Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!dedibox.gegeweb.org!gegeweb.eu!nntpfeed.proxad.net!proxad.net!feeder1-2.proxad.net!news.tele.dk!news.tele.dk!small.news.tele.dk!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.041 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.92; '*S*': 0.00; 'sufficient': 0.05; 'over,': 0.07; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'bug': 0.12; 'competent': 0.16; 'finney': 0.16; 'imo,': 0.16; 'maintainers': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'url:catb': 0.16; 'url:~esr': 0.16; 'reports,': 0.19; 'not,': 0.20; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'library,': 0.24; 'skip': 0.24; "i've": 0.25; 'asking': 0.27; 'header:X-Complaints- To:1': 0.27; 'tried': 0.27; 'point': 0.28; 'have,': 0.30; '(which': 0.31; 'program,': 0.31; 'becoming': 0.31; 'writes:': 0.31; 'subject:the': 0.34; 'but': 0.35; 'there': 0.35; 'library.': 0.36; 'subject:?': 0.36; 'url:org': 0.36; 'should': 0.36; 'effort': 0.37; 'project': 0.37; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python- list': 0.38; 'that,': 0.38; 'subject:" ': 0.39; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'even': 0.60; 'skip:u 10': 0.60; 'interest': 0.64; 'more': 0.64; 'skip:\xe2 10': 0.65; 'contact': 0.67; 'duty': 0.68; 'lose': 0.68; '8bit%:43': 0.74; 'hand': 0.80; 'abandon': 0.84; 'cathedral': 0.84; 'received:125': 0.84; 'subject:source': 0.84; '\xe2\x80\x9cthe': 0.91; 'yours.': 0.93 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Ben Finney Subject: Re: What's the "right" way to abandon an open source package? Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 09:18:59 +1000 References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: jigong.madmonks.org X-Public-Key-ID: 0xAC128405 X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 517C F14B B2F3 98B0 CB35 4855 B8B2 4C06 AC12 8405 X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-pubkey.asc X-Post-From: Ben Finney User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:7xVEhcPYcBw+IkL2K1rqf5pWV68= X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 39 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1404256759 news.xs4all.nl 2964 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:38804 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:73817 Skip Montanaro writes: > I've tried to find people to take it over, but so far unsuccessfully. The principle (laid out by ESR in “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”) is: When you lose interest in a program, your last duty to it is to hand it off to a competent successor. Whether successful or not, I can testify that Skip has been conscientious in following this principle: he has been asking parties who have demonstrated interest and/or competence for some time now to take over maintenance of the ‘lockfile’ library. > I continue to get bug reports, some from OS package maintainers or > maintainers of applications which use lockfile. Lots of these people > seem demanding of my time (which makes me even less interested in > lockfile maintenance). I don't know of any good way to make those decrease, without some other contact point for the project becoming more prominent than yours. > Is there a "correct" way to abandon the damn thing? You have, IMO, already put in sufficient public effort to give opportunity to potential maintainers. I would say that, in the case of the ‘lockfile’ library, you have already discharged your responsibilities under the above principle; and can politely let each person know they are on their own for maintenance. -- \ “I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now that I should | `\ have been more specific.” —Jane Wagner, via Lily Tomlin | _o__) | Ben Finney