Bug tracker: next steps

[David Kastrup]

"Wulf C. Krueger" <wk at mailstation.de> writes:

> On Friday, 07. September 2007 20:19:00 Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:
>> systems I've worked with on a reasonably frequent basis (Debian,
>> Gentoo, 
>
> You have reported exactly *one* bug on bugs.gentoo.org with your 
> @xemacs.org address. Any other addresses you want me to check?
>
>> I continue to report bugs to unless I know a maintainer personally,
>> because they're basically just black holes.  
>
> Black holes? Excuse me? I'm working my ass off on those bugs I'm
> responsible for (Yes, I'm a Gentoo dev) whereas you guys have failed
> to release a decent XEmacs for how long now?

Releasing a decent XEmacs is a lot more work than fixing a bug
introduced downstream.  Fixing bugs downstream usually does not
involve large redesigns.

> Do you *really* think *years* later users still care about the stuff
> they reported way back then? They are more likely to have either
> switched editors long ago or to have lived to learn with the
> problem.
>
> I'm sure, though, you guys will manage to discuss this whole thing
> to death anyway. Heck, you alone could achieve that...

I have the impression that Stephen would not particularly mind
somebody volunteering taking over his duties: I don't think he is
particularly pleased with how much work he is able to do in this
function, both because of his own time limits as well as the dearth of
contributions and workers.  It is not like this would be an infrequent
phenomenon among part-time leaders of long-term free software
projects.

But as long as nobody even wants to try doing a better job, it is
pointless ranting at him.  In particular since I don't think he is
particularly happy about his main job nowadays being repackaging
broken promises and hopes.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum