Re: My pending RFSs (xpdf, ushare, protoaculous, gordon, checksec)

[Michael Gilbert <michael.s.gilbert@gmail.com>]

On Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:24:50 -0400 (EDT) Asheesh Laroia wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Jul 2010, Michael Gilbert wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have the following packages currently prepared and am waiting for
> > review by interested sponsors.  Some of these have been pending since
> > December 2009).
> >
> > xpdf (http://mentors.debian.net/debian/pool/main/x/xpdf):
> > - I adopted this package a few months ago since it needed a
> >  security-minded maintainer, and I have made extensive changes with
> >  respect to forward security supportability (including making use of
> >  poppler) and some useful minor changes as well. See:
> >  http://lists.debian.org/debian-mentors/2010/06/msg00030.html
> 
> Wooooooooooooow xpdf using poppler? It's like we're here in the future. 
> Amazing!
> 
> Basically, why don't you have DMUA status yet? (-:

Because I don't have Debian Maintainer status yet?  But to get that I
need to solve the problem of not having my key signed by a Debian
Developer; which I'll hopefully resolve by attending debconf. In the
meantime, debian-mentors is the right way to get my work reviewed and
uploaded, isn't it?

> The rest I don't know as much about.
> 
> In general, I personally think the following workflow makes a lot of 
> sense:
> 
> For a new package, a potential mentee emails this list asking for a 
> sponsor.
> 
> 1. Request For Sponsor email
> 2. Discussion about the packaging

These two steps seem to be happening just fine.

> 3. Eventually, hopefully, someone sponsors it

Seems this is the achilles heel of the mentoring process: not many
people are interested in sponsoring new stuff (probably because they'll
get stuck with it if the mentee looses interest).  I personally don't
see myself loosing interest, and I try not to be a burden, so I don't
really see my stuff being much work for potential sponsors.

Thanks,
Mike