Re: How can I help sarge be truly great.
On Mon, Nov 10, 2003 at 12:26:31PM +1100, Lex Hider wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've just returned to debian after a bit of an experimental odyssey
> (gentoo, freebsd etc.) and am currently tracking sarge.
>
> I've used debian on various occassions but never really
> contributed (yes I know I should be ashamed).
>
> My question is how can I pitch in and help at the current
> point to make sarge a truly great release?
>
> Should I help out with some programming stuff (I just started
> a CS degree so my skills are fairly raw) or should I pitch in
> with documentation? Packaging? checking policy compliance?
> Where can I help the most?
>
> Obviously with long times between releases it's vital to make
> sarge as perfect as it can be.
> Sarge is going to be a pretty monumental release (gcc3,
> gnome2, kde3, openoffice added, new installer, etc).
> And it looks like it might be something like 18months between
> releases. Do people think that this will be exceptionally longer
> than subsequent releases due to such major changes?
I think another good thing if you've got the skill to do it is to help
squash RC bugs. The list can be found at
http://bugs.debian.org/release-critical/. If your skills really are too
raw, pick an area where you're interested in (say KDE, Gnome, or glibc)
and start following the lists devoted to them in Debian. Then help test
and fix bugs in these packages, with maybe an eye towards eventually
joinging the maintainer team for them if you feel comfy with the work
and the team. Don't rush this sort of thing though, start small and work
on building your skills and understanding.
- David Nusinow
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