Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2004 00:34:16 +1100 From: Sam Lawrance <boris@brooknet.com.au> To: Matt Mills <matt_mills@btopenworld.com> Cc: ports@freebsd.org Subject: Re: "Being a port maintainer" document Message-ID: <41BD9A58.5060904@brooknet.com.au> In-Reply-To: <41BD7521.6020302@btopenworld.com> References: <20041212000009.GB86390@xor.obsecurity.org> <41BD7521.6020302@btopenworld.com>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Matt Mills wrote: > Kris Kennaway wrote: > >> I'd like to put out a general call for people to volunteer to maintain >> our unmaintained ports -- this is a great way for users to "give >> something back" to FreeBSD and help out the project -- but we need >> some form of document we can show them that lists the rights and >> responsibilities of port maintainers, so they have an idea of what's >> expected from them. The porters' handbook does a good job of >> describing the details of constructing a port, but not the >> higher-level aspects of being a port maintainer. > > > Obviously, I may be about to ask questions that appear in the document > in question, but I'll take that risk as there are some ports I could > maintain. > > What skills does a port maintainer need to have? For instance, is it > enough to be proficient with the software, to have basic system > administration skills and an understanding of how the ports tree > works, or is there some programming involved? That's a good question. It's not answered directly in the current porter's handbook, but a browse through it should give you a good indication of what you need to do. > I presume the latter as I would guess that the maintainers provide > patches for ports that do not compile out of the box. I have some very > basic C/C++ skills but am reluctant to take on maintainership(?) of > any ports for fear of lack of skill. > There's a great way to find out; pick some unmaintained ports you'd like to maintain, see if they need fixing or updating and give it a whirl. If you get stuck there are plenty of people here to assist you :) -- Sam Lawrance ph +61 0425 228 579 freenode: deft
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?41BD9A58.5060904>