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On Fri, Aug 12, 2016 at 1:48 PM, M. J. Everitt <m.j.everitt@×××.org> wrote: |
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> |
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> I regret to say, although it's a well-known problem .. that the Gentoo |
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> bike-shed is never ever going to fall down - as the layers of paint |
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> applied will grossly outlive the materials it might once have been built |
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> from ... Perhaps someone might like to address the problem of the |
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> nuclear reactor which will otherwise never ever be functional ... ;) |
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> |
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|
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Bikeshedding is only a problem if you let it be one. |
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|
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Gentoo does not require unanimous consensus to get things done. If |
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you choose to wait for it, and then complain about bikeshedding, then |
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YOU are the problem. |
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|
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If I were James I would: |
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|
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1. Consider the advice given and propose the best way forward. |
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Indicate that I intend to commit the changes to the Gentoo repo in 48h |
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if there are no objections raised by QA or to Council. |
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2. If there are no objections raised to Council or by QA then go |
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ahead with the commits, unless personally convinced by any further |
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arguments. |
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3. If an objection was raised to QA, then comply with it for now, and |
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if in disagreement first work with QA, and appeal to Council if |
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necessary. |
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4. If somebody appeals to Council, then let them make their case, and |
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offer my own, and await a decision. |
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|
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If you do the above you'll never get in trouble, and you've basically |
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put the ball in somebody else's court if they want to hold you up. |
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Usually you won't delay your change by more than 48h, and if you do it |
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won't be by more than a month, unless the Council overrides you (in |
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which case you're "stuck" though presumably they would have good |
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reasons for doing so). |
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|
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Some mistakes I see people make all the time: |
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1. Give up as soon as a few devs make vocal complaints. This is not |
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a shouting match. The person with the most thread posts doesn't |
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automatically win the argument. |
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2. Wait until everybody agrees. While there are things everybody |
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agrees on, there aren't many of them. I'm not sure the last sentence |
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even falls into that list of things everybody agrees on. :) |
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3. Plow forward without giving some time for appeals. This can lead |
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to revert wars and such. |
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4. Ignore official QA notices. If a member of QA notifies you that |
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QA is taking action, you must comply until you resolve the issue with |
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QA or by appeal. |
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5. Fail to work with QA. The fact that a random QA member takes an |
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action doesn't mean that all of QA is necessarily behind it. You may |
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find the issue resolved by spending 30 seconds on IRC. The QA lead is |
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responsible to deal with these kinds of issues. |
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6. Fail to let the Council clear roadblocks. If you're trying to do |
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something, and you feel that something is blocking you, the Council |
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can help resolve that. |
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|
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Devs get frustrated by bikeshedding because they're imposing rules and |
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limitations upon themselves that aren't actually community rules. You |
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don't have to give up just because a few devs complain. You ought to |
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listen, and if it is really controversial push for a decision. |
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However, strictly speaking if you have commit rights to the tree and |
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aren't violating a documented policy, then the onus is on others to |
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stop you, not for you to obtain permission to do something. You |
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shouldn't abuse that, and hence I suggest giving people time to lodge |
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formal objections. However, if you care about getting something done |
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it is completely fair to force those who wish to impede you to step up |
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and do the work to actively block you. Devs don't have to prove the |
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"innocence" of each commit. |
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|
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-- |
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Rich |