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Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1998 03:22:33 +0100 (CET)
Organization: Ninth Circle Enterprises
From: Jeroen Ruigrok/Asmodai <asmodai@wxs.nl>
To: Mirian Crzig Lennox <mirian@xensei.com>
Subject: Re: Sun jumping on Linux bandwagon
Cc: perry@piermont.com, netbsd-advocacy@NetBSD.ORG,
	 Todd Whitesel <toddpw@best.com>

On 19-Dec-98 Mirian Crzig Lennox wrote:
> Jeroen Ruigrok/Asmodai <asmodai@wxs.nl> writes:
>> I know that as an `outside' developer, if I manage to catch a bug during a
>> compile
>> and just mention it as a PR and even be able to provide a fix to it, that I'll
>> be
>> happy just to have contributed to a worthy goal. This is the fanatism mayhaps
>> that makes/made Linux what it is today. This and their idiotic reverence of
>> the
>> GPL, but that's another story...


[ snip great illustrating quote ]

> Linux folks make light of this problem, but it is real; if you want to
> contribute to Linux, unless you are working on something really
> esoteric, you have to work fast to beat out the other people working
> on the same thing.  This can be a recipe for some truly sloppy work.

IMHP, Linux style of coding is exactly what BSD has to avoid. To let A work, one
has to break B and C and install patch D. BSD is more long term thinking and
tinkering.
 
> I wouldn't mind seeing a policy where more people had commit access to
> development branches of the NetBSD source -- and if it meant that new
> people had to "do their time" shoveling manure (i.e. fixing the less
> glamorous PRs) in order to establish themselves, I think this would be
> just fine -- but there should be some mechanism by which someone could
> "own" a problem/feature for a while, so as to prevent the wasteful
> competitive behaviour above.

Sorry, then I haven't explained my idea correctly. I myself am not fishing for
commit priviliges nor would Todd be (I guess) we simply want more and easier
access to the code. Patches, bug-fixes, enhancements don't necessarily require
commit-priviliges. I have a hard time acquiring NetBSD sources and am thus unable
to even look at the PR's in a way to start fix work on them. It is this lack of
source access/updates that makes the whole process cumbersome and unfortunately
for most not worthwhile. I also understand that when the resources or
administrators are not available it will be hard to pull it off...

As an example, see how cvsup has opened syncing sources for 'the masses'. It's an
easy to use tool once ye have set it up properly.

---
Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven                  Pax vobiscum...
asmodai(at)wxs.nl
Network/Security Specialist      <http://home.wxs.nl/~asmodai>
BSD & picoBSD: The Power to Serve     <http://www.freebsd.org>