2) A pre-signoff thread for each signoff. You run this thread before you do any packaging work, so that if someone wants to discuss other things about the package and suggest other modifications, they do it without causing you a whole lot of extra work. We then agree not to hijack signoff threads for unrelated aspects of the package-- rather, we start other threads or open new bug reports.
That would be a good idea. This way the package will be done right the first time.
If you can not get packaging done right first time, do not do it. I maintain ~40 packages in [core] and there is no way I am going to post a message asking permission to update them. But if you want to make a big change that is worthy of discussion then do so.
I agree discussing changes is useless in signoff threads unless they are regressions. All other requests should go to the bug tracker. And we should just point people there and move on.
I'm not talking about mistakes. Those would be regressions, or mistakes in the way the new functionality has been implemented. I'm talking about the fact that I cleaned up X and now someone noticed Y, or I did Z and someone now thinks we should do Z' and Z''. Signoffs are supposed to keep us from messing up, not allow some to avoid doing work by making others of us do it by holding signoffs ransom for extra things they'd like to see implemented. - P