Freeze exceptions: parmetis, ccc, babel, illuminator; please be considerate to busy developers

[Adam C Powell IV <hazelsct@debian.org>]

Greetings,

I'm writing to request freeze exceptions for the following packages:
      * parmetis: closes RC bug 308846
      * ccc: closes 305897 (which should have been important since it
        directs users to the wrong website to download the software) and
        283636 (i18n of debconf templates).
      * babel: closes FTBFS bugs on arches where it works and adds a new
        package; if accepted, I'll upload 0.10.2-2 specifying build only
        for successful arches (i386, powerpc, sparc).
      * illuminator: 0.9.1 has better dependencies on new petsc and
        mpich package structure than 0.9.0; 0.9.0 closed important bugs
        in 0.8.9.  An old kernel bug on the sparc buildd prevented --
        and continues to prevent -- it from building there.  If
        accepted, I'll add options to dh_shlibdeps to work around sparc
        buildd brokenness.

I must say, as a Debian developer at a US university, I feel this freeze
process has treated me very inconsiderately.  We were told for about
eight months that a freeze was "on the way", which after four, five, six
and seven of those months didn't sound credible.  Then suddenly in one
of the two busiest times of year at US universities (final exams in May
and December), we're given an ultimatum: get your packages done in two
weeks or they're out of sarge. The pressure has forced me to divert time
from writing and grading exams (babel in particular took the better part
of a whole day) and I am not happy about this at all.  Because of the
propensity of academics (students, faculty and staff) to be free
software developers, and the fraction of Debian developers in the US, I
am certain I'm not alone in this.

Given that processing of the NEW queue has been extremely slow over the
past several months (e.g. mpich lib restructuring sat there from Dec 22
to Feb 19), which only picked up *after* the freeze, how can the release
team treat developers this way?  "Your packages are not important enough
to process in less than two months, but you *must* turn around your last
fixes for sarge with just two weeks' notice during the busiest time of
year for a significant fraction of you."

I trust that this expression of my feelings about the freeze will be
taken as a respectful request for leniency and patience, and will not
prejudice you against following your standard procedures for processing
this request for freeze exceptions.

Sincerely,

-Adam
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