Re: Some thoughts about problems within Debian
Hi,
I may have misinterpreted your earlier message.
www.debian.org/devel is probably is a good place to start.
http://nm.debian.org/nmlist.php for those who have managed to
figure out the basics.
The New Maintainer's Guide is very well written and baby-steps
you through making your first package.
Fabian Fagerholm wrote:
>
> I appreciate the frank attitude. I guess finding the right place to
> start is often more of a coincidence and random trying than a conscious
> decision. Maybe the best instruction to people wanting to help is "pick
> a random integer and call it $bug. Go to http://bugs.debian.org/$bug and
http://base.debian.net and http://standard.debian.net have been
mentioned. w.d.o/devel has other links.
Fix a bug & send in the diff. It's not a simple process and
you'll no doubt get it wrong the first time. There are lists and
IRC channels for help -- new-maint, #debian-devel if you're in
the NM process.
> see if you found something you can help with. If so, do it. If
> neccessary, educate yourself by reading documentation. Repeat."
>
> > The internal structure you talk about...well, there isn't any.
> > It's all little bits that fit together pretty well, mostly.
>
> I guess it all becomes clear at some point. I still maintain that it
> could be presented in a more understandable way, however.
I don't look on this as a barrier to entry as much as a sort of
minimal aptitude test...figuring out where (some of) the pieces
fit and where you can contribute.
My earlier reply was more about those who have done their
homework and jumped through the hoops and still sit. The current
NM process seems to filter mainly for patience. (Or did; I've
only recently rejoined the list.)
I've misrepresented you no doubt by my selective quoting. Sorry
about that. But if you don't think the current documentation and
links are easy enough to find, how about putting together something
that makes it clearer, maybe with the help of some of the guys
on new-maint? Once you join Debian you'll forget how hard it
was to get started like the rest of us and spend your time on
things that interest you more.
Rick
--
Reply to: