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Ciaran McCreesh <ciaran.mccreesh@×××××××××××××.uk> posted |
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20071128213319.09f73e89@×××××××××××××.uk, excerpted below, on Wed, 28 Nov |
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2007 21:33:19 +0000: |
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|
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> On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:14:05 -0800 |
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> Donnie Berkholz <dberkholz@g.o> wrote: |
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>> Many of the replies keep asking for details -- details that don't |
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>> exist. Apply the concept abstractly: things that need to be documented |
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>> must have documentation available in the appropriate form at the time |
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>> they're committed. |
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|
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OK, I can accept that details don't (yet) exist, but that's why the |
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discussion. =8^) Hopefully it'll flesh out some of these details. |
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|
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> A large part of why many things aren't documented is that people have |
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> very different ideas about what level of documentation is required; |
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> this does nothing to affect that. |
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|
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Agreed. The current discussion on the metadata changes is a prime |
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example. Obviously, there was disagreement on the level of documentation |
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needed. A nebulous "document before change" policy can't help in such |
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cases, as one side or the other's going to get very frustrated, either by |
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"extreme" enforcement (seen by the one side), or lack of enforcement |
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(seen by the other). The /best/ that could come out of such would be |
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that it's as if there were no policy at all. The worst... people leaving |
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because of "unfair" enforcement of a policy so nebulous they never saw |
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the action coming, or OTOH, because Gentoo refuses to enforce its own |
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policies. |
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|
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>> What remains unclear about this principle? |
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> |
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> It has an unpleasant smell of something a Dilbert-esque manager would |
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> introduce after having read a "Project Management for Dummies" book |
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> full of slogans and generalities. |
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|
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Leave it to ciarnm to be so direct, amusing tho it is, but that pretty |
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much nails it. I've seen it said by some that Gentoo's no longer "fun". |
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I disagree but honestly, ask yourself if there's a better way to ruin the |
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fun remaining than by instituting policies so nebulous they simply /beg/ |
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for argument over their application. The idea sounds so nice, something |
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everybody should be able to agree to in principle, but that's precisely |
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the problem, there's no specifics, so no practical way to tell where or |
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how it applies, or what changes (if any) it would bring. Pardon my |
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saying so but at least in the US, it's the season of politics, and we're |
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seeing a lot of this vague "big stroke" pie in the sky painting right |
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now. Unlike most of those, there's a chance with this one to get it |
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nailed down to the point it's actually practical. |
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|
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(Bullet point suggestions for tightening down the spec to something |
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"workable" omitted for brevity. Ciarnm put them well enough.) |
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|
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> You know... Practical things, rather than things that make you feel |
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> good but go nowhere. |
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|
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=8^) |
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|
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As an alternative or adjunct to Ciaran's suggestions, perhaps this will |
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be easier, tho not immediately as complete. Self-evidently if you are |
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making the proposal, you believe there's a need for it and that it would |
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change the outcome in one or more events in the recent and possibly less |
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recent past. What about listing them, and how you see your proposal |
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changing the outcome thereof. At least that would give us some concrete |
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examples to apply the policy to in our heads as we discuss it. As I |
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said, it's not as complete as the thorough evaluation Ciaranm proposed, |
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but one has to start somewhere, and this would be one way to do it. |
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OTOH, it's also getting very specific about perhaps sensitive events, |
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while Ciaran's proposal would avoid singling out such events and |
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therefore people by name, thus having the advantage there as well as in |
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ultimate wholeness, once it's done. |
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|
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-- |
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Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. |
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- |
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and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman |
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|
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-- |
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