Re: All candidates: Development and technical issues and challenges
On 2013-03-11, Moray Allan wrote: When to release: I would also note that we should continue to be flexible about -ignore tags where appropriate. In some cases leaving a package in the release with RC bugs is more useful to users than removing it altogether. Indeed, we always release with quite a large number of non-RC bugs, some of which make the packages in question unusable for large groups of users. At any point in the freeze we should ask not only about the state of the frozen release, but how it compares to the previous release. Maybe it doesn't even need to be a single date -- we could badge the new release as ready for the desktop before we close it off as final and suggest that people upgrade their servers. I think this is a great point, and I would like to push it a little further. When to release seems really important. As things stand right now, we have about 70 packages (assuming one package per RC bug) blocking the release of 38000 packages[1]. That is 0.2% of the archive. It's really small. About 0.1% if we look at the ones that don't have a fix yet (49). Shouldn't we be releasing 'as is' at some point and just accept that some bugs will be fixed in a stable release later? Shouldn't we release early, release often? I agree that releasing with, say, 1000 RC bugs is crazy, but maybe waiting forever for the last 100 packages is also nonsense. Maybe we could discriminate on the package's priorities. For example, about a third of the 49 packages *really* blocking the release (not waiting for a transition) are from extra[2]. Only 5 bugs affect required, important or standard packages. We could focus on those and tell the extra packages to hurry up or be shipped with packages that will need to be fixed in a point release... or simply removed. Maybe that's something that's already done by the release team too, in which case I am happy. :) A. [1] 38569, to be more exact, kudos to UDD: SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT(package)) FROM packages WHERE release = 'wheezy'; [2] I had trouble with my SQL there, I could only list the packages: SELECT distinct(packages.package), packages.priority, bugs.id FROM bugs LEFT JOIN packages ON bugs.package = packages.package WHERE severity = 'serious' AND NOT (id IN (SELECT id FROM bugs_merged_with WHERE id merged_with)) AND id IN (SELECT id FROM bugs_rt_affects_testing) AND id NOT IN (SELECT id FROM bugs_rt_affects_unstable) ORDER BY packages.priority; -- The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.- Friedrich Nietzsche pgplht1NeIOo3.pgp Description: PGP signature
[all candidates] beyond tech: how do you deal with humans?
On 2013-03-18, Stefano Zacchiroli wrote: I'd like to know how the candidates would approach the problem of *helping Debian* making a decision on this matter; decision which we will likely have to make at the beginning of Jessie's release cycle. Personally, I'm not particularly interested in candidates' opinion on the decision per se, but rather on how they think Debian should take similar decisions and which role, if any, the DPL should play in the decision process. Still, I picked a concrete example as it might help focusing our thoughts on how we would like similar important technical decisions to work in the future. Following up on this with a more general question, to all candidates. You all have an impressive technical curriculum. Your deeds in Debian speak for themselves. However, the role of a project leader is unusually non-technical. In fact, you will have to abandon significant technical tasks to tend to more administrative or leadership tasks the DPL role requires. Why are you good candidates for that role? What social skills do you bring to the community in terms of mediation and leadership? How would you have dealt with the difficult decisions the previous DPL had to make regarding various conflicts or problems that occurred during his mandate(s)? Would you have intervened? How? Could you give an example of such a situation where you have successfully mediated a (potential) conflict? Which tools did you use to deal with the situation? Thanks, and best of luck to all candidates! -- À force de ne jamais réfléchir, on a un bonheur stupide - Jean Cocteau pgp1qmxkmGSIb.pgp Description: PGP signature
Re: [all candidates] beyond tech: how do you deal with humans?
On 2013-03-19, Gergely Nagy wrote: anarcat anar...@debian.org writes: Why are you good candidates for that role? What social skills do you bring to the community in terms of mediation and leadership? I'm pretty darn good at mediation, did that both inside Debian (see an example shortly below) and outside of it. It is something I find challenging and satisfying, an area where I have had great success in the past, an area I find particularly interesting (people *are* interesting in general). I speak, I teach, I coach regularly on various topics (Debian included, of course), other times, I use a handful of magic dust, and make things simple. On other occassions, I evangelise. One of my fondest moments of recent years were hearing these words - said very quietly under her breath -, by a person who's been hating GNU/Linux for the past decade or so: Can you get me a Debian sticker? I love Debian. Other times, I listen, and just stay invisible. To illustrate my skills, let me briefly mention a few accomplishments: [...] Thanks, those are pertty good answers. How would you have dealt with the difficult decisions the previous DPL had to make regarding various conflicts or problems that occurred during his mandate(s)? Would you have intervened? How? This is something I'd rather not answer, on one hand, because it would take too long, and on another, because in the most interestring (for some values of interesting, anyway) cases, I simply do not have enough historical data to see the whole picture, therefore can't make a well informed judgement, either. Too bad. :) Could you give an example of such a situation where you have successfully mediated a (potential) conflict? Which tools did you use to deal with the situation? Although this happened years and years ago, when I was young, foolish and hot-headed, there's one particular feat I'm proud of to this day. [...] This was a tough and dire situation, at a time when I wasn't half as much prepared, not half as much experienced as I am now. Thanks for walking the plank, algernon - and exposing such a sensitive example. I was disappointed to have no answer to my question, but you seem to have provided the best one so far. :) Good luck to all candidates, A. pgpQVRqe8Uplf.pgp Description: PGP signature
