Public SourceMage Discussion List

["Ryan Abrams" <rabrams AT sourcemage.org>]

Hey all. This email is meant to help get things "back on track" inside the sourcemage team. It is being posted publicly, because that is how things are done. Besides, the real point of this is to give some firm statements about the future. What is going to happen.. where we are headed, etc.

 

First off, I want to apologize for my apparent absence the past two weeks. I have been completing a large project for my "real" job (a project which is now complete thankfully), and was having issues getting my email in a functional state. Sad but true.

 

With that out of the way, let me just go through the things I want to address:

 

1) Perforce vs. CVS - This issue is not a technical one. It's a belief issue. And it will continue to pop up unless it is addressed. Here is the answer: We are not going to switch off of p4 unless a free-software alternative is developed which is as easy to use as p4, or easier (based on the standards of our grimoire team lead). I expect Eric to pay attention to SCM's over time, and see if one ever reaches a point that is good enough. But until then, I will not force a switch to an inferior solution over ideology. That said, we need a way for people who don't want to use non-free software to be able to contribute.

 

To that end, Eric, Tony, and Nick have all worked together and now the grimoire p4 repository is pulling in updates from the cvs server again. This means that people who do not want to use non-free software can still contribute as grimoire guru's. This solves the problem, and ends the issue.

 

I expect to not see our list cluttered with this stuff again in the future. If you want to see it changed, work hard so that you can be the next Grimoire Team Lead (if and whenever that happens). Then you will be the one who can make the decision.

 

2) Sorcery Releases. We will switch the devel grimoire to the cvs developmental version of sorcery within 1 month. That is the deadline. Dufflebunk has been charged with going around and coordinating this with the sorcery team. He will post status reports either through me or directly to the lists.

 

3) Meetings. The meetings got all screwed up around the July 4th holiday. This is intended to get them started again. There will be a meeting EVERY SUNDAY at 6pm GMT. This means that when it is 6pm in London, the meeting starts. Meetings are held on irc.openproects.net channel #smgl-admin. Attendance will be recorded, logs will be posted, and things will be decided. If you are not there and haven't given advance notice of missing it, decisions will be made without you. So be there.

 

4) Team members. Several team members are MIA. To figure out who exists and who doesn't, All team members have been placed on "unknown" status. Any team member who lets me know they are still involved within 2 weeks will be taken off unknown status. Anyone who doesn't will be removed from the roster. We need to know where we stand.

 

I know we have done this before, in a bit more detail. This is just a "renewal" so to speak.

 

At the end of this 2 week period, I will submit the list of @sourcemage.org email addresses to ibiblio for creation. These addresses will be in a standard format of <firstinitial><lastname>@sourcemage.org (I.e. rabrams AT sourcemage.org) - Please include this information in your "i'm alive" email, incase it isn't in your check in email from ages back.

 

5) 1.0. We are going to push this to a halloween release (did anyone /not/ see this coming?) I will post a specific roadmap sometime in the next week that outlines exactly what will and wont be happening for 1.0, point releases, 2.0, and possibly beyond. This roadmap will be discussed at the following meeting, revised, re-discussed, and stabilized. We will start capping features etc, and focus on deadlines and dates.

 

6) I will write a preliminary constitution by the end of the month. We will take it through discussion and finalize it before the release of 1.0. Anyone who wants to contribute, send me your thoughts, etc.

 

7) The web site will have a news engine this weekend. It will not be the final engine, but we have gone too long without news. A stop gap will be created, which could evolve into a final solution. I will give several people access to post news.

 

8) There will be an alpha iso with a new installer as soon as one can be completed. "Cauldron" has gone missing along with Wyatt, so I will spend my free time working on a new modular installer of my own. I will be getting in touch with Adam to work on the ISO. Between us, we can hopefully crank this out relatively quickly. This installer will be simplistic by design, relying mostly on spells and network functions. I consider this the "network installer". What this means in english is that I may ask guru's for help whipping required spells into shape.

 

Anyway, that's my current thinking. I will layout a more specific/readable timeline in the near future for people to contribute to.

 

Before I close, I want to thank everyone for all their hard work recently. The amount of problems being solved, the amount of scripting being done, and overall, the amount of dedication shown by most team members is astounding. We have seen a LOT of problems get solved in various areas. Good work to everyone.

 

Thanks,

 

Ryan