[fab] Re: "community maintainers working on core" dilemma

[Christopher Blizzard]

Karsten Wade wrote:
> Now, my first thoughts were to drag together existing pieces, apply
> appropriate glue, and voila! ... something no better than what anyone
> else has, but at least 100% free and invented here.  But your points
> here inspire me.

That's what everyone tries to do. :(  When you start describing 
something that allows people to create their own branches, tracking 
changes and connections people together they always say something like 
"that's just like git + bugzilla + irc!"  Or "isn't that rpath?"  And 
that completely misses the point.  I could go to the butcher, the local 
vegetable salesperson and get my grains from the wholesaler, but you 
know what?  I go to a damn supermarket because it's _so_ _freaking_ 
_convenient_.

Now, I don't want to prevent people from using their favorite butcher. 
He's more likely to find the meats you're looking for.  But we could be 
doing so much better than that for everyone else.  And our own 
temptation to create silos is one of the main reason why we end up with 
something that feels cobbled together.

I guess my point is we need to start with the experience as our first 
principal.  And set that bar really really high.  And then figure out if 
there are appropriate tools.

> O!  The chance to do something truly groundbreaking in open source
> project lifecycle workflow!  Something that, as you say, connects
> developers, testers, and users directly.  Something more than SCM +
> mailing lists + scratch space + caffeine.

Yep.  It's not enough to add a mailing list or fix something in one tool 
for me anymore.  I want to change the way we work in a meaningful way.

> For this Fall, we are working on a FUDCon with a technical, hackfest
> focus, perhaps with BarCamp-style presentations.  I would like to add
> something to that event -- a design thinking session to cook up the next
> generation FLOSS lifecycle tool.  Something total greenfield.  Dare I
> even say, Fiddler's Green[1] quality?
> 
> - Karsten
> [1] Like an afterlife utopia:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler's_Green

I think we have a name, anyway.  :)  But I don't want to wait that long 
to get started.  We've lived with what we have long enough.

--Chris