[LEDE-DEV] openwrt and lede - remerge proposal

[Eric Luehrsen]

On 05/15/2017 09:11 PM, Philip Prindeville wrote:
>> On May 11, 2017, at 10:09 PM, Eric Luehrsen <ericluehrsen at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> People don't like rules and that could be even more true with open
>> source work groups. However, a good set of _limited_ rules can make life
>> easier. You may focus on important work or joyful recreation while not
>> worrying about accidental trespasses.
>
>
> I can’t say I agree.
>
> Part of my past frustration with submissions to OpenWRT was that I was cited “requirements” that needed to be satisfied before my PR’s could be merged.  Oftentimes these “requirements” weren’t written down anywhere else and didn’t seem to be applied in a even-handed way.  These “requirements” occasionally seemed more like individual preferences, and more than once I was told by one person “You need to do things this way” only to be told I needed to do things the exact opposite some time later by yet another person.
>
> That was a few years ago.  Lately things are marginally better, if noticeably bandwidth-limited.
>
> In sort… I’d rather have the rules all called out and be out in the open, thereby people can be assured that if they follow the rules they will have met the requirements (ALL the requirements) for their PR’s to be merged without having to watch the goal posts be moved…
>
> -Philip

I was referring to policy, procedure, organization, and behavior rules. 
The kind that once you accept them for the organization they keep you 
from stepping on each others toes.

Style guides and other work product detail rules are part in another 
subject. But again we can consider a similar concept of _limited_ and as 
you said _written_ rules. When they are unwritten, then some unpleasant 
individual can block your participation because, well, just because. If 
a group writes "these are seven submission requirements and the only 
seven," and they adhere to them, then it is much harder for an 
unpleasant individual to be arbitrary.

-Eric