> <mailto:
matthew.brett@gmail.com>> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> >> Linux has Linus, ipython has Fernando, nipy has... well, I'm
> sure it is
> >> somebody. Numpy and Scipy no longer have a central figure and I
> like it that
> >> way. There is no reason that DVCS has to inevitably lead to a
> central
> >> authority.
> >
> > I think I was trying to say that the way it looks as if it will be -
> > before you try it - is very different from the way it actually is
> when
> > you get there. Anne put the idea very well - but I still think
> it is
> > very hard to understand, without trying it, just how liberating the
> > workflow is from anxieties about central authorities and so on.
> You
> > can just get on with what you want to do, talk with or merge from
> > whoever you want, and the whole development process becomes much more
> > fluid and productive. And I know that sounds chaotic but - it just
> > works. Really really well.
>
> One way to think of it is that there is no "main line" of development.
> The only time the central repository needs to pull from the others is
> when a release is being prepared. As it stands we do have a single
> release manager, though it's not necessarily the same for each
> version. So if we wanted, they could just go and pull and merge the
> repositories of everyone who's made a useful change, then release the
> results. Of course, this will be vastly easier if all those other
> people have already merged each other's results (into different
> branches if appropriate). But just like now, it's the release
> manager's decision which changes end up in the next version.
>
>
> No, at this point we don't have a release manager, we haven't since 1.2.
> We have people who do the builds and put them up on sourceforge, but
> they aren't release managers, they don't decide what is in the release
> or organise the effort. We haven't had a central figure since Travis got
> a real job ;) And now David has a real job too. I'm just pointing out
> that that projects like Linux and IPython have central figures because
> the originators are still active in the development. Let me put it this
> way, right now, who would you choose to pull the changes and release the
> official version?