On Tue, 13 Mar 2007, Andreas Tille wrote: > On Tue, 13 Mar 2007, Frans Pop wrote: > > >[quoting http://lists.debian.org/debian-project/2007/03/msg00062.html ] > >... > > > >IMO setting up an RT system will not fundamentally solve any of this, but > >will at most make it more manageable. The only way to solve this is by > >having new blood in the teams, people who will take on the most boring > >and routine tasks with enthusiasm because it is new and who bring fresh > >ideas and the energy to implement them to the teams. > > Amen. > > I seldomly read such precise and explicite words that describe the > main problem in Debian. Each paragraph was well written and I just > cuttet the quote short. > > If there would be a DPL candidate that would explicitely express > the intend to make it his main task to change this situation I would > rank him top most and everybody who ignores this problem will be > ranked below "None of above".
I agree with what Frans said and fixing this problem is certainly an high-priority goal for me (as well as other candidates who are in the board). I can even give a simple (recent) example. Last week Roland Mas and John Goerzen have configured an hg.debian.org service on Alioth. The only missing bit was the DNS name. Roland sent a request to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a line ready to be cut&pasted in the bind configuration file. This is a no-brainer, a 3 minutes task for any admin. Then you start waiting and you have no answer. Then you decide to ping someone on IRC. I tried Joey first because he used to handle many small requests like those. Here you discover that he doesn't read debian-admin anymore and that you have to bounce him the message privately. We did that. 2 days later, still nothing. Then you decide to try another route. I ask neuro and fil on a DSA channel. No answer. Then one day later, I decide to /msg elmo (who is currently not in the DSA channel). It's sunday, no answer but I expected that as we was idle for quite a long time. Then on monday I re-ping elmo and he responds and he does the change within minutes. For a 3 minute work, I probably lost 30 minutes trying to ping people by various means. If they use the request-tracker seriously, it can certainly be a big help for that kind of small request. But then, it's not difficult to review a mbox and see if all the request have been answered. That's why I believe there's still a motivation/manpower problem. I could give a similar example with the addition of "zack" to the "qa" group. It has taken several months simply because mails are not answered and we had to prod them several times. Others have had similar experience with buildd admins and/or ftpmasters. Even ftpmaster assistants have problems getting the attention of real ftpmasters when they prepare patches. So, believe me, yes I intend to work with those teams to fix those problems. But I don't expect to appoint people directly, I'll rather make sure that the teams formulate their goals and then ask people to help them reach those goals, and then ask the teams to integrate the people who helped them reach their goals. Then again, this strategy is mine and will be discussed by the board so that people with other experiences have the opportunity to correct the direction before we try something. Cheers, -- Raphaël Hertzog Premier livre français sur Debian GNU/Linux : http://www.ouaza.com/livre/admin-debian/ -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
