Re: Hijacking^W^W^W^W^W^WSalvaging packages for fun and profit: A proposal
On 11/10/12 at 10:21 +0200, Gergely Nagy wrote:
> Lucas Nussbaum <lucas@lucas-nussbaum.net> writes:
>
> > On 11/10/12 at 05:50 +0000, Bart Martens wrote:
> >> | Anyone can mark a package as orphaned after the following steps have been
> >> | completed : Someone submits an "intent to orphan" (ITO) in the bts with an
> >> | explanation of why he/she thinks that the package needs a new maintainer. The
> >> | explanation should cover aspects like how long there was no visible activity,
> >> | whether there are NMUs not yet acknowledged, wheter the package blocks progress
> >> | elsewhere in Debian, release critical bugs, public comments from the maintainer
> >> | revealing lack of interest in the package, ... etc. The bug must have severity
> >> | "serious" and a cc must be sent to the debian-qa mailing list. Anyone can
> >> | submit this "intent to orphan". At least three DDs (not counting the initial
> >> | submitter) second the "intent to orphan" on the same bug report with a cc to
> >> | the maintainer. If some DDs send NACKs instead, then a 3/1 majority is needed
> >> | between ACKers and NACKers.
> >
> >> And the maintainer does not respond within one month after the the third second.
> >
> > I'm not sure about this delay. This procedure should be used for
> > uncontroversial cases, where orphaning is obviously the right choice.
>
> I strongly agree here. A package that's a salvaging candidate has
> already been neglected far too long, requiring another extra month of at
> most NMU-maintainance is counter productive.
>
> A maintainer has many ways to signal in advance that he/she will be
> unable to answer bug reports or mail for a longer period of time
> (including VAC messages on -private, and/or setting a vacation message
> in LDAP), many of which can and should be checked as soon as the
> salvaging process starts, to make sure there's no accidental overlap.
>
> With that done, I do not see the point of waiting an extra month. I
> would, however, put a time limit on the NACKs: one week after 3 ACKs or
> 3/1 majority is reached, the decision's done, and further ACKs/NACKs
> won't be counted. That is, we'd have a time limit on everyones ability
> to contribute to the salvaging process, not just a ticking clock for the
> maintainer.
OK
> > Maybe rephrase that into "Before taking action, it could also be a good
> > idea to wait for comments from the maintainer, especially if he/she is
> > otherwise active in Debian."
>
> I'd rephrase that further, with a s/wait for/seek/, because in my
> opinion, the person wanting to salvage a package should go to great
> lengths to reach the maintainer. Merely waiting when the package is
> obviously neglected sounds like a very passive thing to me.
OK. What is considered "sufficiently seeking for comments" can probably
be decided on a case-by-case basis (i.e., people should not ACK before
the waiting time is considered sufficient by them).
Lucas
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