Re: Using Git to manage your Emacs changes

[Jason Earl <jearl@notengoamigos.org>]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

>     Then what is necessary to do to make Git a GNU package?
>
> Agreeing to follow our practices on a lot of issues.  It is most
> unlikely that Torvalds would agree.

Does it really matter that much?  I am certain that their are other
parts of the GNU system (like, perhaps, TeX), where the hackers in
question don't follow GNU policies.  In fact, Bazaar doesn't completely
follow GNU policies (no texinfo documentation, and no real plans to
generate it either).

It is likely that I am taking this too personally, but if this is an
example of how the greater GNU community supports a fellow GNU project
then I am somewhat at a loss as to why anyone would want their program
to be taken under the GNU aegis.  It is fairly clear that GNU support
for Bazaar is skin deep at best.

Apparently is it completely on-topic on this GNU-hosted mailing list to
disparage Bazaar, and worse, to actively discuss how to work around
using the official Bazaar repository.  Savannah has excellent support
for git, but very poor support for Bazaar, and, like the lack of Bazaar
documentation in texinfo, that is also apparently unlikely to change in
the near future.  Instead of actively encouraging other GNU and
Emacs-related projects to use Bazaar the Emacs project is discouraging
Bazaar use.  The Gnus switch to git is a prime example of this effect.

It is pretty clear that the Emacs development community would rather use
git, and it is also pretty clear that the folks at Savannah would rather
have GNU projects use git.  So why not simply adopt git?  Sure, it
doesn't follow all of the GNU policies, but then, neither does Bazaar.

If git were to become an official GNU project then the machinery is in
place today to switch Emacs to git.  Andreas already has a high quality
git archive (which is already being used by several Emacs-related
projects like Aquamacs, Gnus, Org-mode, and others), and Savannah has
excellent git support.

If Bazaar is going to remain the official GNU version control system
then perhaps those hackers that wish to discuss ways to work around
using Bazaar should be persuaded to take their discussion off of the
gnu.org lists (at the very least).

Jason