I was asked by one of my applicants why Debian is unlike other OSS
projects, requiring an identification and philosophy check, etc. I
explained to him the reasons as I see them, but I think it would be a
good idea to put them on the front page of the NM corner
(http://www.debian.org/devel/join/newmaint), immediately after the
"Contents" section. Something like (only in sketch form today):
Why does Debian require the NM process?
- developers have to be trusted: root on lots of boxes, no automatic
peer review or checking of uploads, etc.
- developers much more independent than in a "single piece of
software" project
- so big mistakes or malice are in general much more serious than in a
small OSS project
- so Debian needs to attempt to ensure that potential developers are
competent and identifiable -> accountable.
Julian
--
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Julian Gilbey, Dept of Maths, QMW, Univ. of London. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Debian GNU/Linux Developer, see http://www.debian.org/~jdg
Donate free food to the world's hungry: see http://www.thehungersite.com/
