Re: Setting up a bug tracking system where users can file bug reports and feature requests for Git

[Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>]

Johannes Gilger <heipei@hackvalue.de> writes:

> On 2009-02-16, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
>> A tracking system is just a tool.  You need to have a competent and stable
>> project secretary whose job is to look after the issues database.
> ...
> If we had such a secretary who's not only familiar with the bugtracker 
> but also familiar enough with git and it's development organization, 
> he/she could work with the system, filter out the noise and mail real 
> bugs or well-thought-through feature-requests to this mailing-list (with 
> a link back to the bugtracker) with the full text of the bug and maybe 
> his/her oppinion about it.

If there were such a person or a group of people to help the project that
way, it would be great.  What you just said is in total agreement of the
paragraph you quoted above (which I omitted ;-)).

> But maybe that's just duplication of work, in your eyes.

As you culled the To/Cc list and sent it only to the mailing list, I
cannot quite tell if you were referring to me, so this is an unsolicited
comment to your statement, but I do not think it is duplication of work at
all.

Sifting chaffs and interfacing with people are what I would love to see
from a capable project secretary.  It is already a large part of what the
maintainer does (see Documentation/howto/maintain-git.txt), but as the
project grows larger, you'll see bottleneck at the maintainer and the
major contributors.  Three things you can do to help are to filter noise,
to summarize useful inputs, and to offload the routine prodding (in both
direction -- querying the status of unfilled requests to developers, and
asking for confirmation of an already implemented fix/enhancement to
requestors) from the maintainer and major contributors, which I listed as
the project secretary tasks.

There are other ways to help: by answering user questions, spotting and
correcting wrong answers and FUDs given in response to inquiries from new
people, dowsing flames before they get out of control, reducing recurring
topics by pointing out previous discussions, etc.