On Sat, 22 Nov 2003, Dirk-Willem van Gulik wrote: > > > (TLPs), will it split into smaller groups, if smaller groups, along > > > what lines, etc. Given the mostly Java-centricity of the XML PMC, i've > > > I kind of feel that AxKit is pretty autonomous. We started out as a > > standalone project, and we really just use the ASF as a marketing tool. > > If it is just the latter - you may indeed need to (re)consider your > position; as the ASF generally more than just a brand; it provides legal > protection, it provides a home to a code base beyond the lives of a single > committer, etc. If this is something to which this community does not > subscribe then we may need to do some debugging.
I hope this wasn't misconstrued. All I mean is we're not suffering from any particular problems with being in the XML PMC. It works well for us. We haven't needed the legal protection, so it hasn't (yet) been relevant to us, but should the need ever arise you can be sure we'll be grateful of it. Plus should I ever get hit by a bus I'm safe in the knowledge that AxKit will continue (though I suspect that will be the least of my worries should that happen :-) > > What I mostly feel about the whole discussion is I don't understand > > what the problem is. > > Please consult the archive. This is important. > > http://www.mail-archive.com/general@xml.apache.org/maillist.html I've read it (obviously I'm subscribed) and still don't feel fully versed. > > something truly broken? I'm not really sure. > > Yes there is; we have seen a number of minor issues in the XML land, such > as releases arguably not beeing peer reviewed or lack of recording of the > votes leading up to a release. None of these are major, and each will be > fixed as we come across them. But they should have been caught earlier, > and hence we are looking at how we can improve oversight. And the reason > we want oversight is so that the ASF can continue to provide a safe home > to the code we work on, and shield its developers of legal issues. I guess what I'm trying to say is that by bringing this up you can fix this problem. You don't need a redesign of the community. The biggest problem I perceive with becoming a member of the XML community at the ASF is the lack of documentation of what's expected of developers. This is still quite poorly documented and what documentation is pointed at (mostly at Jakarta) is very long and intimidating to a new developer who just wants to cut some code into a project. Perhaps that's a simpler thing to focus on. Hmm, this should probably be CC'd to general@ :-) I haven't, because only the above two paragraphs are relevant there. -- <!-- Matt --> <:->get a SMart net</:-> I am Jack's stern warning.
