Re: Mechanism for removing developers
On Wed, Feb 03, 1999 at 06:08:19PM +0000, Ian Jackson wrote:
> > at least of declaring their packages orphaned and up for adoption. If not,
> > I would like to ask that we consider drafting a policy for such a situation.
>
> I disagree very strongly with the implication that being a Debian
> developer obliges you to take on particular tasks.
Well, if I agree to maintain a package, and then I fail to do so (eg, ignore
serious security bugs), I am not living up to the responsibility I agreed to
take.
> A Debian developer is (by definition) someone who does work for
> Debian. Provided that a developer is still contributing in some way,
> there is no call to remove them.
I'm not disputing this, really.
I think that you're really saying the same thing I am, just differently.
I'm saying that if people are MIA, their packages are abandoned, that they
ought to be removed and packages reassigned. You're saying the same, just
with a few specifics (which is what I was asking for in the first place,
anyway). I have no problem with a 6-month period, or some way to formally
assign their packages to others if they are MIA.
> If you feel that there should be a formal description of when it is
> appropriate to take over a package without explicit agreement of the
> maintainer, and of when it is appropriate to do an NMU, I wouldn't be
NMU doesn't solve the problem, though. We have a lot of packages that have
maintainers that are MIA. Bugs are not getting fixed. Occasionally,
someone will pop by that is very annoyed by a bug, makes an NMU that fixes
it, and then moves on. (I've done that a few times.) It really needs to be
marked as orphaned for someone else to take over.
> opposed to this. Go ahead and write one, and the policy group can add
> it to the relevant manual after it has been discussed and agreed on.
>
> If you feel that there should be a mechanism for detecting absent
> developers, I wouldn't oppose you. But, a developer should only be
> removed from the rolls if they have not contributed to the project for
> some time (perhaps 6 months). Posting to one of the public mailing
> lists, uploading a package, submitting a bug report, etc, should all
> count as contributions. And, such a person should be mailed to ask
> them whether they still want to be part of the project, and they
> should stay if they say `yes'. If you want to write the software for
> this, go ahead.
>
> Ian.
>
>
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