Igor Stasenko wrote:
> So far i've collected 5 messages..
> Hey, wake up! We need more! :)

You're right. After some careful consideration I've decided to throw my 
hat in the ring as well. Count me in.

I'm doing this with a clear agenda: I want to (re-)enable a process by 
which contributions flow into Squeak, both small and large. From my 
point of view somewhere along the way we've lost the ability to pick up 
contributions, to continually improve Squeak. Except from small bug 
fixes and enhancements there is no process by which we can decide 
whether a particular contribution should be included, whether a 
particular turn in the development of Squeak should be taken, whether a 
change is worth the risk that comes with it.

We are not a benevolent dictatorship. We will have to find other means 
of making such decisions. However, finding a way to make such decisions 
is absolutely critical if we want to progress. Right now there is a 
variety of improvements out there that nobody has looked at simply 
because there is no process for making decisions. Examples include 
Freetype rendering, Hydra, Rio, Nile, Gstreamer support, Polymorph, 
Omnibrowser, but also things like Databases (SqueakDBX, ODBC), or even 
Seaside, Aida etc. There are questions about minimalistic Morphic, 
FunSqueak, Etoys etc. All of these should be open for discussion, some 
of them will end up being external packages, others may end up being 
bundled (via Universes or similar mechanisms) and yet others may go 
straight into the release image.

All of the above exist. These aren't projects that someone will only 
start if given assurances about their outcome. Rather than making 
wish-lists about projects that nobody is working on, I'd like to see 
more requests for the integration of work that has been done already. 
This is the kind of stuff where the board can decide on, assign a 
liaison to ensure integration and get things done that way.

Similarly, Keith and Ken are building some fantastic tools for getting 
stuff out of Mantis. Why not build a network of trust for people who can 
add candidates to the next Squeak version which is rooted at the board? 
In other words, if you have been blessed by any of the board members, 
you could add your fix straight to the next alpha build.

The above are all examples of things we can try. I'm not saying any of 
those is the right solution but I am asking for a mandate in trying to 
establish a process that will allow us to continually improve Squeak.

Cheers,
   - Andreas