Re: [gentoo-dev] unsanctioned python 2.7 crusade

[Rich Freeman]

On Thu, Dec 5, 2019 at 5:23 PM David Seifert <soap@g.o> wrote:
>
> And that's exactly the straw-man argument I've been making. You can
> always come up with an excuse to delay action on python 2, because
> "someone, somewhere, will maintain it".

Hey, if somebody actually does want to maintain it I don't see any
reason it can't stick around forever.  Of course maintain means
maintain, not just ignore bugs/etc if it causes grief for other
packages and so on, or allow security issues to fester.

So far I'm getting the impression that everybody wants somebody else
to maintain it, and that is when it becomes an issue.  "WE ought to do
this" - where "WE" usually means "not me."  There is no nebulous
"Gentoo" out there who will maintain ebuilds.  If they are to stay in
the repo then somebody has to actually tend them.

If somebody wants to keep around 2.7 for a long time IMO the most
straightforward thing to do is announce a desire to do it with a plan.
I really doubt that anybody is likely to interfere, and if they do it
can always be escalated to Council.  But, again, it has to be done
right and not cause issues for other packages (at least at the start
that shouldn't be a huge problem).

Personally I've always admired the Wikipedia policy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:BOLD

If you want to see a change, go about it in a positive way.  If such a
change bothers you, assume good faith, but point out the issues.
Don't over-react in either direction.  This is how 99% of everything
positive that has ever happened in Gentoo has come about.  Most of our
improvements are the result of "unsanctioned crusades."  That doesn't
mean that you should go around breaking systems left and right, but in
this case we're just talking about a mask, or announcing an intent to
do a project.

But, such a thing will certainly involve work.  IMO it is work for
diminishing returns.  If it is an itch that bothers you, though, you
can always scratch it...

-- 
Rich