From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Glenn Morris Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Feature freeze (was Re: font-lock-comment-delimiter-face) Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:27:47 +0100 Message-ID: <8ebr83q5rw.fsf_-_@xpc14.ast.cam.ac.uk> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1114374371 8718 80.91.229.2 (24 Apr 2005 20:26:11 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:26:11 +0000 (UTC) Cc: rms@gnu.org, emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Apr 24 22:26:08 2005 Return-path: Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1DPnfl-0003im-H6 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 22:25:45 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1DPnl9-0001q3-Cl for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:31:19 -0400 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1DPnkJ-0001W2-3f for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:30:27 -0400 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1DPnkH-0001Uu-CQ for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:30:26 -0400 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1DPnkH-0001QJ-9z for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:30:25 -0400 Original-Received: from [131.111.8.134] (helo=ppsw-4.csi.cam.ac.uk) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1DPnlA-0002lG-8l; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 16:31:20 -0400 Original-Received: from cass41.ast.cam.ac.uk ([131.111.69.186]:42908) by ppsw-4.csi.cam.ac.uk (ppsw.cam.ac.uk [131.111.8.134]:25) with esmtp id 1DPnhk-00065S-DD (Exim 4.44) (return-path ); Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:27:48 +0100 Original-Received: from xserv2.ast.cam.ac.uk (IDENT:TP2GthJCYJb/ue0mE3vmi5hwpW8zjDG2@xserv2.ast.cam.ac.uk [131.111.69.236]) by cass41.ast.cam.ac.uk (8.12.10+Sun/8.12.10) with ESMTP id j3OKRloL004911; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:27:47 +0100 (BST) Original-Received: from xalph3.ast.cam.ac.uk (IDENT:bY6nY3eJwI/zlBHxx/bw+MmbidB2eQKp@xpc14.ast.cam.ac.uk [131.111.69.34]) by xserv2.ast.cam.ac.uk (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id j3OKRlc26660; Sun, 24 Apr 2005 21:27:47 +0100 Original-To: storm@cua.dk (Kim F. Storm) X-Spook: blowfish robotic cracking Eritrean impulse double agent X-Ran: jGJD!1m.pmce1Ed4yO9~`>'ac+efnWwZ}C}~Sl.EZp+k7o!1@90!W7b (Kim F. Storm's message of "Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:43:40 +0200") User-Agent: Gnus (www.gnus.org), GNU Emacs (www.gnu.org/software/emacs/) X-Cam-ScannerInfo: http://www.cam.ac.uk/cs/email/scanner/ X-Cam-AntiVirus: No virus found X-Cam-SpamDetails: Not scanned X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:36337 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:36337 Kim F. Storm wrote: > Feature freeze ? [...] > Can people please work on completing the release... This prompts me to ask, when were the details of a feature freeze agreed upon? I'm not trying to be provocative, but rather to suggest that one reason for the continued delay is (IMO), lack of a clear policy. I'm aware of Kim's mail from 08 April last year ("It is time for a feature freeze (it is NOW or never)", ), which was clearly very prescient in its negative predictions (sadly). This was a "we *should* do this" kind of email. But where was the official announcement, "it's been decided, we *will* do this"? In other words, a widely publicized announcement saying, eg: As of date X there will be a feature freeze. After this date, do not do A, B, C. Instead, concentrate on D, E, F. If I missed it, I apologize, but a quick search of the archives didn't find it. Maybe there is some implicit convention inherited from previous occasions, but I think Emacs has acquired many new CVS contributors (such as myself) since the last release, and hopefully will continue to do so in future, so explicitness would be good, I feel. Also, shouldn't there also be a new branch for the release? admin/notes/BRANCH says: This is the "HEAD" branch, otherwise known as the "trunk" ... The closure process for this branch is undocumented; concepts such as "freeze", "release", or "integration with the trunk" are not applicable to this branch. This is all water under the bridge really, and I don't want to cause more wasteful discussion, so by all means ignore this message. I'm just saying: 1) with hindsight (or with foresight for the next time round), a clear statement of release policy would seem essential. Maybe it would even help now to make a such a statement. 2) should there be a new CVS branch for the release?