RE: [PHP-DOC] list of contributors [rethought]

-----Original Message----- From: Andrew Lindeman [mailto:alindeman@php.net] Sent: Saturday, May 03, 2003 1:39 PM To: Gabor Hojtsy Cc: Erica Douglass; phpdoc@lists.php.net Subject: Re: [PHP-DOC] list of contributors [rethought] On Sat, 2003-05-03 at 15:28, Gabor Hojtsy wrote: > I am absolutely against any automation, as described in my past emails > and above. > > Goba +1 Automation is not a good idea for a list like this. ---- I just don't see how you're going to make it fair by making the list based on personal selection. I don't think anyone is going to argue whether or not he/she is a top 10 or "major" contributor; we pretty much all know who those are. I see conflicts arising, however, if there is no standard metric to determine who goes on the secondary list. If we use a metric to determine who belongs on that list, and someone complains that he/she is not on it, all we have to do is explain the metric -- for instance, "You haven't contributed at least 5 commits in the past 6 months." Any of us on the list could respond to that complaint with the exact same answer. Having a well-defined metric is important, because then we're able to present a concrete reason for not having that person on the list. On the other hand, if the list is hand-edited, not only do changes have to go through a "select few", but if those "select few" deem that someone isn't going to be on the list, it could really get personal. That's the danger inherent in building something without a well-defined metric. The problem then becomes not "I haven't contributed enough", but "Goba/Philip/whoever doesn't like me" or "They don't feel like I'm a valuable member of this team." This could lead to the manual losing contributors because there would be no easy way to answer the question "Why am I not on that list?" Making it hand-edited invariably makes the decision of whether or not someone goes on the list personal, and by bringing personal feelings into it, someone is going to feel slighted. I think there has to be some metric -- some well-defined standard -- by which people get added to the secondary list. This metric doesn't have to be listed on the secondary page... there's no reason we have to order the list by anything other than the contributors' names, or to show anything other than names and email addresses. However, there needs to be a rhyme and reason as to why the people who are on the list are on it, and that reason shouldn't be based on personal feelings. Erica Douglass Lead Web Developer Simpli, Inc.