Re: Offer to maintain GNU's Debbugs instance (and modernize it)

[Michael Albinus]

Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi Felix,

Hi Maxim

>> My main motivation is that the Guix project, a sub-project of GNU,
>> depends on GNU Debbugs to a great extent. Substantial efforts were
>> already made to augment it, but they remain incomplete and
>> under-appreciated. [1]
>
> That sounds like an exciting (and ambitious!) project.  My take on it
> would have been more conservative: try to at least have a rebased
> version of the GNU Debbugs instance on top of the upstream Debbugs one,
> to benefit of its bug fixes and new features (?), before attempting to
> rewrite it into something else.

Exactly my approach.

> If we had GNU Debbugs source code in git on Savannah, with the extra
> customization as extra patches on top of upstream, I think we could then
> package it in Guix, make a service for it, and *then*, be well equipped
> to work on rewriting it, if there's value and/or motivation in doing so
> (like you seem to have!)
>
> Is this an effort you'd be interested sharing (the preconditions for a
> rewrite I've laid out above, as I see it?)  I could lend a hand, as it's
> something I've been meaning to do for a while.

If the Debbugs software would be to be rewritten, we shall synchronize
with the projects using debbugs.gnu.org. Or do you ("Guix") intend to
have your own server?

Best regards, Michael.