Re: How can we decrease the cognitive overhead for contributors?

[Attila Lendvai]

another +1 for the general sentiment of Katherine's message.


> I am all for it if it supplements the email based workflow (every
> time I need to do a modern style pull request type action, I am
> completely out of my depths and lost in the web interfaces...).


in my experience learning the quirks of the web based PR model, at least as a 
contributor, is much less effort than the constant friction of an email based 
workflow, let alone the learning curve of the emacs based tools.

i couldn't even find out which tools are used by those who are comfortable with 
the email based workflow. i looked around once, even in the manual, but maybe i 
should look again.

i'm pretty sure most maintainers have a setup where the emailed patches can be 
applied to a new branch with a single press of a button, otherwise it'd be hell 
of a time-waster.

one fundamental issue with the email based workflow is that its underlying data 
model simply does not formally encode enough information to be able to 
implement a slick workflow and frontend. e.g. with a PR based model the 
obsolete versions of a PR is hidden until needed (rarely). the email based 
model is just a flat list of messages that includes all the past mistakes, and 
the by now irrelevant versions.


> But someone would have to write and maintain them...


there are some that have already been written. here's an ad-hoc list of 
references:

#github #gitlab #alternative
https://codeberg.org/
https://notabug.org/
https://sourcehut.org/
https://sr.ht/projects
https://builds.sr.ht/
https://git.lepiller.eu/gitile
codeberg.org is gitea and sr.ht is sourcehut

-- 
• attila lendvai
• PGP: 963F 5D5F 45C7 DFCD 0A39
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“The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; 
which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime 
and the punishment of his guilt.”
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