Proposed and major updates policy

[Rahul Sundaram]

Warren Togami wrote:

> Gilboa Davara wrote:
>
>> I second that.
>> The lack of FC package update policy is a real pain in the back side.
>> The KDE 3.5.x release backlash was just an example of why such a policy
>> must be set.
>>
>
> IMHO, the vast majority of updates have been no problem.  KDE however 
> has been a bit problematic in particular.  Upgrading such a large 
> group of packages is reckless especially when done without testing. 
> Unfortunately, I am afraid some developers do not test new updates 
> before pushing.

If a clear policy is in place there would be more accountability. 
Without this, the decision to push updates directly is entirely in the 
hands of the relevant package maintainers who might just skip the 
testing repository even when it is generally required.

>
> I believe we don't need any strict policy like "a week in testing" 
> repository because the majority of updates are really no problem.  We 
> should however say "test it and be sure it works, and if you are less 
> sure put it in testing".  Also bigger updates like an entire new KDE 
> release definitely must go into testing.
>
> Requiring ALL updates to go into the testing repository will 
> unnecessary slow down progress.

I didnt claim that all updates need to be pushed to the testing 
repository however if there are exceptions then the rationale behind 
those exceptions should be better communicated and in case of general 
guidelines, better documented.  Security fixes for  might directly go 
into updates repository while major revisions of packages should go 
through updates-testing repository is a simple enough policy to enforce 
for example.  I dont for a moment believe that all potential issues or 
regressions in updates would be caught in the updates-testing repository 
however there is a potential to have less issues when the testing 
repository is used by testers who might provide better feedback.  The 
problem is not necessarily what we do but a communication gap in why we 
do it , the way we do it.

-- 
Rahul 

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