Re: Replace the TC power to depose maintainers

[Scott Kitterman <debian@kitterman.com>]

On Monday, December 05, 2016 11:18:41 PM Ian Jackson wrote:
> Scott Kitterman writes ("Re: Replace the TC power to depose maintainers"):
> > Nonsense.  There's no risk for a non-maintainer to come to the TC.
> 
> A non-maintainer who comes to the TC:
> 
>  * Is very likely to find that already unpleasant situation, gets
>    emotionally worse, at least temporarily;
> 
>  * Is probably interested in the package in question, and so risks
>    their future contributions being devalued or ignored;
> 
>  * Is probably an advanced user of the package and may be dependent on
>    the package (to some degree or other) continuing to support their
>    use cases rather than the maintainer letting them rot or even
>    sabotaging them;
> 
>  * Is likely to worry that they will gain enemies.
> 
> These are distinctly nontrivial risks.  Most of the risks are social
> in some sense.  Some of them are practical.  They will put off most
> petitioners, given that the likelihood of the TC escalation being
> useful to them is very small.

Having been involved in one of these things even as a maintainer of a package 
that was not directly the target of the request to the TC was extremely 
trying.  It was by a large margin the second most unpleasant and stressful 
free software experience I've had even though the TC, in the end, supported 
the existing maintainers.

If it came up again, I'd probably just orphan the package immediately rather 
than deal with the process again.  That's how awful it is from the side you 
claim is all empowered.  The non-maintainer risks are trivial in comparison to 
the maintainer who risks having their volunteer work for Debian thrown away 
and the virtual certainty that they were not going to be able to contribute 
any more to a package they thought was important enough to put time and  
effort into.

I don't expect you to agree, but if anything, I see all the advantage with the 
non-maintainers.  I'm glad the TC has my back (and I'm sure if I screw 
something up badly enough, they'll help me see it).

Scott K