiest to infiltrate^Wjoin. I think that's a bad
thing, because if I was not a good person, I could have caused lots of
damage, possibly unknowingly to others.
> > If the person doesn't need an @debian.org address, and they don't need
> > access to Debian systems, then they don't need to be a developer. If all
> > they want to do is send patches, file bugs, or just maintaine one package
> > of a program they author, then they don't really need to be a Debian
> > developer.
>
> How are they supposed to maintain any packages, regardless of who authored
> them, if they can't upload fixes to those packages? Do everything through
> a sponsor? Neither of the people who were at various points going to
> sponsor my packages ever made an upload. I have no gripe, they were
> presumably busy, so I waited until I made it through NM and did it myself.
Then revamp/reorg the sponsort program. I really think it could be better
deault with in a group effort, rather than a single developer->mentor type
thing. Let's not put down such a worthwhile program in support of "open
the doors and let everyone in".
> If I am supposed to feel guilty that one of the two packages I maintain is
> my own program, well, I don't.
Good, you shouldn't. However, if that was your only package, and you never
intended to do anything else but that one small thing, then I would hope
that you wouldn't expect to take on the role of a Debian developer, with
all it's responsibilities and trust, just for that.
--
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/ Ben Collins -- ...on that fantastic voyage... -- Debian GNU/Linux \
` bcollins@debian.org -- bcollins@openldap.org -- bcollins@linux.com '
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