On Thu, May 06, 1999 at 06:31:43AM -0600, Gordon Matzigkeit wrote: > Package: debian-policy > Severity: wishlist It is a shame to think that -policy might even have to resort to something like this because some people can't keep their discussions focused on issues or even know when a discussion has reached the point where further comment would be useless. Sometimes peoples minds will change, sometimes not. The goal isn't to pursuade the people from one side to come to another but to pursuade the people who are undecided to come to yours.. that being said.... > > 1 TERMINOLOGY > [some definitions snipped] > 2 INTENT > > To eliminate FLAMEWARS on DEBIAN-POLICY. > > 3 PLAN > > This PLAN provides a mechanism to mark and ignore TROLLS, thereby If this actually gets considered (I know a few people really object to large amounts of formality) I'd like TROLL to be defined, also. For someone new to this world, that doesn't know the common usage of the word (in these contexts), it's not clear when a person should consider replying to a message with TROLL. > preventing FLAMEWARS. It also requires that PROPOSALS and AMENDMENTS > be given a FORMAL structure that present ideas clearly for INFORMAL > debate. > > 3.1 FORMAL messages MUST consist of the following structure: one > `TERMINOLOGY' section, one `INTENT' section, zero or more `PLAN' > sections, and one `CONCLUSION' section: > > 3.1.1 Sections and paragraphs MUST be NUMBERED in legal format (1, > 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, etc). > > 3.1.1.1 Sections and paragraphs MAY be named by putting the NAME in > capital letters on a line by itself. > > 3.1.1.2 Sections and paragraphs MUST be referenced in the proposal or > followup discussion by their NUMBER, or their NAME. > > 3.1.1.3 Items of the PROPOSAL which are known to be incomplete SHOULD > be denoted with the word `FIXME'. > > 3.1.2 The TERMINOLOGY section introduces any TERMS that are needed to > understand the proposal as a whole. > > 3.1.2.1 Any TERMS used in the document MUST be capitalized. > > 3.1.2.2 TERMS that do not appear in the TERMINOLOGY section MAY be > defined at any time, even after their first appearance. > > 3.1.2.3 A TERM is a word whose meaning is precisely defined for the > purposes of the proposal. > > 3.1.3 The INTENT section MUST be complete, and describe the motivation > behind the given proposal. > > 3.1.3.1 Amendments MUST NOT change the spirit of the INTENT; a new > proposal MUST be submitted if the INTENT changes significantly. > > 3.1.4 Each PLAN section MUST consist of a time-ordered set of tangible > steps designed to implement the INTENT. > > 3.1.4.1 If there is more than one PLAN, then they MUST be > distinguished by different names (falling back on alphabet letters, if > no names are obvious `PLAN A', `PLAN B', etc). > > 3.1.4.2 Each step in a PLAN MUST be assigned to a separate > paragraph, to facilitate discussion. > > 3.1.4.3 Steps in a PLAN, and the PLAN itself SHOULD have costs and/or > benefits associated with them, to help strengthen the CONCLUSION. > > 3.1.4.4 If no PLAN is known, then the PLAN section must contain the > word `FIXME: unknown.' > > 3.1.5 The CONCLUSION MUST provide a brief evaluation of each PLAN, > explaining why it is or isn't desirable. > > 3.1.5.1 The CONCLUSION SHOULD point out foreseeable problems with the > proposal itself, to suggest possible improvements. > > 3.1.6 FORMAL messages SHOULD end in a request for seconders, to make > it clear that they are a PROPOSAL or AMENDMENT. > > 3.2 FORMAL messages MUST be written in an objective, > emotionally-detached tone. > > 3.3 All PROPOSALS (and AMENDMENTS) sent to debian-policy MUST > be FORMAL. > > 3.4 INFORMAL messages either do not conform to the structure described > in 3.1, or are emotionally heated. > > 3.5 A Debian maintainer MAY reply to any INFORMAL DEBIAN-POLICY > message with `Subject: TROLL'. An INFORMAL message that has received > such a reply is called a TROLL. > > 3.6 INFORMAL replies to TROLLS MUST NOT be posted on DEBIAN-POLICY. > > 3.7 INFORMAL replies to TROLLS MAY be made if they are not crossposted > to DEBIAN-POLICY. > > 3.8 FORMAL replies to TROLLS are permitted. > > 4 CONCLUSION > > I believe this is a simple, yet effective set of rules to get > DEBIAN-POLICY out of its current rut. Adopting this PROPOSAL will > encourage people to work together on refining policy ideas, rather > than attacking one another. > > It will also reduce the ability for non-list-members to send a TROLL > to DEBIAN-POLICY, then step back and watch the resulting FLAMEWAR to > their own amusement. One of us will simply call `TROLL', and then > force the others to convert their TROLL into a FORMAL message, or drop > it entirely. > > > I hereby request seconders for this PROPOSAL. > > -- > Gordon Matzigkeit <gord@fig.org> //\ I'm a FIG (http://www.fig.org/) > Committed to freedom and diversity \// I use GNU (http://www.gnu.org/) > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-policy-request@lists.debian.org > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org > -- Please cc all mailing list replies to me, also. ========================================================================= * http://benham.net/index.html <gecko@benham.net> <>< * * -------------------- * -----------------------------------------------* * Debian Developer, Debian Project Secretary, Debian Webmaster * * <gecko@debian.org> <secretary@debian.org> <lintian-maint@debian.org> * * <webmaster@debian.org> <gecko@fortunet.com> <webmaster@spi-inc.org> * =========================================================================
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