r176 - /web/deps/dep10.mdwn

[seanius at users.alioth.debian.org]

Author: seanius
Date: Sat Apr 30 17:29:10 2011
New Revision: 176

URL: http://svn.debian.org/wsvn/dep/?sc=1&rev=176
Log:
DEP-10: initial introduction / scope.

Modified:
    web/deps/dep10.mdwn

Modified: web/deps/dep10.mdwn
URL: http://svn.debian.org/wsvn/dep/web/deps/dep10.mdwn?rev=176&op=diff
==============================================================================
--- web/deps/dep10.mdwn (original)
+++ web/deps/dep10.mdwn Sat Apr 30 17:29:10 2011
@@ -13,4 +13,49 @@
 	 to remove the requirement that the testing suite must freeze during
 	 the release process.
 
-Coming soon.
+# Introduction / Problem scope
+
+Currently, as the project nears a new stable release, a freeze is instituted
+on the testing suite.  The freeze is put in place to allow the release team
+to focus on resolving the remaining Release Critical (RC) bugs for the next
+stable release, and at the same time to prevent regressions from new uploads.
+Typically the freeze begins as an advisory "soft freeze", which over
+time increases in strictness and levels of enforcement.
+
+Unsuprisingly, as the strictness of the freeze increases, there is an
+inversely proportional decrease in other non-release targeted maintainer
+activity.  Since unstable still is the preferred route for packages to
+reach the new release during this period, maintainers are highly discouraged
+and in some cases prevented from doing non-release targeted activities
+in unstable.
+
+The reduction of such non-release activity is viewed as problematic in
+this DEP, for some inter-related reasons:
+
+ * New features and innovations are put on hold, or at least not commonly
+   available, until after the release is made.
+ * Overall Maintainer activity decreases as freezes persist.
+ * Potential userbase is lost (missing feature X, switch distro).
+ * The volatility of testing/unstable increases (and thus quality decreases)
+   with a deluge of new uploads after the freeze is lifted.
+
+As Debian is well known for taking a "release when it's ready" approach, the
+freeze periods are generally known to last considerable amounts of time.
+Consider the last three freezes:
+
+ * squeeze: 4 months
+ * lenny: 7 months
+ * squeeze: 6 months
+
+This means, in rough terms, that the when testing thaws, that the Debian
+project may be starting from a state half a year behind comparable
+distributions.  
+
+While the resulting stable releases are well known for their high level
+of quality and stability, it is at a considerable cost.  The project is,
+in essence, starting from a 6 month standstill, will be similarly
+out of date with comparable distributions.  Furthermore, both the standstill
+as well as the subsequent rush of uploads will introduce further delays
+to the next release, as release goals will likely be set relative to
+the starting point.
+