Are what the janitors are doing, what needs to be done?

Peace Jerome peace_the_dreamer at yahoo.com
Tue Mar 22 07:52:45 UTC 2005


Are what the janitors are doing, what needs to be
done?

The janitors are doing work that is useful and is that
the work that needs to get done to fix bugs and have a
better squeak?


I’m a code reader and bug reporter. Because my setup
made it difficult to use bfav I was an early adapter
of Mantis. I thought the decision to move the bfav
stuff to mantis a good one.

My problem when putting stuff on mantis is how to get
it to the attention of the person or persons who might
act on it? This is a tough problem. Often the very
thing that makes it worth my while to delve into
something is that no one else is actively concerned
with it. Along the way I discover bugs   while reading
thru code and report them and if my knowledge is
sufficient report or point to fixes.

What I need to know is how to categorize them in a
useful way. By useful I mean in a way that draws
attention to them from other bug fixers and those who
can commit fixes to the update stream. Committers who
share my interest in improving squeak around these
issues. 

I usually just put them in Squeak project sub category
morphic unless they really stand out as some thing
else.

As I looked at the proposed alphabet list my reaction
was


					Ga-ah, How am I going to use that?

(I am glad the idea is dead for now and I hope it
stays that way.)


I do not see how that will solve the problem of
getting things 
	1) fixed and 
	2) included in the image with 
	3) the least amount of effort on everyones part.

The last is important because no one is getting paid
(or paid much) to deal with this.
What motivates me to work on this is the prospect of
having a better squeak as a result of my efforts.

When I first saw the janitor project I thought is
would be one I could join and add my bug fixing skill
to. But as I looked at the early stuff from the list I
realized this wasn’t what the janitors intended to be.

Quite frankly, My perception is the janitors will
generate a lot of noise and result in very little of
the actual problems being solved. It will obscure the
fact that what is needed is problem solvers and bug
fixers and not just text processors.

Right now most of my bug reports sit on mantis
unperused and unacknowledged. Often the resolution is
to leave them open. Sometimes if the fix is small
enough (cause the problem is small) somebody will
grasp that this can be added to squeak and it is. But
the bigger problem is making a better squeak.

There is a need for recruiting the people who will
take the bug reports and turn them in to fixes that
can be committed to squeak. I am not in a position
from where I sit to see how that will be done.

Yours in service,  -- Jerome Peace 





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