Re: linuxdoc-sgml-1.2-1 released

[sbb@ecomcon.sbay.org (Steve Byrne)]

rdm@tad.micro.umn.edu writes:
 > Perhaps instead of the current practice (sending announcements
 > directly to debian-user), we ought to send the announcements to some
 > moderated list, and leave approval of the messages to be done
 > concurrently with moving the packages into public view?

I wouldn't like this policy.  If I were waiting for a critical fix to some
package that I was using, I'd want to know about it ASAP.  If the packages are
at all publically available, I'd want to know about it, even if it's in the
Incoming directory (or whatever).  In fact, the FTP server could be set up to
display a single sentence  in the regular directories when you cd'ed to them
saying "if you don't see the files here, try <incoming>".  

Any process which involves extra people in the loop has a higher chance of
failure because of lack of that person's cycles than a fully automated process.
Your proposal would introduce an extra step which would both slow down the
dissemination of information, and add a new failure mode, all for the sake of
newbies (who are only transitory -- they learn and lose their newbie status
quickly). 

Steve