The XEmacs issue tracker at
http://tracker.xemacs.org/XEmacs/its/ now
is watching the xemacs-beta mailing list. Specifically, if the
Subject header contains either a `report-xemacs-bug' tag that looks
like "[Bug: 21.5-b28]" or a Roundup "[issue]" tag, and is *not* a
reply message, the post will be automatically gated to the tracker.
If you are not using report-xemacs-bug, please use the "[issue]" tag
to attract the tracker's attention.
This is intended to make sure that issues raised on the mailing list
will be filed on the tracker, to record progress and make them
searchable. OTOH, trackers are a horrible place to hold discussions,
so replies are currently not forwarded from the list to the tracker.
Discussions should continue to be held on the xemacs-beta and
xemacs-patches mailing lists. Rather, the tracker is intended to
record concrete progress (see the User Guide in the tracker sidebar):
a developer being assigned, a patch committed, etc.
If appropriate, any experienced user may file an issue by resending an
ordinary post (doesn't have to be your own!) to the mailing list,
adding the Roundup "[issue]" tag to the Subject to get it recorded in
the tracker. I'm not happy with the duplicates this will produce, but
it shouldn't be that frequent, especially as people start to use those
tags on initial posts. Remember you must avoid using reply headers
(RFC 2822 References or In-Reply-To), so a resend or forward mechanism
would be most appropriate. (Please check the tracker after you do
this, and file bugs against the tracker if it mangles the particular
format you used!)
Also, developers may send tracker control messages via the mailing
list, but they also need to avoid using reply headers (RFC 2822
References or In-Reply-To). See the User Guide for information about
how to do this. Remember that you must use a full issue designator,
such as [issue306], to do this.
Suggestions for improving integration of the mailing lists and tracker
while maintaining the discussion vs. progress record distinction are
very welcome. (Discussions of the wisdom of the workflow policy
somewhat less so at this moment: I'm open to change but first I want
to get the thing working!)
Specifically, (1) I wonder how to add xemacs-patches to this workflow.
(2) The mechanism for forwarding a message to the tracker should be
improved.
Regards,
Steve
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