On 25 Oct 2004 13:05:51 -0700, Thomas Bushnell BSG <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
> Anthony Towns <aj@azure.humbug.org.au> writes:
>> * One of Testing's goals was to be 95% releasable at all times.
>> * It hasn't been.
>> * Why not?
>> (a) RC bugs
>> (b) Can't install it
>> (c) Security vulnerabilities
> This is the crux of the problem, I think, but I'm a little confused.
> How does (a) contribute to this? The assumption behind an RC bug is
> "we can't release with this bug unfixed". But the problem is that,
> of course, we *do*, and we *have*, because many RC bugs are in
> things we have already released. In other words, woody has RC bugs
> in it Right Now. But that doesn't stop us from continuing to call
> it stable.
Did we know it was a RC bug when we released it? I think
not. We do not live in a environment where we have perfect
information, so we do the best we can. However, if we let known RC
bugs slide, the resulting release would be far worse -- since now ew
have bugs we do not know about at the point of release, and bugs that
we did, and let slide.
> So the RC bugs should not be blocking release unless they are *new*
No. If they are release critical, they are critical -- and
they block the release. Anything else impacts the quality of
distribution and starts a slippery slope towards mediocrity.
We have already blown it as a distribution with cutting edge
releases -- our reputation rests on quality, and r0ock solid
stability.
> RC bugs which don't already exist. In other words, a new stable
> release shouldn't be worse, but it doesn't have to be maximally
> better. It shouldn't have new RC bugs, but it's tolerable if it
> continues to have the same old ones.
I vehemently disagree. We are not people who have found common
cause to only slowly deteriorate towards mediocrity; we are folks who
are trying to put together the best possible distribution of Linux.
If people want a good enough distribution, they can try
mandrake or red hat.
manoj
--
Mount St. Helens should have used earth control.
Manoj Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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