[Python-Dev] No response to posts

[Steve Holden]

On 8/3/2010 4:56 AM, Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:
> Steve Holden writes:
> 
>  > No, you don't, and the current discussion about how to ensure that bug
>  > reporters get at least the courtesy of a relatively quick reply is one
>  > of the most promising developments in building a welcoming community
>  > that I can remember.
> 
> C'mon Steve, it's not hard to see that's unfair.  Mark deserves to be
> complimented for the work he's doing, that side of your comment is
> perfectly fair, but you of all people should take care to recognize
> that python-dev is "welcoming people to the community" every day.
> 
[...]

Well if my response exaggerated the situation (which your statistics
seem to make clear it did) then I am very pleased to hear it, and
apologize unreservedly to anyone who feels slighted by my remarks.

I agree the developers as a whole do a magnificent (and largely unsung)
job, and I suspect that not many people realise what a struggle it has
been maintaining four separate branches in the run-up to 2.x
end-of-life. Now we are down to three, with presumably a much more
limited requirement to back-port changes, things should be a little less
stressful.

Particularly when the issue tracker works ...

>  > But let's not let that stop us trying to build a crew of
>  > ambassadors to take care of the more touchy-feely side of things as
>  > long as it operates to the language's ultimate benefit.
> 
> Nobody's interfering with that *at all*.  In fact, it's quite clear
> that everybody is happy with Mark's work, and wants him to continue.
> They just want him to give up on the idea that they're going to put in
> a lot more effort on resolving issues than they already do, and his
> claim that something's horribly wrong.  The numbers above show why.

I don't think anyone can criticize those whose first priority is the
development of code. That is, after all, why we are here.

I believe Mark's claim isn't that something's horribly wring with the
whole process. It seems to me that something would be *really* wrong if
nobody cared about the relatively few issues that had received no
response. The fact that Mark is on that case means that those who want
to shrug their shoulders about it can do so.

Python is "a broad church" and not everyone has an appetite for all
aspects of the development process. I see the current efforts to ensure
that new issues *all* receive an effective as complementary to the other
activities that have always taken place.

regards
 Steve
-- 
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