Re: Conflicts between developers and policy
I know this thread is old but I felt obliged to comment. I have
sugically removed most of the messages. The snippets that remain
show, I think, how Manoj and Dale are speaking at cross-purposes, that
is, both seem to have problems understanding the other's position
fully, so argument is (was) going nowhere fast.
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@datasync.com> writes:
> >>"Dale" == Dale Scheetz <dwarf@polaris.net> writes:
> Dale> On 1 May 1998, Manoj Srivastava wrote:
> Dale> As a developer, I use the policy statements to help me decide on
> Dale> particular issues of packaging. How is it that I am now the
> Dale> responsible party for fixing a policy that I don't see as
> Dale> broken?
[...]
> Dale> My only problem is when you make it my responsibility to
> Dale> "correct" the policy statement.
Submitting a bug is not "correcting" -- it is raising the issue that
there is a flaw or an exception in the policy, in the viewpoint of the
pacakge maintainer, which needs to be resolved.
> You found the flaw. No one else seems to have. If you do not
> correct it, who will? (Frankly, I am dissapointed by this argument).
No, submitting a bug is not correcting the Policy, so much as raising
the issue.
Fundamentally I agree with Manoj that developers who knowingly
contradict policy in practice in one of the packages should (even
must, I'd like to see this become policy) submit a bug against policy
explaining why they felt they needed to break policy.
I do not understand Dale's argument that this is too much work. In
fact, it might eliminate work for the developer, since the developer
who raises an issue which eventually modifies policy will not have
bugs filed against their package to the effect that the package is
violating policy!
Ok, well, maybe that argument is a bit of a stretch. Still, we ask
developers to read and comply with policy; asking them to submit bugs
against policy when they feel the must be in non-compliance is hardly
a great burden to add on top of that, and ends up in a better policy
and system for everyone.
.....A. P. Harris...apharris@onShore.com...<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>
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