Re: MIA Maintainers: how to help

[Grant Bowman <grantbow@grantbow.com>]

I'd like to offer assistance to your efforts.  I have tried tracking
down a few myself using and/or suggesting the use of [1] all kinds of
different resources.  A few times the result has been that even if they
aren't MIA there are serious package neglect issues.  Great intentions,
but that sometimes doesn't help users encountering problems time and
time again.  Perhaps the packages need a new maintainer for whatever
reason.  The approach needs to be handled delecately, since any number
of possible causes could be relevant and if they indeed are not MIA but
focusing in other areas, being overly critical is not a good idea.

Maybe creating some metrics to track developer activity might be
helpful, extending the work of packages.qa.debian.org?  

However it's difficult to track activity since it comes in all different
forms relevant to Debian as a whole - bugs, source packages, binary
packages, developer id, mail lists, irc, conferences, upstream
participation in a similar array of forms, etc.

This is a [2] wicked problem because we are dealing not only with the
software but also with a social organization and people.  I think this
explains some of the lack of activity in this area overall.  Each
situation can not easily be classified.

-- 
-- Grant Bowman                                <grantbow@grantbow.com>


[1] http://bugs.debian.org/<packagename>
    http://packages.qa.debian.org/<p>/<packagename>
    http://db.debian.org/ to get a developer's <id>
    http://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=<id>@debian.org
    http://www.debian.gr.jp/~kitame/maint.cgi?num=srcs&limit=0&showpkgs=on&maint=<id>%40debian.org
    http://www.debian.org/devel/wnpp/ 
    http://lists.debian.org/debian-mentors
    http://www.debian.org/doc/developers-reference/ch-beyond-pkging.en.html#s-mia-qa
    http://www.debian.org/devel/join/newmaint#Sponsor

[2] http://www.cognexus.org/id42.htm


* Tommaso Moroni <moronito@debian.org> [040525 20:57]:
> Hi!
> I'd like to dedicate some time finding and reporting MIA Maintainers, but 
> I have some questions first:
> 
> 1. Is help needed in this area, or should I focus on something else?
> 2. Is there a team dedicated to this task?
> 3. Is there more information about it, other than those on the Developer's Reference?
> 
> 
> Regards
> -- 
> Tommaso Moroni
> moronito@debian.org