[Python-Dev] Weekly Python Bug/Patch Summary

["Martin v. Löwis"]

Michael Chermside wrote:
> I don't want to exercise a veto here or anything, but I don't think
> it would be helpful. The barrier to more participation isn't that people
> don't know there's work to be done. I suspect that anyone who was going
> to consider helping with development would either be scratching their
> own itch (ie, contributing a patch and wouldn't care about this report),
> or would already be reading python-dev (after all, it's not hard to
> qualify to receive it!). 

I completely disagree (and I have to, because I was supporting more
wide distribution :-). The posting lists bug reports and patches that
some people might consider interesting, and just try out in order to
find out whether it scratches their own itches. If it does, they might
comment on the patch.

If a patch scratches nobody's itches, it is best rejected.

> I worry that posting this to c.l.py would be
> unlikely to generate anything other than occasional bellyaching about
> how slow we are about addressing bug reports.

And that would be a good thing! People *need* to remember that this is
free software, and that we are all volunteers. For some, this might
cause them to go away, with so little support from the developers.
Farewell to them! Others might consider taking over the project.
Let them come! The rest will have an occasional bellyaching, which
will remind them of how precisely free software works. They'll either
get over it, or do something about it.

> What might be more helpful would be a call for volunteers. We could
> form a "patch reviewers" group that would review patches on SF. Or
> something. Actually, figuring out how to recruit volunteers is a
> difficult problem. But I'm not sure the weekly bug/patch summary is the
> solution.

Perhaps no. However, I do think I have personally exhausted all other
possibilities, with regular postings on all available channels. It
might not help, but it won't harm, and it is easy to implement.

Regards,
Martin