On 05/15/2013 04:55 PM, Terry Chay wrote:
Once a project has reached a certain level of maturity, any unnecessary documentation can be disposed of. Our process as it stands today doesn't allow us to be free of things like Gerrit, Bugzilla or wiki, but being able to let go of the unnecessary should be our goal. I like to think of these tools like writing on a napkin, it's okay at a certain time in the development process, but I wouldn't want everything we do to *require* a napkin doodling before implementation. ;-)
I agree the code should be self-documenting where possible, but coordination tools like Bugzilla, and various kinds of documentation (API docs like jsduck/PHPDoc, design docs, end user docs) are still necessary.
In the case of Mingle/Trello specifically these are closed source
(possibly externally-hosted) software infrastructure pieces that we, as a Foundation, do not want to have an ongoing dependence on. During project creation and early development, the deadline-formation and other management tasks these afford are sometimes necessary in commercial space but do not really exist in all-volunteer open-source efforts, so some degree of dependence when there aren't open-source solutions becomes a necessary evil for that time in our project development. However, an ongoing dependence on these tools would become a wall prohibiting certain members of our community from being able to fully participate in, and that would be contrary to our commitment.
I agree these tools are problematic for this reason. I understand why some people currently choose to use them, but the Foundation should investigate free alternatives that can meet our projects' needs.
Matt Flaschen