Re: new-maintainer@debian.org dead?
On Mon, Jul 19, 1999 at 02:21:54PM +0200, Josip Rodin wrote:
> > I'm trying to become a Debian maintainer for some time now. I've send
> > my aplication to new-maintainer@debian.org about 2 month ago and never
> > heard from it again.
> > Two weeks and one week ago I asked what happened to my application on
> > new-maintainers@debian.org and still got no answere.
> >
> > So now I ask here if that list is dead, routet to /dev/null or so
> > filled up with requests that not even a "You application has be
> > received, please wait" mail can be send back?
>
> They are overworked. The best way to become a developer now is to
> pick some orphaned packages from WNPP[1] and adopt them - people who
> do that, I believe, are most welcome :)
I sent my application three months ago. I was prepared to wait before
being accepted as a developer; what I wasn't prepared to is not to have
any minimal ack of your mail being even received. I sent three till now:
the application, and later two notifying email address changes. Neither
time I received any kind of confirmation. Really I am not sure that my
application was not lost in my/my provider's/debian's mail facilities.
About adopting an orphaned package, I did exactly that: I picked up
smb-nat, fixed a bug, filed a patch in the BTS, mailed the maintainer
about adopting the package (received no answer), sent an ITP to -devel,
and then packaged it.
I probably failed in not announcing my finishing the packaging, but at
the time I didn't have any web space to put the result on, so I simply
started waiting to become a developer and then being able to upload it.
Slink was released by just a couple of weeks, and potato's freeze was
away several months, so I could just wait.
Since then I skipped several "offered for adoption" packages, because
I didn't want to stay in the way of somebody else which could make
an upload in a week, since I couldn't.
I am not angry, but I will note two points IMHO quite important.
1) New-developer team, please, PLEASE, ack the mails we send, with a
"we received your stupid message, we will process sometime between 2000
and 2038, please be patient".
2) If the team is overworked, then new members are needed; three
months without a two line mail telling, at least, "we received your
application and will proceed to evaluate it when you show some good
intention and skills" are too much, IMO.
Ciao, William
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