On 12/27/2012 10:34 AM, Tim Landscheidt wrote:
I think the problem with some groups is that if you are not in the group, you're not in the group. Do you need to join the Bug Squad to squash bugs?
Of course not. You don't need to join the Browser Testing team to define test cases, the Promotion team to promote MediaWiki, etc.
Bug Squad teams have existed in software projects for a while now. They don't limit people's permissions to triage bugs. If anything, formal bug squad teams should be helpful to identify more & better the people deserving extra permissions... By the way, even MediaWiki attempted to have a formal https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Bug_Squad . The fact of doing this as a MediaWiki Group changes nothing.
What happens if you triage/ fix a bug without consulting them? Will they feel that their "territory" has been infringed, their rules have not been followed and maybe withdraw from MediaWiki development as a consequence especially when they thought of joining the Bug Squad as a commitment and sacrifice to the community with some powers and prestige as reward?
... whatever happens in the life of these teams will depend on the people forming them, not on the fact that they are a MediaWiki Group or not.
By the way, some principles and rules (apart from common sense) already exist for anybody interested in bug handling:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Bug_management
This doesn't happen in groups defined by geography who do not have any other responsibility, but I certainly share Sébastien's concern about groups targetting other fields.
Still concerned?