Release Structure Changes

[Scott Kitterman]

I think the council needs to vote for there to be a formal project position, 
but I posted it for everyone to discuss.  Thanks.

Scott K

On Friday, March 15, 2013 09:02:11 PM Ho Wan Chan wrote:
> Not a Kubuntu Council member (just a Kubuntu member) but I am +1 on this.
> 
> Regards,
> Howard Chan (smartboyhw)
> 
> 
> 2013/3/15 Scott Kitterman <ubuntu at kitterman.com>
> 
> > As a topic for today's call, I'd like to propose the following.
> > 
> > The latest Ubuntu (the project) level proposal that is on the table is:
> > 
> > https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/technical-board/2013-March/001527.html
> > 
> > I think we can generally live with this, however (as others have already
> > commented on th TB list) I think the 7 month support period is too short.
> > 
> > I would propose the Kubuntu (the project) position on this be something
> > along
> > 
> > the lines of the following:
> >  - The overall structure of retaining a regular cadence of normal and LTS
> > 
> > releases every 6 months is essential to Kubuntu as delivering a release
> > with
> > the latest KDE release is a critical part of what makes Kubuntu what it
> > is.
> > This revised proposal supports our desired cadence.
> > 
> >  - We expect that most of our user base will run the current release.  We
> > 
> > expect that users of our LTS release want things to not change.  We do not
> > support required upgrades to platform components (this is different than
> > the
> > hardware enablement updates that are done in separate packages and only
> > affect
> > new installs - those we support - it should continue to be possible to
> > install
> > the LTS on newer hardware).
> > 
> >  - We believe that a one month overlap of support periods (the proposed 7
> > 
> > month window) is insufficient.  We would prefer a 9 month period so that
> > users
> > that want to wait until the final micro version of a KDE release is
> > complete
> > and integrated into the archive can upgrade at this point (as an example,
> > KDE
> > 4.10.5 is scheduled to release on July 2, 2013 so it would be nice to have
> > 12.10 [if it had been released under the new paradigm] supported until the
> > end
> > of July).  8 months would still be significantly better than 7 if 9 is not
> > supportable.
> > 
> >  - We support the idea of improving the quality and consistency of the
> > 
> > development series, however, we are concerned that this can be taken too
> > far.
> > Our current practice is to wait until at least beta releases of the
> > software
> > we package to put them in the archive.  We anticipate continuing this as
> > waiting until later reduces the test exposure they get and compresses the
> > packaging working into a small period before feature freeze.
> > 
> > In general, the current proposal seems to meet the needs of Kubuntu, but
> > we
> > would like to discuss addressing these concerns.  I think the Kubuntu
> > Council
> > should vote on a project position on this.
> > 
> > Scott K
> > 
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