I've created a branch for MediaWiki 1.16, and updated the version numbers in trunk to 1.17alpha.

This does NOT mean that the 1.16 branch is stable and ready for general use. It is still in alpha. I have created it because I was getting tired of chasing the ever-receding target that is HEAD. Now that we are branched, if the schedule has to slip again, it will just mean less features, rather than more time reviewing new features.

In the current state, it will take at least a week to get 1.16 stabilised enough to do a beta release.

During this pre-release period, everyone who commits fixes of significant bugs should also backport them to the 1.16 branch, if that branch is affected. This might be a nuisance, but I don't think it's unreasonable. It's in line with the way most other open source projects work, and we had a similar period before the release of 1.15.

At this stage, you do not need to ask for approval to backport something to 1.16.

This is not the time to merge all your unreviewed experimental work into trunk. I'd like the merges to be done progressively, in priority order, so that our reviewers can keep up with them. That way, we can limit the amount of unstable code in HEAD, and keep trunk usable.

I'm open to suggestions about priority, but I think the simpler branches (platonides, conrad) should be done before the more complex branches (SkinSystemRewrite, parser-work).

-- Tim Starling