Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
On Wed, Jan 17, 2024 at 09:13:59PM -0800, Steve Langasek wrote: > On Wed, Jan 17, 2024 at 10:34:04PM -0600, Aaron Rainbolt wrote: > > > One of the points on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecognizedFlavors for LTS > > > approval is > > >Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support > > > plan > > >should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key > > >contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support. > > > Who are you identifying as the "contacts" for escalation of any issues > > > regarding Lubuntu 24.04 LTS, from the technical board or the release team? > > Perhaps this got missed, but in the Lubuntu Constitution (our personal "how > > things work in our project" policy), this is very well-defined. > Well yes, that was not part of the information submitted to the Technical > Board as part of the qualification request. It's healthy for a flavor to > have such structures in place and also speaks well of the maturity and > health of the Lubuntu flavor community; but please don't assume that members > of the broader Ubuntu community are conversant with such flavor-specific > governance details. > > The contacts are Simon, Dan and myself (Aaron), and Thomas, in that order. > > Simon therefore is the primary contact as he is the Lubuntu Release Manager, > > me and Dan are secondary contacts, and Thomas is the "if all else fails" > > fallback by virtue of him being Team Lead. > Thanks. With that clarification, I am +1 for the 3-year Lubuntu 24.04 LTS. With three votes in favor and two (apparent) abstentions, Lubuntu 24.04 is approved for 3-year LTS status. Thanks, -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer https://www.debian.org/ slanga...@ubuntu.com vor...@debian.org signature.asc Description: PGP signature -- Ubuntu-release mailing list Ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-release
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
On Thu, 2024-01-18 at 19:18:23 +, Simon Quigley wrote: > >>> The contacts are Simon, Dan and myself (Aaron), and Thomas, in that order. >> >>> Simon therefore is the primary contact as he is the Lubuntu Release >>> Manager, me and Dan are secondary contacts, and Thomas is the "if all else >>> fails" >>> fallback by virtue of him being Team Lead. >> >> Thanks. With that clarification, I am +1 for the 3-year Lubuntu 24.04 LTS. > > Thanks, Steve! As always, I appreciate that you're willing to ask the > tough questions. > +1 from me too now this detail has been explicitly stated. -- Ubuntu-release mailing list Ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-release
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
Hello, I do appreciate the responses from my Lubuntu colleagues on this topic. That being said, Steve addressed me, so I at least owe him an acknowledgement. I will also address some common questions we have received recently. Firstly, Thomas is correct, and I agree that the Lubuntu Constitution[1] (as ratified by the Ubuntu Community Council) clearly defines these roles and positions. With Lubuntu being a large player in the Ubuntu ecosystem, a one-time read-through of our governing document may be beneficial. The reason Thomas Ward is Team Lead and I am Release Manager is simple: we both get to work on what we actually enjoy. I enjoy being Release Manager, and the responsibilities that come with it. Thomas enjoys being Team Lead because he is well-connected with the legal, financial, and infrastructure needs of the project, and that is what he enjoys doing. What I believe Thomas is trying to say is, he leaves the vast majority of day-to-day decisions to us, and is happy to delegate. After all, the Team Lead is just the head of the executive; he *is* required constitutionally speaking to run his decisions by the Lubuntu Council, and as a body, we do have the right to override him (which has not happened in recent memory, but the point still stands.) This all being said, there is no contention between Thomas and I; we're both actually quite happy with this arrangement, and have great mutual trust. Thomas is skilled at being the head of the executive, that being said, I would remind him that, while I agree that this is a high-stakes discussion that should be dealt with by official leadership, Aaron did the right thing by responding in this case. His response was helpful, and actually gave Steve the information he needed to make his decision. Don't Punish Good Behavior™ :) More responses in-line. On 1/17/24 11:18 PM, Thomas Ward wrote: > I was just about to reply with a decision from Team Lead and Council as > follows, which sort of affirms what Aaron said (though this DID need to come > from leadership, not Aaron): > > Primary contact: Simon (tsimonq2) > Secondary Contact: Dan (kc2bez) > Third-tier contact (if Simon and Dan don't reply): Aaron (arraybolt3) We'll be discussing this internally on a Lubuntu Council level after our next election cycle. I get the feeling that Dan and Aaron both need to be secondary contacts, but I'm okay with this being the decision for the time being. To be clear, this is only for Noble, and would not apply for e.g. point releases, which I have already explicitly delegated to both of them. > For an all else fails contact, you can contact me - Thomas (teward) - as > Lubuntu Team Lead, I have executive authority to act if others are > unreachable or in cases where it requires executive overrule (see Simon's > reference to me dictating the "rest period" for Lubuntu started on Dec 20 > instead of Simon's suggestion of Dec 25th through New Year). I don't think that exactly was public, but I'm okay with it being public now. :) > I'm also always open to pass on escalations if the others are unreachable, > Simon and Aaron both know I'm no stranger to dropping bags of work on them > when it's necessary. > > (Note that my Lubuntu duties are independent of my other roles and hats) (Thomas is actually pretty good about separating CC/etc. duties and Lubuntu duties, allow me to give him credit here.) > Thomas > > (Sorry for not replying in line, Outlook is the only mail client I have right > now and it's a pain for replying because it does top-replies). > > -Original Message- > From: Ubuntu-release On Behalf Of > Steve Langasek > Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2024 12:14 AM > To: Aaron Rainbolt > Cc: Simon Quigley ; ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com > Subject: Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat > > On Wed, Jan 17, 2024 at 10:34:04PM -0600, Aaron Rainbolt wrote: >>> One of the points on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecognizedFlavors for >>> LTS approval is > >>> Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support plan >>> should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key >>> contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support. > >>> Who are you identifying as the "contacts" for escalation of any >>> issues regarding Lubuntu 24.04 LTS, from the technical board or the release >>> team? > >> Perhaps this got missed, but in the Lubuntu Constitution (our personal >> "how things work in our project" policy), this is very well-defined. > > Well yes, that was not part of the information submitted to the Technical > Board as part of the qualification request. It's healthy for a flavor to > have such structures in place and also speaks well
RE: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
I was just about to reply with a decision from Team Lead and Council as follows, which sort of affirms what Aaron said (though this DID need to come from leadership, not Aaron): Primary contact: Simon (tsimonq2) Secondary Contact: Dan (kc2bez) Third-tier contact (if Simon and Dan don't reply): Aaron (arraybolt3) For an all else fails contact, you can contact me - Thomas (teward) - as Lubuntu Team Lead, I have executive authority to act if others are unreachable or in cases where it requires executive overrule (see Simon's reference to me dictating the "rest period" for Lubuntu started on Dec 20 instead of Simon's suggestion of Dec 25th through New Year). I'm also always open to pass on escalations if the others are unreachable, Simon and Aaron both know I'm no stranger to dropping bags of work on them when it's necessary. (Note that my Lubuntu duties are independent of my other roles and hats) Thomas (Sorry for not replying in line, Outlook is the only mail client I have right now and it's a pain for replying because it does top-replies). -Original Message- From: Ubuntu-release On Behalf Of Steve Langasek Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2024 12:14 AM To: Aaron Rainbolt Cc: Simon Quigley ; ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat On Wed, Jan 17, 2024 at 10:34:04PM -0600, Aaron Rainbolt wrote: > > One of the points on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecognizedFlavors for > > LTS approval is > >Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support plan > >should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key > >contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support. > > Who are you identifying as the "contacts" for escalation of any > > issues regarding Lubuntu 24.04 LTS, from the technical board or the release > > team? > Perhaps this got missed, but in the Lubuntu Constitution (our personal > "how things work in our project" policy), this is very well-defined. Well yes, that was not part of the information submitted to the Technical Board as part of the qualification request. It's healthy for a flavor to have such structures in place and also speaks well of the maturity and health of the Lubuntu flavor community; but please don't assume that members of the broader Ubuntu community are conversant with such flavor-specific governance details. > The contacts are Simon, Dan and myself (Aaron), and Thomas, in that order. > Simon therefore is the primary contact as he is the Lubuntu Release > Manager, me and Dan are secondary contacts, and Thomas is the "if all else > fails" > fallback by virtue of him being Team Lead. Thanks. With that clarification, I am +1 for the 3-year Lubuntu 24.04 LTS. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer https://www.debian.org/ slanga...@ubuntu.com vor...@debian.org -- Ubuntu-release mailing list Ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-release
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
On Wed, Jan 17, 2024 at 10:34:04PM -0600, Aaron Rainbolt wrote: > > One of the points on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecognizedFlavors for LTS > > approval is > >Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support plan > >should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key > >contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support. > > Who are you identifying as the "contacts" for escalation of any issues > > regarding Lubuntu 24.04 LTS, from the technical board or the release team? > Perhaps this got missed, but in the Lubuntu Constitution (our personal "how > things work in our project" policy), this is very well-defined. Well yes, that was not part of the information submitted to the Technical Board as part of the qualification request. It's healthy for a flavor to have such structures in place and also speaks well of the maturity and health of the Lubuntu flavor community; but please don't assume that members of the broader Ubuntu community are conversant with such flavor-specific governance details. > The contacts are Simon, Dan and myself (Aaron), and Thomas, in that order. > Simon therefore is the primary contact as he is the Lubuntu Release Manager, > me and Dan are secondary contacts, and Thomas is the "if all else fails" > fallback by virtue of him being Team Lead. Thanks. With that clarification, I am +1 for the 3-year Lubuntu 24.04 LTS. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer https://www.debian.org/ slanga...@ubuntu.com vor...@debian.org signature.asc Description: PGP signature -- Ubuntu-release mailing list Ubuntu-release@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-release
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
On 1/17/24 22:07, Steve Langasek wrote: Hi Simon, One of the points onhttps://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecognizedFlavors for LTS approval is Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support plan should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support. Who are you identifying as the "contacts" for escalation of any issues regarding Lubuntu 24.04 LTS, from the technical board or the release team? We obviously know how to get ahold of you, individually. While the wording isn't explicit about the number of required contacts, the use of the plural suggests that the correct number is > 1. And I would personally not be comfortable signing off on LTS for any flavor for which we only had 1 defined contact. Other flavors have identified two individual contacts as part of their LTS sign-off requests, a primary and a backup, which I think is a reasonable threshold. A team contact is also not really suitable because "if everyone is responsible then no one is responsible"; and there is nothing on the Ubuntu governance side that warns us if the number of active members of such a team drops to 0. (In any case, while you identify several teams in your email, none of this includes contact information for those teams.) The ISO tracker manifest currently lists teward and kc2bez as the contacts for Lubuntu there; but not you. Your recent mail regarding lubuntu release delegations mentions Aaron (arraybolt3) and Dan (kc2bez). So there are a number of folks who are named, but it's not clear which of them should be considered the "contacts" for these purposes. I think it's important to be explicit about this, both so that folks know who they are expected to contact, and so that there's a clear acceptance of responsibility of the named individuals of being these contacts for the duration of the LTS. (With the proviso, of course, that the future is uncertain and no one can *promise* to be available for the duration of 3 years - but that they can *commit* to being available; and if something comes up, there are at least 2 people with known responsibility to designate a successor in the event 1 becomes unavailable. [1]) Perhaps this got missed, but in the Lubuntu Constitution (our personal "how things work in our project" policy), this is very well-defined. The contacts are Simon, Dan and myself (Aaron), and Thomas, in that order. Quoting the relevant parts of the Constitution: "The following are the current administrative positions delegated by the [Lubuntu] Council. They have the ability to appoint assistants to their position which take their place in the case that they are no longer fit to fulfill their duties, either temporarily or permanently. ... Lubuntu Release Manager The Lubuntu Release Manager is the individual responsible for all release management for the Product. They make the final decision as to what packages are in the Product (although this is subject to platform expectations set by the Ubuntu Technical Board), the release goals for the Product, and whether or not the Product is in a releasable state. **They serve as the point of contact for Product releases** [emphasis added], and have the ability to establish release-related rules for Product-specific packages." Simon therefore is the primary contact as he is the Lubuntu Release Manager, me and Dan are secondary contacts, and Thomas is the "if all else fails" fallback by virtue of him being Team Lead. On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 03:00:38AM +, Simon Quigley wrote: On behalf of the Lubuntu Team, and in my capacity as Lubuntu Release Manager, this is our application for Long-Term Support requalification for 24.04 (Noble Numbat). * The Lubuntu Team currently has five active developers[1] with upload permissions to the Lubuntu packageset. Two of those developers are also Ubuntu Core Developers (and one of them is a Debian Developer, who is on the Debian Qt/KDE Team). Over several LTS cycles, we have proven that we are willing and able to handle Stable Release Updates to `lubuntu` packages. Our developers have also committed bug fixes upstream in LXQt, Calamares, KDE, Qt, and core Ubuntu tooling so everyone can benefit. Several examples include Calamares, our update notifier, and SDDM. Therefore, we commit to providing bug fixes for 24.04, until 2027. * Lubuntu has a Members team[2] with *ten* active members. The difference between Ubuntu Members and Lubuntu Members are, Lubuntu Members are only *active* contributors to Lubuntu, within the last year (members have to explicitly renew with the Lubuntu Council, and it is simply an activity check). These members provide support via multiple avenues[3]. Most notably, in real-time we offer support via IRC, Matrix, Discourse[4], and Telegram. The Lubuntu support channels are bridged to reach a wider audience. Additionally, many of our members also assist in other Ubuntu support avenues
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
Hi Simon, One of the points on https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecognizedFlavors for LTS approval is Flavor's support plan presented to Tech Board and approved; support plan should indicate period of time if beyond 9 months (3 yrs or 5 yr), key contacts, and setting expectations as to level of support. Who are you identifying as the "contacts" for escalation of any issues regarding Lubuntu 24.04 LTS, from the technical board or the release team? We obviously know how to get ahold of you, individually. While the wording isn't explicit about the number of required contacts, the use of the plural suggests that the correct number is > 1. And I would personally not be comfortable signing off on LTS for any flavor for which we only had 1 defined contact. Other flavors have identified two individual contacts as part of their LTS sign-off requests, a primary and a backup, which I think is a reasonable threshold. A team contact is also not really suitable because "if everyone is responsible then no one is responsible"; and there is nothing on the Ubuntu governance side that warns us if the number of active members of such a team drops to 0. (In any case, while you identify several teams in your email, none of this includes contact information for those teams.) The ISO tracker manifest currently lists teward and kc2bez as the contacts for Lubuntu there; but not you. Your recent mail regarding lubuntu release delegations mentions Aaron (arraybolt3) and Dan (kc2bez). So there are a number of folks who are named, but it's not clear which of them should be considered the "contacts" for these purposes. I think it's important to be explicit about this, both so that folks know who they are expected to contact, and so that there's a clear acceptance of responsibility of the named individuals of being these contacts for the duration of the LTS. (With the proviso, of course, that the future is uncertain and no one can *promise* to be available for the duration of 3 years - but that they can *commit* to being available; and if something comes up, there are at least 2 people with known responsibility to designate a successor in the event 1 becomes unavailable. [1]) On Wed, Jan 03, 2024 at 03:00:38AM +, Simon Quigley wrote: > On behalf of the Lubuntu Team, and in my capacity as Lubuntu Release > Manager, this is our application for Long-Term Support requalification > for 24.04 (Noble Numbat). > > * The Lubuntu Team currently has five active developers[1] with upload > permissions to the Lubuntu packageset. Two of those developers are also > Ubuntu Core Developers (and one of them is a Debian Developer, who is on > the Debian Qt/KDE Team). Over several LTS cycles, we have proven that we > are willing and able to handle Stable Release Updates to `lubuntu` > packages. Our developers have also committed bug fixes upstream in LXQt, > Calamares, KDE, Qt, and core Ubuntu tooling so everyone can benefit. > Several examples include Calamares, our update notifier, and SDDM. > Therefore, we commit to providing bug fixes for 24.04, until 2027. > * Lubuntu has a Members team[2] with *ten* active members. The > difference between Ubuntu Members and Lubuntu Members are, Lubuntu > Members are only *active* contributors to Lubuntu, within the last year > (members have to explicitly renew with the Lubuntu Council, and it is > simply an activity check). These members provide support via multiple > avenues[3]. Most notably, in real-time we offer support via IRC, Matrix, > Discourse[4], and Telegram. The Lubuntu support channels are bridged to > reach a wider audience. Additionally, many of our members also assist in > other Ubuntu support avenues such as Matrix, IRC and Ask Ubuntu. > Therefore, we commit to providing support and a welcoming community for > 24.04, until 2027. > * In addition to developers, our Members also perform QA testing > throughout not only Lubuntu but all of Ubuntu. Several Lubuntu testers > are on top on the charts (the current #1 position is held by a (very > recently former) Lubuntu Member). They catch many bugs in the > development cycle before they appear in a stable release, following an > extensive checklist. After the release, our QA testers routinely test to > ensure stability. Therefore, we commit to testing for 24.04, until 2027. > * Our documentation team provides our fantastic manual which is > frequently referenced not only for Lubuntu but other distributions that > utilize LXQt. We currently provide the manual for both the current > stable interim release[5] and the LTS release[6]. We take the user from > download to installation to using every piece of software installed by > default. Therefore, we commit to providing documentation for the > upcoming LTS release for 24.04, until 2027. > * Our support lifespan is listed on every download on our downloads[7] > page and an easy to reference graph is at the bottom of the page. > Additionally, our
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
Hey Simon, Lukasz, I'm also giving a +1 for Lubuntu-3years-LTS Cheers, Sébastien Le 17/01/2024 à 11:13, Lukasz Zemczak a écrit : Hey Simon! Your LTS requalification application checks out so I'm fine with starting a Technical Board vote on this. My vote is of course +1. Other TB members please vote as well! Regarding your comments and concerns: I'm sorry you had to go through these various frustrating situations before end-of-year. I agree: we all need to communicate more, communicate better. It's certainly something we need to get better at - especially all the Ubuntu teams at Canonical. That being said, I don't think this is anything the technical board can help per-se. With my release team and archive admin hats on the only thing I can say is that I'll try improving my throughput regarding reviews this cycle. Around EOY is a very disruptive time, especially after such a busy year as 2023. Thank you and the Lubuntu team for all your hard work! Hoping for the vote to finish soon. Cheers, On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 at 04:56, Simon Quigley wrote: On behalf of the Lubuntu Team, and in my capacity as Lubuntu Release Manager, this is our application for Long-Term Support requalification for 24.04 (Noble Numbat). * The Lubuntu Team currently has five active developers[1] with upload permissions to the Lubuntu packageset. Two of those developers are also Ubuntu Core Developers (and one of them is a Debian Developer, who is on the Debian Qt/KDE Team). Over several LTS cycles, we have proven that we are willing and able to handle Stable Release Updates to `lubuntu` packages. Our developers have also committed bug fixes upstream in LXQt, Calamares, KDE, Qt, and core Ubuntu tooling so everyone can benefit. Several examples include Calamares, our update notifier, and SDDM. Therefore, we commit to providing bug fixes for 24.04, until 2027. * Lubuntu has a Members team[2] with *ten* active members. The difference between Ubuntu Members and Lubuntu Members are, Lubuntu Members are only *active* contributors to Lubuntu, within the last year (members have to explicitly renew with the Lubuntu Council, and it is simply an activity check). These members provide support via multiple avenues[3]. Most notably, in real-time we offer support via IRC, Matrix, Discourse[4], and Telegram. The Lubuntu support channels are bridged to reach a wider audience. Additionally, many of our members also assist in other Ubuntu support avenues such as Matrix, IRC and Ask Ubuntu. Therefore, we commit to providing support and a welcoming community for 24.04, until 2027. * In addition to developers, our Members also perform QA testing throughout not only Lubuntu but all of Ubuntu. Several Lubuntu testers are on top on the charts (the current #1 position is held by a (very recently former) Lubuntu Member). They catch many bugs in the development cycle before they appear in a stable release, following an extensive checklist. After the release, our QA testers routinely test to ensure stability. Therefore, we commit to testing for 24.04, until 2027. * Our documentation team provides our fantastic manual which is frequently referenced not only for Lubuntu but other distributions that utilize LXQt. We currently provide the manual for both the current stable interim release[5] and the LTS release[6]. We take the user from download to installation to using every piece of software installed by default. Therefore, we commit to providing documentation for the upcoming LTS release for 24.04, until 2027. * Our support lifespan is listed on every download on our downloads[7] page and an easy to reference graph is at the bottom of the page. Additionally, our support cycle is documented in every release announcement posted on our blog[8] and is also linked in every Ubuntu release note. Notes from the Release Manager -- Lubuntu is the strongest it has been since our transition to LXQt in the 18.10 cycle. Besides our technical goals, we aim to set an example by training and maintaining impactful and meaningful contributors. As the most active flavor team, we take great pride in our work, and aspire to do our best, not just for Lubuntu, but for the wider community. We recognize the sometimes-controversial technical decisions we make as a flavor, and aim to minimize their impact on others, while improving the story for our users. We may not agree on certain elements, such as Qt being the best UI toolkit, but let me be clear: we are still an Ubuntu flavor, and wish to be for a long time to come. We are a part of the same family. For every Thursday through Monday following a release, I specifically instruct all Lubuntu Members to take the weekend off, and do something they enjoy. Whether it is enjoying a nice meal for the occasion, going to a party, reading the book they finally want to read, having a great cup of tea, whatever "floats their boat," go do it. I will take care of any post-release housekeeping items.
Re: Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
Hey Simon! Your LTS requalification application checks out so I'm fine with starting a Technical Board vote on this. My vote is of course +1. Other TB members please vote as well! Regarding your comments and concerns: I'm sorry you had to go through these various frustrating situations before end-of-year. I agree: we all need to communicate more, communicate better. It's certainly something we need to get better at - especially all the Ubuntu teams at Canonical. That being said, I don't think this is anything the technical board can help per-se. With my release team and archive admin hats on the only thing I can say is that I'll try improving my throughput regarding reviews this cycle. Around EOY is a very disruptive time, especially after such a busy year as 2023. Thank you and the Lubuntu team for all your hard work! Hoping for the vote to finish soon. Cheers, On Wed, 3 Jan 2024 at 04:56, Simon Quigley wrote: > > On behalf of the Lubuntu Team, and in my capacity as Lubuntu Release > Manager, this is our application for Long-Term Support requalification > for 24.04 (Noble Numbat). > > * The Lubuntu Team currently has five active developers[1] with upload > permissions to the Lubuntu packageset. Two of those developers are also > Ubuntu Core Developers (and one of them is a Debian Developer, who is on > the Debian Qt/KDE Team). Over several LTS cycles, we have proven that we > are willing and able to handle Stable Release Updates to `lubuntu` > packages. Our developers have also committed bug fixes upstream in LXQt, > Calamares, KDE, Qt, and core Ubuntu tooling so everyone can benefit. > Several examples include Calamares, our update notifier, and SDDM. > Therefore, we commit to providing bug fixes for 24.04, until 2027. > * Lubuntu has a Members team[2] with *ten* active members. The > difference between Ubuntu Members and Lubuntu Members are, Lubuntu > Members are only *active* contributors to Lubuntu, within the last year > (members have to explicitly renew with the Lubuntu Council, and it is > simply an activity check). These members provide support via multiple > avenues[3]. Most notably, in real-time we offer support via IRC, Matrix, > Discourse[4], and Telegram. The Lubuntu support channels are bridged to > reach a wider audience. Additionally, many of our members also assist in > other Ubuntu support avenues such as Matrix, IRC and Ask Ubuntu. > Therefore, we commit to providing support and a welcoming community for > 24.04, until 2027. > * In addition to developers, our Members also perform QA testing > throughout not only Lubuntu but all of Ubuntu. Several Lubuntu testers > are on top on the charts (the current #1 position is held by a (very > recently former) Lubuntu Member). They catch many bugs in the > development cycle before they appear in a stable release, following an > extensive checklist. After the release, our QA testers routinely test to > ensure stability. Therefore, we commit to testing for 24.04, until 2027. > * Our documentation team provides our fantastic manual which is > frequently referenced not only for Lubuntu but other distributions that > utilize LXQt. We currently provide the manual for both the current > stable interim release[5] and the LTS release[6]. We take the user from > download to installation to using every piece of software installed by > default. Therefore, we commit to providing documentation for the > upcoming LTS release for 24.04, until 2027. > * Our support lifespan is listed on every download on our downloads[7] > page and an easy to reference graph is at the bottom of the page. > Additionally, our support cycle is documented in every release > announcement posted on our blog[8] and is also linked in every Ubuntu > release note. > > Notes from the Release Manager > -- > > Lubuntu is the strongest it has been since our transition to LXQt in the > 18.10 cycle. Besides our technical goals, we aim to set an example by > training and maintaining impactful and meaningful contributors. As the > most active flavor team, we take great pride in our work, and aspire to > do our best, not just for Lubuntu, but for the wider community. We > recognize the sometimes-controversial technical decisions we make as a > flavor, and aim to minimize their impact on others, while improving the > story for our users. We may not agree on certain elements, such as Qt > being the best UI toolkit, but let me be clear: we are still an Ubuntu > flavor, and wish to be for a long time to come. We are a part of the > same family. > > For every Thursday through Monday following a release, I specifically > instruct all Lubuntu Members to take the weekend off, and do something > they enjoy. Whether it is enjoying a nice meal for the occasion, going > to a party, reading the book they finally want to read, having a great > cup of tea, whatever "floats their boat," go do it. I will take care of > any post-release housekeeping items. It is
Lubuntu LTS Requalification: 24.04 Noble Numbat
On behalf of the Lubuntu Team, and in my capacity as Lubuntu Release Manager, this is our application for Long-Term Support requalification for 24.04 (Noble Numbat). * The Lubuntu Team currently has five active developers[1] with upload permissions to the Lubuntu packageset. Two of those developers are also Ubuntu Core Developers (and one of them is a Debian Developer, who is on the Debian Qt/KDE Team). Over several LTS cycles, we have proven that we are willing and able to handle Stable Release Updates to `lubuntu` packages. Our developers have also committed bug fixes upstream in LXQt, Calamares, KDE, Qt, and core Ubuntu tooling so everyone can benefit. Several examples include Calamares, our update notifier, and SDDM. Therefore, we commit to providing bug fixes for 24.04, until 2027. * Lubuntu has a Members team[2] with *ten* active members. The difference between Ubuntu Members and Lubuntu Members are, Lubuntu Members are only *active* contributors to Lubuntu, within the last year (members have to explicitly renew with the Lubuntu Council, and it is simply an activity check). These members provide support via multiple avenues[3]. Most notably, in real-time we offer support via IRC, Matrix, Discourse[4], and Telegram. The Lubuntu support channels are bridged to reach a wider audience. Additionally, many of our members also assist in other Ubuntu support avenues such as Matrix, IRC and Ask Ubuntu. Therefore, we commit to providing support and a welcoming community for 24.04, until 2027. * In addition to developers, our Members also perform QA testing throughout not only Lubuntu but all of Ubuntu. Several Lubuntu testers are on top on the charts (the current #1 position is held by a (very recently former) Lubuntu Member). They catch many bugs in the development cycle before they appear in a stable release, following an extensive checklist. After the release, our QA testers routinely test to ensure stability. Therefore, we commit to testing for 24.04, until 2027. * Our documentation team provides our fantastic manual which is frequently referenced not only for Lubuntu but other distributions that utilize LXQt. We currently provide the manual for both the current stable interim release[5] and the LTS release[6]. We take the user from download to installation to using every piece of software installed by default. Therefore, we commit to providing documentation for the upcoming LTS release for 24.04, until 2027. * Our support lifespan is listed on every download on our downloads[7] page and an easy to reference graph is at the bottom of the page. Additionally, our support cycle is documented in every release announcement posted on our blog[8] and is also linked in every Ubuntu release note. Notes from the Release Manager -- Lubuntu is the strongest it has been since our transition to LXQt in the 18.10 cycle. Besides our technical goals, we aim to set an example by training and maintaining impactful and meaningful contributors. As the most active flavor team, we take great pride in our work, and aspire to do our best, not just for Lubuntu, but for the wider community. We recognize the sometimes-controversial technical decisions we make as a flavor, and aim to minimize their impact on others, while improving the story for our users. We may not agree on certain elements, such as Qt being the best UI toolkit, but let me be clear: we are still an Ubuntu flavor, and wish to be for a long time to come. We are a part of the same family. For every Thursday through Monday following a release, I specifically instruct all Lubuntu Members to take the weekend off, and do something they enjoy. Whether it is enjoying a nice meal for the occasion, going to a party, reading the book they finally want to read, having a great cup of tea, whatever "floats their boat," go do it. I will take care of any post-release housekeeping items. It is important to me personally that Lubuntu Members are happy, and as a leader, it is my responsibility to ensure the Quality of Life within the Lubuntu project stays excellent. This past holiday season was different. I could sense a lot of tension within the team, not because of the actions of another Lubuntu team member, but the exclusionary feeling we have recently received from some of our friends at Canonical. After the Security Team uploaded apparmor right before the break (making many applications including the Plasma Desktop and all Qt-based web browser alternatives unusable[9]), the Mutter regression (which did not affect us but certainly made an impression on us), our discovery of improper defaults shipped by GTK 3[10] (which kneecapped our ability to theme GTK applications until we caught it; we found this later), and the general inability to get anything reviewed from *Ubuntu*'s SRU or NEW queue for over a day at a time, I had enough. The reason this email is so late is because I
