Python to use a non open source bug tracker?

[Giovanni Bajo]

skip at pobox.com wrote:

>     Giovanni> In fact, are you absolutely positive that you need so
>     much Giovanni> effort to maintain an existing bugtracker
> installation?
>
> The development group's experience with SF and I think to a lesser
> extent, Roundup in its early days, and more generally with other
> components of the development toolchain (source code control) and
> python.org website maintenance suggests that some human needs to be
> responsible for each key piece of technology.  Maybe when it's mature
> it needs very little manpower to maintain, but a substantial
> investment is required when the technology is first installed.

One thing is asking for a special help during the transition phase and the
"landing" phase (the first few months). Another thing is asking for "roughly
6-10 people" to install and maintain a Roundup installation. This is simply
not going to realistically happen, and I find it incredible for the PSF
committee to ask for such a high request. Damn, we don't have "roughly 6-10
people" in charge of reviewing patches or fixing bugs.

I followed the GNATS -> Bugzilla transition myself closely, and a single
person (Daniel Berlin) was able to setup the Bugzilla server on the
gcc.gnu.org computer, convince everybody that a transition was needed (and
believe me, this was a hard work), patch it as much as needed to face the
needs of the incredibly picky GCC developers (asking for every little
almost-unused-and-obsoleted feature in GNATS to be replicated in Bugzilla),
and later maintain the installation. It took him approximately one year to
do this, and surely it wasn't full time. After that, he maintains and
administer the Bugzilla installation on his own, by providing upgrades when
needed and a few modifications.

I wonder why the PSF infrastructure committee believes that a group of 6-10
people is needed to "install and maintain" Roundup. Let us also consider
that Roundup's lead developer *was* part of the PSF infrastrucutre
committee, and he might be willing to help in the transition (just my very
wild guess), and he obviously knows his stuff. Also, given the requirement
for the selection, there is already a running roundup installation somewhere
(so the whole pipeline export -> import has already been estabilished and
confirmed to work).

My own opinion is that a couple of person can manage the
transition/migration phase to *any* other bug tracking system, and provide
support in the python-dev mailing list. After the whole thing has fully
landed, I'd be really surprised if a single appointed maintainer would not
be enough.

If the PSF committee lowers its requests to a more realistical amount of
effort, I'm sure we will see many more people willing to help. I think many
people (including myself) would be willing to half-half-help with loose
ends, but when faced with an abnormous "6-10 people" request they just shut
up and sit in a corner.
-- 
Giovanni Bajo