Re: How to report a maintainer missing in action?
* Martin Michlmayr <tbm@cyrius.com> [2002-12-16 20:43]:
> So if someone could write up something for the DDR which basically
> says "gather information" and send it to mia@qa.d.o, that would be
> cool.
Heck, what about something like this:
Finding inactive maintainers
If you think that a package maintainer is no longer active for Debian, the
first step is to contact them politely. Then wait for a response for a
reasonable time. It is quite hard to define "reasonable time", but it is
important to take into account that real life is sometimes very hectic.
One way would be send a reminder after two weeks. After four weeks, one
can assume that a response will probably not happen. Thus, it is your task
to investigate further. Try to gather as much information about the
maintainer in question as possible. This includes:
- The echolot information available through LDAP (this indicates when a
Debian Developer has posted to any Debian mailing lists for the last
time).
- How many packages is the maintainer responsible for and in which
condition are they. In particular, are there any RC bugs which
have been open for ages. Furthermore, how many bugs are there in
general. Another important piece of information is whether the
packages have been NMUed, and if, by whom.
- Is there any activity of the maintainer outside of Debian? For
example, they might have posted to non-Debian mailing lists
recently.
- One big problem are packages which were sponsored. That is, the
maintainer is not a Debian Developer. In this case, the echolot
information is not available, for example. If a package has been
sponsored, it is also a good idea to contact the Debian Developer
who has actually uploaded the package. After all, they were
responsible for the upload and should know what happened to the
person they sponsored.
When you have gathered all of this, you can contact mia@qa.debian.org.
Several people are on this alias who will use your information to decide
how to proceed. For example, they might orphan one or all of the packages
of the maintainer. If a packages has been NMUed, they might prefer to
contact the NMUer before orphaning the package -- perhaps the person who
has done the NMU is interested in the package.
One last word: please remember to be polite. We are all volunteers and
cannot dedicate all of our time to Debian. Also, you are not aware of the
circumstances of the person who is involved. Perhaps they might be
seriously ill or might even had died and we do not know. Imagine how a
relative will feel if they read the e-mail of the deceased and find a very
impolite, angry and accusing message. On the other hand, although we are
volunteers, we do have a responsibility. So you can stress the importance
of the greater good -- if a maintainer does not have the time or interest
anymore, they should "let go" and give the package to someone with more
time.
Comments?
--
Martin Michlmayr
tbm@cyrius.com
Reply to: