On Thu, Dec 30, 2004 at 05:40:08PM +0000, Helen Faulkner wrote: > My point is that it is not useful for Debian to know that I can spend 40 > hours in a week answering my T&S questions, or for Debian to know that you > can spend 16 hours in a week doing the same. That is not the kind of > commitment that Debian in general seeks. I'm pretty sure that the NM process is designed to determine one's technical abilities and the ability to be a good developer rather than the amount of time available to commit to Debian. By having the questions all together, the NM is free to choose whether to work on them bit by bit or all at once. I don't think the NM process should require one to have x number of hours a week to devote to Debian every week. > If I were to conduct my package maintainence in the same way that I am > doing my T&S, I would be ignoring all bugs submitted to my packages for > months, and then trying to solve them all in one great rush. No doubt some > people manage their packages this way, but it doesn't seem ideal to me. > Much better if I am able to fit in smaller chunks of work as the bugs > arise, to solve each bug quickly once it is reported. It's not the ideal way to manage a package (unfortunately, it's the way I've been operating), however, the time you're able to commit will vary continually. There are times of the year where I can devote lots of time on a regular basis, there are times when I can only devote chunks of time. > I believe it is much more useful to know that someone can commit an hour or > two at a time, to solve a particular problem soon after it comes up. Based > on my NM progress so far, Debian has no way of knowing whether I am able to > make that kind of commitment or not. If I am not able to do that, I may > turn out to be a maintainer who leaves RC bugs unattended for months at a > time, because that's the only way I am able to organise my Debian > commitments around the rest of my life. I doubt that we need more of that. Debian has no way of knowing if you can make that commitment, but surely you do and that's why you're applying. I think we should be able to assume that people won't take on much more than they can handle. > I did not make the suggestion because I think it would be better for the > applicants, though I think it would have some advantages for at least some > of them, but because I think it would be better for Debian. I'm not certain of this. I don't think it would hurt, unless AMs are requiring their NMs to respond unreasably quickly. -- Duncan Findlay
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