[arch-dev-public] Reactive development [was: Repository cleanup]

[Jason Chu]

> > That said, we have always held that the mailing lists are our proper
> > channel of communication. This is important. Hell, it's critical.
> > Saying "hey guess what!" on IRC doesn't cut it. The mailing list not
> > only informs everyone (not all devs are on IRC) but also has archival
> > history.
> 
> Exactly. IRC is a secondary, convenience channel, just in case developer Y
> is online. It annoys me when people say "oh but we discussed it on irc" --
> I'm timezone "handicapped" compared to some of you or often cannot make it
> online.

I think we just have to keep bringing up this point until people start to
remember it.

> > We need to communicate. We need to follow processes. If you find a bug
> > or a user report, and you're unclear about it - **say something**. The
> > great word being flung around these days is "unilateral" - we're not a
> > group of 30 independent people doing their own things, we're a group
> > of 30 people working together.
> 
> > Guys, seriously. We're floundering. Something needs to be done, and
> > it's not up to one or two of us. It's up to all of us.
> 
> Agreed.
> 
> Seeing as many people will just "ok" this thread and let it lie... these
> are some ideas i've thought of in the past... Aaron's defined the problem,
> let's solve it.
> 
> - Scheduled Monthly Meetings. Importantly, people need to prepare for the
> meeting, and be ready to make a decision on the topics listed on the
> agenda. No more "lets just leave it for the list".

I think this is an excellent idea.  Mixed with the point below, this will
be killer.

> - Groups. Divide ourselves. We don't need everyone in a meeting to discuss
> a mkinitcpio/kernel change, only those interested/concerned/involved with
> it. Smaller groups will make decisions much easier. Impromptu meetings are
> easier to organise, and at the end you can say "Kernel group decided this:
> agree/disagree".

I think this is just as good as the one above.  This is what I was trying
to do when we started the Divisions that are listed in the Arch Dev wiki.
I think the missing component is the monthly meetings.

From now on, for a division to exist it must have a regular meeting date
and post the agenda and minutes from their meetings.

For those who don't remember the current groups are: Foundation, Pacman,
Documentation, Internationalization, and Community.  I will be sending an
email out shortly about the groups I am in.  I'm going to be bringing up
these meetings more and more often on the list.

> - Goals. We need direction. Direction is needed to make decisions. Goals
> give a foundation for decisions.
> 
> - Checks. Keep an eye on each other, keep each other in check. If
> someone's ignoring a bug, or not doing something, make it known, send a
> mail, point it out. If you don't have time to do something, send a mail to
> the list and ask someone else. This is where groups would help, making
> something more people's responsibility.

This one is also one we should be doing more of.  I think there's an
underlying problem here that hasn't been addressed.

On that note, Roman is really good at bugging people about bugs.

> - Stop waiting for arch-repos. It's still not here. We can do some stuff now.

Oooo, ouch.  That one is pretty much my fault.  It sucks.  What have we
done lately that was waiting on arch-repos?

Jason
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