[Python-Dev] public visibility of python-dev decisions "before it's too late" (was: PyCObject_AsVoidPtr removed from python 3.2 - is this documented?)

[Doug Hellmann]

On Mar 9, 2011, at 9:50 AM, Tim Lesher wrote:

> On Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 01:15, Stefan Behnel <stefan_ml at behnel.de> wrote:
>> Actually, why not put up a web page of "upcoming changes" somewhere, that
>> lists major decisions with user impact that were taken on python-dev?
>> Including a link to the relevant discussion and decision. Often enough,
>> decisions are taken inside of huge mailing list threads that get off-topic
>> before someone has "the right idea" and everyone who's still there to listen
>> agrees. Even for people lurking around on python-dev, it's easy enough to
>> miss these moments.
> 
> We used to do biweekly-ish Python-Dev summaries for this reason.
> 
> The original links at python.org appear to be down, but I found an
> example mirrored at
> ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/mirror/python/dev/summary/2005-02-01_2005-02-14.html
> 
> Would resuming these and putting them back on python.org address the issue?
> 
> It's been on my back burner for about two years now, but I want to
> make sure I can keep up before diving in again.

As Jesse mentioned, this topic came up on the board mailing list recently for a reason completely unrelated to this thread. As a result of that discussion, the board has asked me in my capacity as PSF Communications Director to help the python-dev crew set up a blog (or other forum) through which you can communicate news about major projects undertaken during development. This would be in addition to, rather than a replacement for, individual developer blogs, and would provide an official channel for the team to talk about projects publicly after they are complete. 

Topics proposed as part of the discussion on the board list included the hg migration, the new developer's guide, changes to the Mac installer, and the updated release process for 3.2. Those are just examples, though. This deprecation would make another good topic, and I'm sure everyone can think of others. Consider the blog as an analog to the PEP process. Where PEPs come at the beginning of a project, a blog post would come at a major milestones or the completion of a project.

The original request from the board was for the communications team to write the messages, but I think it is more appropriate for the people doing the work to talk about it. I will provide editorial guidance to anyone that wants me to read their posts before they are published, and I will administer the tool if needed (granting access and moderating comments that look like spam).

I asked Michael to add this topic to the agenda for the language summit tomorrow to get early feedback about whether this group thinks it is a good idea. I was going to hold discussion for the mailing list until after that meeting, but since the topic came up on its own please go ahead and respond here with questions or comments, especially if you won't be in Atlanta tomorrow. Let's table discussion of tools for now, though, because I want to make sure there is enough support for the project before we spend too much energy on implementation details.

Doug