On Wed, Dec 22, 2010 at 06:23:10PM +0100, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
>>> In my opinion, DEP5 is a work in progress, and as such discouraged
>>> for general consumption. This is indicated my its status as
>>> "DRAFT".
>
>>I concur.
>
> If only for this specific process then I agree it is of little value.
>
> What made me "waste" time on it anyway was Lars' invitation to perhaps
> learn something. I would be honoured if succeeding in enlightening
> Lars whom I admire in many other areas. And the rest of us could
> benefit from this discussion as it might inspire the processing style
> of future DEPs.
So, let's get back to the basic principles at stake. The point hardly is
Bzr vs SVN; rather it seems to be whether the working draft of a DEP
should be constantly updated and trivially accessible, for instance on
the web at the canonical URL listed at the beginning of the DEP text.
1) The argument in favor of that approach is: it diminish to the very
minimum the barrier for all people interesting in contributing.
2) The argument against that, which has been mentioned earlier on in
DEP-5 discussions, is: it encouraged proliferation of adoptions of
working drafts, creating an incompatibility mess.
In general, I find that the benefits of (1) largely outweigh those of
(2). The status of a DEP is clearly marked and if people would like to
adopt a DRAFT, well, they are on their own in keeping up with the
evolutions of the format later on.
In the specific case of DEP-5 however, I understand the sensibility of
the drivers about (2). Half-baked versions of the format, not really
controlled by anyone, have been floating around for a long while. Even
more so, at some point there has been a sort of encouragement in
adopting ever-evolving version of the format by pointing to a specific
revision of it. So, while I believe that advantages of (1) outweighs
those of (2), even in the case of DEP-5, I can't really blame the
drivers for having chosen a more "conservative" approach.
In the meantime, what I've learned from DEP-5 history is how much
motivated and communicative drivers count in pushing a standard forward,
even in a delicate area as copyright information. Thanks!
Cheers.
--
Stefano Zacchiroli -o- PhD in Computer Science \ PostDoc @ Univ. Paris 7
zack@{upsilon.cc,pps.jussieu.fr,debian.org} -<>- http://upsilon.cc/zack/
Quando anche i santi ti voltano le spalle, | . |. I've fans everywhere
ti resta John Fante -- V. Capossela .......| ..: |.......... -- C. Adams
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