Re: adding rationale commentary to the policy manual
> I've long felt that one big failing of the policy manual is that it does not
> include any text describing the rationale behind the rules in it. This
> leads to problems when newcomers try to figure out why policy is the way it
> is (and when one-timers forget), it means there is the potential we will
> forget why doing something one way is really a good idea, and change policy
> to have it be done another way, without considering the ramifications, and
> it probably contributes to us discussing some issues over and over.
I agree - in a fairly anarchistic organization of independent developers
I think a rationale for why policy as a whole is important would also be
useful. There are many very intelligent Debian developers who may be used
to the idea that 'their way' is best.
As I see it Debian policy represents the codified collective knowledge of
the Debian developers. The great majority of developers are committed to
'Doing the Right Thing' - and policy saves an individual developer the hassle
of working out what the Right Thing is in many circumstances. Developers who
think they know better than the policy should either reconsider, or - if they
really have thought of a better way to do things - have the policy changed
so that everyone else can benefit from their brilliance.
John Lines
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