[LEDE-DEV] [OpenWrt-Devel] OpenWrt / LEDE

[Kathy Giori]

On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 4:43 AM, Jo-Philipp Wich <jo at mein.io> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I think the status quo has now been described several times and can be
> summarized as:
>
>  - Launching the new LEDE project/fork/reboot without discussing
>    matters in advance with the developers not being involved was
>    perceived in a hostile action damaging OpenWrt
>
>  - It has been claimed that any changes implemented by LEDE can be
>    likewise implemented in OpenWrt as well, obviously not 100%
>    identically without prior discussion but at least in a way keeping
>    original intents and spirits
>
>  - Both sides expressed the wish to reunite on several occasions
>
> I very much apologize for the huge surprise the LEDE project has been
> to you and I do regret the fact that we didn't discuss it earlier with
> you guys. Some of us got caught in the belief that building a new,
> shiny sandpit according to our liking would be the better course of
> action compared to drastically changing OpenWrt for something not
> guaranteed to work in the long run.
>
> That being said I still think that LEDE already is a success, at least
> in my personal perception. When I mention "we" here I mean all the
> people having participated in LEDE, regardless of affiliation or agenda.
>
> Notable points are:
>
>  - We managed to figure out workflows supporting both mailing-list /
>    patchwork-driven development and a more contributor oriented pull
>    request model
>
>  - We figured out how to have a linear history without resorting to
>    limiting ourselves to svn now (which was the sole argument for
>    keeping it btw.)
>
>  - We reworked the buildbots to be more efficient
>
>  - We managed to quickly acquire donations, specifically regarding
>    mirror space and build bot capacity
>
>  - We based the web page on a Git repo and mirrored that to Github
>    in order to let people contribute
>
>  - We attempted to do everything publically [since the LEDE announcemnt]
>    and retroactively published communication regarding the project
>    implementation
>
>  - We have between three to four people per server having root access,
>    with at least one person not being affiliated with "the cabal"
>
> On the other hand we didn't yet manage to:
>
>  - Clearly communicate our past and future intents upfront and after
>    the fact
>
>  - Start a proper discussion with OpenWrt regarding the future direction
>    of both projects
>
>  - Untangle the infrastructure (wiki.openwrt.org, dev.openwrt.org,
>    git.openwrt.org)
>
>
> The weak effort on both sides in talking about both projects future
> direction paralyzed progress for all of us and in the associated
> communities so I'd very much like to reach at least some agreement or
> definitive decision soon.
>
> In order to underline my honest intention I'd like to give up
> maintenance of the OpenWrt wiki and hand the data / SSH access over to
> you guys so that you can migrate / maintain / rework it as you deem
> fitting.
>
> We're also still in possession of the secret build key for the CC
> release used to sign the package repositories. I'd be glad to throw it
> over the fence and assist you with using my package rebuild scripts to
> push security updates.
>
> Please tell me a contact and I'll provide the person with suitable
> access.
>
> I also still have root access to dev.openwrt.org hosting the Trac,
> though you could reach out to Mirko as well to get access to the system.
>
> Luka mentioned that OpenWrt plans to move to Github, we'd be very happy
> if we could spare you the conversion work - we have a cleanly converted
> repository available at https://git.lede-project.org/openwrt/source.git
> which you could use as starting point for future developments - that
> repository maps the historic SVN and CVS branch/tag structure as good
> as possible to proper Git branches and tags. I also took some care in
> converting svn committer nicknames to proper authors.
>
> We did equivalent conversions for the old packages and old feeds svn
> repositories in https://git.lede-project.org/openwrt/packages.git and
> https://git.lede-project.org/openwrt/feeds.git .
>
> Finally I'd like to hand over my non-root access to the OpenWrt
> buildmaster which I'd hand over to interested OpenWrt people. I took
> over maintenance for some time because Travis has been rather busy with
> real life these days.
>
> If there is truly some interest among the remaining OpenWrt folks to
> reunite while adopting the visions and working modes of LEDE then
> please speak up and tell us about your demands.
>
>
> Best wishes,
> Jo

Jo,

I appreciate your well-written summary and the notable improvements.
Moving to git and keeping history, improving the web site and
documentation to enable more collaboration, making workflows more
efficient and open, etc. had been discussed during face-to-face
gatherings of OpenWrt core + industry, at ELCE events over the past
couple years. I got involved as a liaison from the perspective of the
prpl Foundation with the core objective of improving OpenWrt, and
setting up the workflow so that more of industry developers could both
use and contribute to it. Bravo on fulfilling some of the topics that
had only been talked about for some time -- that's a big help.

I really hope you all can bring these enhancements together and go
back to working on one project. From a marketing/communications
standpoint, I'd suggest keeping the OpenWrt project name. It is highly
recognized and probably only a slim fraction of "users" (people and
companies who download and reflash their routers) will have heard of
LEDE.

Regarding the unfinished business to "Start a proper discussion with
OpenWrt...", I have my fingers crossed that you can resolve any
remaining differences. Are there any LEDE objectives, rules,
processes, or whatever that you think are still controversial? If so,
reach out directly to whomever disagrees and start talking. Or go
through Mike Baker to facilitate a dialog.

In summary, I like the enhancements made and the idea of hosting
OpenWrt development on github and bringing everyone back together, but
I don't like the idea of changing the well-established name of OpenWrt
to LEDE.

kathy