[Python-Dev] Goodbye

[Tim Golden]

On 23/09/2010 09:46, Georg Brandl wrote:
> Am 23.09.2010 09:18, schrieb "Martin v. Löwis":
>> I personally think that the tracker fields and how they should be set is
>> of minor importance. If there is a bug in Python, the most useful
>> contribution is to submit a fix (or provide a rationale why this is not
>> a bug). Asking every now and then "is this still an issue", or setting
>> the version number, doesn't really advance the issue.
>
> It does however attract attention from developers who either weren't around
> when the original issue was submitted, or didn't feel competent enough to
> fix it then.
>
> It is also helpful to try reproducing the bug with a current version, in
> case the issue has been fixed already -- whether because of a duplicate
> bug report or by "chance".


I think my experience is that of several others. The work done by
Mark and other tracker-trawlers has been useful: to dust off issues,
attempt to assess their current validity, add suitable people to
nosy lists, and where possible to try to reproduce or to encourage
an OP to provide patches or other useful input.

I've addressed, closed, or at least taken note of several issues
in this way which I might not otherwise have done.

The two less useful overspills of this generally useful activity
have been: simple noise of the "Is anyone interested in this?"
variety -- although even that might be useful, as Georg says, in
highlighting older issues to newer developers; and the over-eager
closure of calls on the basis of lack of response, and it seems
to be an excess of this last which has brought the matter to a
head.

Let me ask a question which I don't think has been asked in this
thread: are there guidelines for tracker-trawlers? I'm never sure
where to look for this kind of thing myself. If there's nothing,
I'm happy to pen a dos-and-donts (which I might do anyway, simply
as a blog entry...)

TJG