Re: Intolerable CVS behaviour

[George <jirka 5z com>]

On Sun, Feb 25, 2001 at 03:39:23PM +0100, Martin Baulig wrote:
> > > We could develop a web-based system, or a hacked gtranslator that
> > > would pull the `po' files and allow contributors to commit them,
> > > without risking any problems.
> 
> People may get killed if you drive too fast with your car. So let's
> construct all cars in a way that you cannot drive faster then 5 Mph.
> 
> That's how this how ACL system looks to me.

ACLs are a way to protect the elite.  They divide up the hackers.  They
separate people according to some sort of an arbitrary meassure.  All that
ACLs achieve is build both physical and psychological walls around projects,
so that you will get less contributions.

Yes you may occasionally get a bad commit, someone might screw up.  Oh well.
I've had to deal with this as well, but not much.  And for all modules I maintain
solely have completely open commit policy.  I'll start reverting your patches
when you screw up.  But if you just want to fix some stuff, add a feature, or
whatever, I don't mind people just doing it to my modules.  Of course if
there is conflict it reqaiures some communication and perhaps reverting of
code.  But when someone wants to change something they send me mail usually,
and I say "cool", and they do it.  If some translation stuff is bad,  someone
will fix it up for me.  I don't need to be notified.  In fact i will be
notified by the cvs commit and by the changelog.  Now there have been people
who comitted without changelogs and did major changes quietly.  And all of
those people were "part of the elite" and are people I shall not name.

We need to be an open project.  Not a project of closed elitist, egomaniacal
bastards.  Yes GNOME is successful, and yes GNOME is used by many people.
But that is no reason for us to feel supperior to any hacker that comes
along.  That is no reason for us to feel supperior to translators because
we're coders, and they're "JUST" translators.

Enough ranting for today...

George

-- 
George <jirka 5z com>
   Personally, I'm always ready to learn, although I do not
   always like being taught.
                       -- Winston Churchill