On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:52:32 -0400, Matthew Miller wrote: > > A few years ago we've been much better at talking about things and > > coming to a conclusion. Nowadays I have the feeling "the community" > > is fragmented too much. With some people avoiding mailing-lists like > > the plague, some people lurking on IRC only, other people preferring > > web based forums, others addressing topics in personal blogs or during > > hallway meetings (and similar face-to-face situations). > > I have this same feeling. I think we need to fix it; do you have any > thoughts or ideas as to how?
If people hate email lists in general (or the number of messages posted to them), it cannot be fixed. As a first step, I suggest clearing up the intended usage of "devel" list. There's too much traffic on that list. 792 messages so far in October. Even if one uses filtering, the recurring task of skimming over the devel list folder is tiresome, since it's not the only list one is subscribed to. Not even meetings logs are posted to devel-announce list, however. The intended usage of "test" list has always been a problem. Once in a while, somebody points that out, but there's nobody (no leadership) to work on a change actively. Is it only for Test releases or also for Rawhide? Its description is vague. Is there not any "testing and quality assurance" for non-Test releases? Why doesn't the "packager" group doesn't have an own list? Why is the description of the "packaging" list so brief and vague? Is it just me who cannot tell when to choose which list? [ This mailing list provides a discussion forum for RPM packaging standards and practices for Fedora. ] Where is a list that devotes to managing the Fedora Project and its multitude of policies and procedures? Such as the sponsorship process. The description of the "advisory-board" list is vague. Should it have been used for this thread instead of "devel"? Does FESCo still use a non-public list? What about the FPC? Are they limited to their IRC meetings? Why don't they talk about anything on "packaging" list? https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging_Committee#Discussions [ Discussion and decisions can also take place in the packaging mailing list. ] Who is in charge of defining the sponsorship process? Who believes the current process doesn't work? Does leadership think it doesn't work? Or is it only a few (frustrated?) package submitters, who don't want to attempt at contributing a single review in several months? In packagersponsors' trac I see sponsor request notification mails flying by, and becoming a co-maintainer even is one documented way to get sponsored. That part of the process works. In the review queue, I see that some submitters _do_ visit other tickets and comment on them, trying to learn about packaging for Fedora. Currently, I don't think much is wrong (or not working) with the sponsorship process. However, I'm not sure devel list is a good place for new contributors to get in contact with other packagers and potential sponsors. For example, there ought to be a list where advertising submitted review requests is officially permitted. -- devel mailing list devel@lists.fedoraproject.org https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/devel Fedora Code of Conduct: http://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct