From: Ray Lambert <listlizard_at_interthingy.net>
Date: Mon, 15 May 2006 18:43:11 -0400

Another $0.02 just to make your pockets jingle...

I agree with Daniel that there has to be a line drawn. At some point
you've got to just do it. The real question is: where do you draw the line.

I disagree with those calling for a beta release. The problem with a
beta release is that it implies that the code freeze must be kept on.
But the code freeze is the real problem here since it's holding up
development. OTOH, if you release a beta and lift the code freeze,
there's going to be a frenzy of activity and you lose any hope of making
a simple bug fix release. (Unless you branch the beta release... nasty
IMO).

I think what this situation really needs is an inventory and analysis of
the remaining bugs. Which bugs still exist, how serious are they, which
are show stoppers, and how long (approx) will they take to fix. You
might then find, for example, that one extra week will get us to a
release we can all live with. OTOH, you might find that some bugs will
take another month. Clearly that's too long, so you then plan to
release with those and live with them until the next release.

So, the bottom line is, I think, that a sound decision (no pun intended
:) cannot be reached without the data to back it up. Once the data is
available, the best decision will probably become obvious.

~ray
Received on 2006-05-16