>>"Seth" == Seth R Arnold <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Seth> Manoj, Michael, I can see where you are coming from, and it makes a good
Seth> deal of sense -- but part of me thinks it is folly to require *that*
level
Seth> of understanding before packaging a program, and expect it after being
Seth> packaged.
I think that far from being folly, it is imperative to do that
lest we let the quality of the distribution slide.
Seth> Some programs are just complex -- not many people can claim to
Seth> know what every file in the linux kernel can do.
No. But anyone who can't figure what a binary is doing after
looking at the sources and comments and other docs, and who is not
willing to go ask the author/ mailing list, should not be packaging
that program.
Why is there such an imperative need to get every peice of
software out there i Debian, no matter how sloppily it is packaged?
Seth> While I agree that maintainers should know more about their
Seth> packages than the average end user, to expect them to know it
Seth> as well as the upstream authors just doesn't seem realistic. In
Seth> the end, the maintainers of packages are end users, people that
Seth> used a package often enough that they desire to maintain it,
Seth> for the good of the project. Maintainers aren't employed by
Seth> anyone to know something inside and out, so they must spend
Seth> their time earning a living. I think this must be understood.
I disagree quite strongly with that. A package maintainer is
not a user turned bureaucrat. If you do not know, and are not willing
to learn about a package, please let a more competent person handle
it.
If there is no other competent person, then perhaps Debian
does not need the package.
Seth> Perhaps what we should be after, is having maintainers that
Seth> know their packages well enough to track down user's questions
Seth> in a reasonable amount of time. Isn't that what we are really
Seth> after?
What we are after is trying to produce the best free
distribution there is. Not the free, mediocre distribution.
When did we loose the drive to be the best there is?
Seth> Who cares if the maintainer knew the answer before or after the
Seth> question was asked, as long as the answer comes back in a
Seth> reasonable amount of time?
Yes, But the issue was people who punted on man pages, and had
no intention of providing the answer.
Seth> Our large community model just doesn't allow for maintainers to
Seth> spend all day working on their programs -- to expect otherwise
Seth> would alienate many.
Question: would the distribution quality really suffer if we
did alienate them?
manoj
--
If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large
deposit in my name at a Swiss Bank. Woody Allen
Manoj Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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