On 2/23/12 12:03 AM, Chandler Paul wrote:
> Hello, I've asked this question around in the IRC, and I've done a 
> bit of Googling, but I haven't been able to find anything on this,
> so I hope that this is the correct place to ask.

I think that technically gentoo-dev would be better, but I think this
doesn't require much discussion. More details below.

> Apparently, the Compiz-fusion package is masked because it lacks a 
> maintainer. However, from what it looks like it's not a proxied 
> maintainer, as it's not on the list.

Correct.

> I was thinking of stepping up to be a maintainer for it, but I'm 
> assuming that would mean writing patches for it.

Sort of, fixing bugs reported to Gentoo to be more precise.

> I do have a relatively OK understanding of C and C++, but I don't 
> know if it would be good enough to be able to write patches for it. 
> So, I guess what I'm asking is what exactly would maintaining the 
> package entail, and how would I go about becoming a maintainer?

Submit fixes for the bugs reported to Gentoo. It's not like "I want to
be a maintainer, and I'll see if I'll be able", but rather "I submitted
10 good patches, now can I be listed as the maintainer".

You don't need to have any "formal status" to submit patches for the
ebuilds (not all of them have to deal with C or C++).

> Also, I really hope this isn't the wrong place to ask, as I didn't
> go straight to here before doing some research, hopefully it isn't 
> though...

I recommend gentoo-dev, just when you have some more _specific_
questions. Try to fix a particular bug or issue, and ask if you have
some trouble (just do your homework first, e.g. read the devmanual).