Re: [RFC] Moving "manual.org" into core

["Thomas S. Dye" <tsd@tsdye.com>]

Aloha Bastien,

Bastien Guerry writes:
> Maybe this is where some misunderstanding arose: to me, there 
> was no
> _project_ to migrate to manual.org -- it was an idea in the air 
> after
> you made your experiment and we now have the decision at hand 
> because
> the project is, well, DONE.
>
> We could have done it another way: we could have discussed it as 
> a
> project, then anticipated that it will prevent Org's code to 
> migrate
> to Emacs repository, then discussed the pros and cons before 
> investing
> more time.

Thanks for pointing out this alternative.

Several of us working on the manual did recently discuss various 
issues on the list. Nicolas had several messages, I responded to 
most of them, and others chimed in on particular parts: Achim 
Gratz, Kyle Meyer, and Kaushal Modi come to mind immediately, but 
there may have been others.

In the past, we could have been assured Carsten would join the 
discussion in one way or another as maintainer, working to keep us 
on track and guide us to the most productive use of our time.

However, you have chosen to fulfill the duties of maintainer in a 
different way, one that does not involve day-to-day interaction 
with the volunteers who are themselves choosing to spend time 
trying to augment and improve Org mode.  I don't argue with this 
decision of yours, but to my mind, this is why we are where we are 
today.

Certainly, if I had understood in 2013 that my efforts would 
eventually work against Org mode by preventing migration of its 
code to Emacs repository (an issue that I don't understand fully 
but accept as valid), then I would have saved that time for other 
pursuits.  But, you did not say this at the time, as far as I 
remember.  My memory is that you were mostly silent.

Similarly, it was clear to me from lurking on the list last year 
that Nicolas was going to revive the project.  I believe it was 
also clear to the others who participated in the conversation on 
list, but I don't want to speak for them.  You either did not read 
that discussion or you did read it and chose not to participate. 
Work on the manual project wasn't a secret.

From my point of view, your involvement has come at the 11th hour, 
well after much effort has been expended on what several of our 
colleagues believe is a contribution to Org mode.  I'm pleased 
that you are willing to give the project a try, but I want to 
insist that you take some responsibility for where we are in this 
discussion.  I cannot accept that the maintainer scolds me and 
others who worked on the project that "we could have done it 
another way."  This is exactly the responsibility I want to insist 
the maintainer accept.

We look to the maintainer for guidance.  Please give it to us in a 
timely manner.

All the best,
Tom

--
Thomas S. Dye
http://www.tsdye.com