Re: [C] ECB: Sync with current upstream 1.95.1

KB> Subject says all...patches have been submitted to KB> xemacs-patches(a)xemacs.org <mailto:xemacs-patches＠xemacs.org> Jake> What does "sync with current upstream" mean exactly? Does Jake> this mean that the version of ECB in the XEmacs package has Jake> been synchronized with the official author-controlled Jake> version? Yes. If you say "sync", it should be as complete as you can make it subject to any necessary changes and omissions due to GNU Emacs vs. XEmacs differences. You can also sync individual files. If you do less than that, you should use different phrasing, such as "porting new features from upstream", etc. The above general XEmacs policy. The point is "truth in labeling", for which the rationale is obvious, not "if you touch a file you must do a complete synch". The size of the contribution is determined by the contributor, as always. What follows is all IMO. For practical purposes, Norbert Koch has the final word, though. Jake> If so, I guess that means that the package maintainer has Jake> responsibility for keeping up with the author's changes Yes. Jake> and getting them into the package. Well, that would be nice, but "responsibility" is pushing too hard. The first, most important point of having a package maintainer is to have somebody who knows what the differences between upstream and the package are, so that user questions can be answered effectively, and urgent bugs have a champion with the general developers. This is the sine qua non, raison d'etre of the package maintainer. If the maintainer doesn't do that much, it's better to list "XEmacs Dev Team" as the maintainer (which has similar connotations to Real Soon Now). The second, less important aspect is to keep the package up to date with upstream. Jake> Are there criteria for how well the XEmacs package should Jake> track the author's releases? If somebody wants to do a "better" job than the current package maintainer, then we'll negotiate a partnership or replacement on a case by case basis. -- Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences http://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp University of Tsukuba Tennodai 1-1-1 Tsukuba 305-8573 JAPAN Ask not how you can "do" free software business; ask what your business can "do for" free software.