Hi, First off, thanks for putting this together, but I think it’s essential to look at what the data actually shows. Over the past ten years, changes in release issues that slow or block releases are becoming less likely to be the kinds of things automation can detect. A release is a shared act of governance and responsibility, not something a tool can detect; it more often than not requires human judgment.
Baseline checks already exist and are widely used. They catch the simple mistakes early, but they don’t address the harder problems. The data is very clear on that. We sometimes slip into trying to solve release issues with a programmer mindset, focusing on tooling rather than the wider community practices that actually matter. Most of the fundamental problems are cultural and procedural, not technical. On the specific example at issue here - podlings missing “incubating” in the source release name is now extremely uncommon. When it does happen, it’s easy to correct and doesn’t need a revote. It’s not a recurring issue. Kind regards, Justin
