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1. Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:25:57 UTC Danyl Strype

   • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
   @arunisaac really? Given that software runs on OS that constantly change (security patches etc), and often connects to networks that do too?
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 05:47:42 UTC Danyl Strype
     It would be great if #GitLab and other code forges automatically marked projects 'dormant' or 'discontinued' after a certain time of no work
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 05:49:09 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to
     I guess there would need to be rough consensus on how long a project needs to go with no commit before these descriptions would be fair
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 05:50:42 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to
     Some standard for putting a #LuggageMark on project when active dev is moved to a different forge would be helpful too
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:26:43 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon see my reply to Arun Isaac https://quitter.se/notice/25203513
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:27:57 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon @arunisaac say you're right, in that case lack of commits or the activity on the forge would mislead me into thinking "useless"
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:29:32 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @arunisaac @xurizaemon what I'm getting at is a standard set of labels that could used across forges, to indicate the state of a project ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:56:54 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon @arunisaac it would certainly require some careful thinking, especially when it comes to anything automated ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:57:33 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @arunisaac @xurizaemon I'm just aware that the foam of started-then-abandoned itch-scratching hobby projects makes it harder to find stuff
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:58:15 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @arunisaac @xurizaemon I'm pretty experienced at sifting through and choosing apps to us, but it still takes up large chunks of time ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 06:59:29 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @arunisaac @xurizaemon I can only imagine how overwhelming it is for those newly concerned about software freedom post- #deletefacebook
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:03:18 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon thus the thought that automation could help with abandonment or active dev moving to a fork ;) Most labels would be self-applied
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:04:22 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon eg there could be a 'finished' label for programs that the author is certain won't need commits to stay useful ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:05:06 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon program marked 'finished' would be excluded from any automated 'dormant' or 'abandoned' labels
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:16:54 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon explain?
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:19:39 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon sure, but a one-click way for a dev to mark a project they are abandoning as 'abandoned' would be useful, right?
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:20:38 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon same with a one-click way for a dev to point users to a more actively maintained fork when they lose interest ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:22:27 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon or a 'hobby' label devs can use to mark #ScatchMyItch projects that they know aren't yet ready for production use
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:24:31 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon it's the same principle as when you put a license file in your repo, GH (and maybe others) supply boilerplate info about it
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:26:20 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon it's about making the properties of codebases transparent so people (as end users or devs) don't waste hours trawling thru them
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:32:45 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon I've found project homepages still live and giving an impression of active dev long after an abandoned project no longer works
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:33:31 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon this is even more likely with repos in forges because they don't depend on someone paying domain name fees
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 07:35:03 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon there is a legitimate case for automated labels because of this. I agree it would have to be designed *very* carefully
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 08:51:09 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon "bug-free" is definetely not a label I'd consider useful. Did I suggest it somewhere? I don't remember doing that, but ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 08:52:32 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon that's a bit harsh. #SourceForge suffered a few years of poor stewardship, but they improved. Some active projects still use it
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 14:25:55 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     for sure @lightweight, I'm not suggesting removing code ever, just a way of tagging it to indicate project status @xurizaemon
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 14:26:52 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon hosted on SF is usually a case of a) old project that can't be bothered moving or b) project by greybeard who's used to using SF
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 14:28:59 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon TBH I too have an implicit bias against code on SF, post the malware-in-downloads debacle, but I try to be conscious of that ;)
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 14:31:39 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @lightweight @xurizaemon BTW it's a shame #Mastodon does such a bad job of reconstructing cross-platform threads (as do most fediverse apps)
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 14:37:09 UTC Danyl Strype

     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon I may have lost the ability to distinguish between chatting and debating :{ Occupational hazard of being an activist?
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 14:38:49 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon and I have been having an illuminating exchange on the pros and cons of automated codebase tagging
     @lightweight
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 15:05:18 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon @lightweight "surfacing measurable facts" yes, this. Like when a readme file in a repo says "Don't use this in production" ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 15:06:16 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @lightweight @xurizaemon ... making that highly visible in searches, on the platform and off, without having to drill down to that ReadMe
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 15:07:11 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @lightweight @xurizaemon the automation thing might be a distraction, standard labels (like standard licenses) is more what I'm driving at
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Wednesday, 11-Apr-2018 15:08:27 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @lightweight @xurizaemon I just can't think how voluntary labeling would help if a dev dies, or just walks away from their code in despair
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 06:51:10 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @lightweight it's a new concept to me too, but @xurizaemon proposed it as a reason a project might still be active despite no commits
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 07:02:30 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     sorry @xurizaemon not intending to put you on the spot. We're all just #SpitBalling here :) @lightweight
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 07:05:18 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Dave Lane
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     @xurizaemon @lightweight awww, that makes me weirdly homesick. We've settled into our apartment in China and learning to love illiteracy ;)
   • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺 (cbowdon)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 08:09:43 UTC Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess

     @strypey @arunisaac Absolutely! Some libraries, especially zero-dependency libs that provide just logic rather than anything IO-related, will survive anything except breaking syntax changes.

     But I agree very much with @xurizaemon that response time to tickets/contributions is a useful measurement.

   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 10:59:47 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess
     • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺
     @cbowdon @arunisaac @xurizaemon but surely responding to tickets/contributions with anything other than "yeah, nah" will generate commits?
   • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺 (cbowdon)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 15:55:57 UTC Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺

     in reply to

     • Arun Isaac (அருண் ஐசக்)
     • 🍓 Chris Burgess

     @strypey @arunisaac @xurizaemon Sometimes yes, but also some tickets will just require help or advice, and sometimes discussion will ensue where the maintainer carefully decides not to accept a contribution.

     It’s an imperfect metric but I think it’s better than expecting constant activity.

   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 18:27:39 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺
     @cbowdon fair point. Just so we're all on the same page, are you able to see the rest of the thread leading up to these comments?
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Thursday, 12-Apr-2018 18:28:25 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺
     @cbowdon it all started with an innocent #ShowerThought:
     https://quitter.se/notice/25202906
   • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺 (cbowdon)'s status on Friday, 13-Apr-2018 07:00:17 UTC Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺

     in reply to

     @strypey Yeah, started reading from there thanks. It’s a good premise, choosing libraries can be time-consuming.

   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Saturday, 14-Apr-2018 12:34:31 UTC Danyl Strype

     • Kiwi's on the Fediverse
     • Dave Lane
     @lightweight I don't want to get too specific about that here ;P But when I follow up with you and Christine about !kiwi #Greens stuff ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Saturday, 14-Apr-2018 12:36:01 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺
     @cbowdon ae, same with choosing new user-facing apps for evaluation as potential replacements for common proprietary apps
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Saturday, 14-Apr-2018 12:38:47 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺
     @cbowdon I've noticed that quite often when projects get abandoned, neither their homepage, blog, or repo gets updated to say so ...
   • Danyl Strype (strypey)'s status on Saturday, 14-Apr-2018 12:42:53 UTC Danyl Strype

     in reply to

     • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺
     @cbowdon ... and too often unmaintained and increasingly unusable apps continue to get bundled in distros and their repos for years after
   • Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺 (cbowdon)'s status on Saturday, 14-Apr-2018 12:55:35 UTC Chris Bowdon 🇬🇧🇪🇺

     in reply to

     @strypey Yeah, that can lead to some very disappointing and frustrating situations.

     If only there was an easy way to pay (and be paid) for support on FOSS projects... although often it’s not about the money it’s about the time.