A.M. Kuchling writes:
[Aside: are there many patches in the tracker that could be useful?
"Could be useful", definitely. I've used several at one time or another.
But typically they're unsatisfactory as-is because they hard-code the intended behavior. OTOH, they are non-trivial to integrate as options, so neither the original submitter nor the core devs do so. Nor us downstream users. :-(
I don't know how actively they've been getting processed.
My impression is that many get considered when first submitted, but then languish indefinitely due to the above kind of problem.
Does there need to be a push to process bugs and patches?
I suspect getting more modularity, making it easier to turn interesting ideas into generally available options, should be given precedence. Especially since that's where Barry is headed in Mailman 3 AIUI.
If the Triumvirate could free up some time for it, an MvL-like review-for-5-reviews policy, even if only a limited-time offer, could help clean up the backlog, though.