[Slackbuilds-users] Policy to modify someone else's script

[Alan Hicks]

Deak, Ferenc wrote:
> There was a mail about the ocaml build script yesterday. While I was
> checking the
> script I made, I realised that the script was modified by  "core
> <eroc at linuxmail.org>".
> He bumped up the version which is OK, but made unecessary changes also.
> 
> I think it would be better to set up a rule, which says that:
> before modifying someone else's script please contact with original
> author to discuss the changes.

Trouble with such a rule is that there's simply no way to enforce it.  For
the record, I don't even think this is needed in most cases for the
following reasons.

1- Usually when some one submits a script that he didn't do most of the work
on, it's usually because it's a simple version bump where the only necessary
change was to VERSION.
2- If anyone complains about a build script being out of date on the irc
channel, we'll generally tell them to contact the original author unless the
version bump is as simple as point 1.
3- Even then, people e-mail me to tell me that postfix or dovecot or
something else has released a new version and would like for me to update my
script.  Often, they've already done "1" themselves and will tell me so.

> And even I'm going further: Because the sbo maintainers has limited
> time to understand each package, perhaps it is better to involve the
> original author to the acceptance process, when somebody else made any
> changes.

I've argued before that eventually we will have to do something along those
lines as the project keeps getting bigger and bigger.

-- 
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,
Than for a man to hear the song of fools.
Ecclesiastes 7:5

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