On Wed, Feb 03, 1999 at 06:08:19PM +0000, Ian Jackson wrote: > > at least of declaring their packages orphaned and up for adoption. If not, > > I would like to ask that we consider drafting a policy for such a situation. > > I disagree very strongly with the implication that being a Debian > developer obliges you to take on particular tasks.
Well, if I agree to maintain a package, and then I fail to do so (eg, ignore serious security bugs), I am not living up to the responsibility I agreed to take. > A Debian developer is (by definition) someone who does work for > Debian. Provided that a developer is still contributing in some way, > there is no call to remove them. I'm not disputing this, really. I think that you're really saying the same thing I am, just differently. I'm saying that if people are MIA, their packages are abandoned, that they ought to be removed and packages reassigned. You're saying the same, just with a few specifics (which is what I was asking for in the first place, anyway). I have no problem with a 6-month period, or some way to formally assign their packages to others if they are MIA. > If you feel that there should be a formal description of when it is > appropriate to take over a package without explicit agreement of the > maintainer, and of when it is appropriate to do an NMU, I wouldn't be NMU doesn't solve the problem, though. We have a lot of packages that have maintainers that are MIA. Bugs are not getting fixed. Occasionally, someone will pop by that is very annoyed by a bug, makes an NMU that fixes it, and then moves on. (I've done that a few times.) It really needs to be marked as orphaned for someone else to take over. > opposed to this. Go ahead and write one, and the policy group can add > it to the relevant manual after it has been discussed and agreed on. > > If you feel that there should be a mechanism for detecting absent > developers, I wouldn't oppose you. But, a developer should only be > removed from the rolls if they have not contributed to the project for > some time (perhaps 6 months). Posting to one of the public mailing > lists, uploading a package, submitting a bug report, etc, should all > count as contributions. And, such a person should be mailed to ask > them whether they still want to be part of the project, and they > should stay if they say `yes'. If you want to write the software for > this, go ahead. > > Ian. > > > -- > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
