Re: Invitation

Egbert Eich wrote:
> We have seen statements made on this list that XFree86
> isn't interested in areas relevant to the UI community
> because it didn't respond to requests for help.
> Well, if you didn't recieve a response there is most
> likely no expert (with one exception I will talk about
> later) that can answer your question.
> XFree86 has been aware of the fact that there are many
> areas in X where it has no expert on. Therefore not
> getting an answer does not display a lack of interest
> but a lack of experise.
> 
> Therefore, get involved! 
> Get involved in XFree86 *within* XFree86, make it known 
> to XFree86 what area you are working on. Bring along friends.
> Calling on the XFree86 developers community to solve 
> problems for you it has no experise on isn't going to 
> increase the numbers of experts. It is not the OpenSource 
> way.

What does it mean to be involved?  Currently, involved but non-core people
have to queue their patches up in fixes like everybody else, or maybe join a
friendly fork like DRI, and wait for a merge.  The point being that there
hasn't been a great incentive to be involved in XFree86 as it's clear that you
will always be treated as a 2nd class, frankly untrusted, citizen, relative to
the core team in whom all commit power is vested, and can set their own
direction regardless of outside council (even from the involved, or from
people with long-standing expertise who aren't interested in joining the core).


> Now, let me come back to the exception I was talking
> about. There is one name that can be attached to almost
> all areas the UI community is interested in: Keith Packard.
> 
> We all acknowldege that Keith's work and expertise has been
> invaluable for XFree86. 
> Keith,
> I hope that you will continue to contribute to XFree86
> *within* XFree86 as a team player so you can be given 
> back the role you deserve.
> I know you have started several X-related projects outside 
> of XFree86. You have never made them to become a part of
> XFree86. I would like to invite everybody involved in these
> projects to join the XFree86 developers community, to use
> our infrastructure to present their work, discuss their
> issues.
> I would like to personally invite Bart Massey and Jamey Sharp
> who I met personally to join the XFree86 team.

The core team?

Does this signal the start of a policy of expanding the core team?  Can some
guidelines be published as to what steps an interested & active developer
might need to take to become a committer/core team member?   And how long this
might be expected to take?

Keith