Re: [Fwd: [RFC] Making NM 'by recommendation']
>>"Osamu" == Osamu Aoki <debian@aokiconsulting.com> writes:
Osamu> ---
Osamu> Does debian have enough people to maintain bug free distribution as
Osamu> you wish to be? Does people have enough time and resources to be
Osamu> full time maintainer? Give busy people some chance!
We have 6500 packages and climbing. We don't need that many if
we can't maintain quality. It is not as if we have a marketing
department that tells us we need to support X packages or else.
Each developer should maintain as many packages as it should
(yes, I am belabouring the obvious here). If you don't have enough
time, give some packages up. Either they get maintianed, or they are
dropped. Chances are that packages useful to others are going to be
picked up by people.
Osamu> But even with a clear patch given, I got no response for a package
Osamu> over a month. It gets especially irritating since that was a bug
Osamu> introduced by the maintainer on the code portion which _I_ _WROTE_.
Osamu> I felt like I want to become the MAINTAINER for that optional package!
Any developer can NMU a package if there is need -- and the
above sounde like the maintainer needed help. I am not usre second
class developers are the solution here, really.
Osamu> Current maintainer gave me a letter telling me "(he is) busy and
Osamu> may orphan package soon" after long silence...
I guess when the package is orphaned, someone might pick it up.
Osamu> But after reading this thread, I realize that becoming maintainer
Osamu> means gaining the same privilege as you. I do not need that much
Osamu> privilege.
Sorry. *ANY* package gives the developer root priviledgesd on
machines where that pacakge is installed. So there is o lessening of
the responsibility -- and I believe, there should be no lessening of
the privileges.
Osamu> All I want is an access to the particular optional package.
Osamu> Debian can assign multiple people (like 3-4) of these junior
Osamu> maintainers to non critical packages. Give these people a
Osamu> limited write access (require 2 signatures for upload) and no
Osamu> right for the non-maintainer upload. This kind of arrangement
Osamu> shall make maintenance of less interesting packages (Optional
Osamu> and Extra) more responsive.
Length of tenure in Debian is a stunningly poor metric of
competence. That alone is enough to poke a hole in this proposal.
Also, often, when a whole group is supposed to be responsible,
no one actually shoulders the responsibility. And having two people
redo the work, share the work, does not make the process more
responsive. Take the policy package as example. There are 5
registered maintainers -- but only 2 people have ever actually
uploaded the policy package. I don't think the load sharing idea is
actually working.
Osamu> Give these junior maintainer a less voting power (like 1/4 or 1/8)
Osamu> but this ensures busy people can help debian too (redundancy).
Umm, no. I abhor systems with the inner core up on high, and
second class serfs running around doing the grunt work. This is not a
social structure I find acceptable. It is not as if the work done by
these developers is any less than the work done by so called full
developers hiding behind their seniority -- you are just proposing
that the newcomers are somehow less competent. and should have less
rights.
Osamu> ALSO THIS SCHEME IS LESS STRESSFUL TO THE SENIOR PEOPLE LIKE
Osamu> YOU.
I am *NOT* a ``1senior'' developer. I am a developer, no more,
and no less.
I would strongly oppose any institutionalized class structure
within Debian. In practice, all developers are not exactly equal ==
but that comes from respect earned from ones peers, and how
persuasive one is, and, of course, whether one happens to be
technically correct, as well as the effort one puts in.
Any institutionalized class system, historically, has been the
refuge of the incompetent seeking to enjoy the fruits of privilege
and power.
manoj
--
Weinberg's Second Law: If builders built buildings the way
programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along
would destroy civilization.
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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