What Fedora makes sucking for me - or why I am NOT Fedora

[Josh Boyer]

On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 08:52:03AM -0800, Jesse Keating wrote:
>On Fri, 2008-12-12 at 07:29 -0500, Josh Boyer wrote:
>> Maybe an example of an update you consider irresponsible?
>
>Lets pick up some mysteries:
>
>https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/F8/FEDORA-2008-10242
>
>homebank-3.8-1.fc8 -> homebank-4.0-1.fc8
>
>Nothing listed in the bodhi update to give users any indication as to
>what the update brings, no bugfix information, no new feature
>information to verify functionality.  Not even rpm changelog.  (although
>in this case, the rpm changelog is "- 4.0".  How are users supposed to
>consume this and provide appropriate feedback?  Why was a major version
>bump necessary at this very late stage of Fedora 8's lifespan?
>
>https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/F8/FEDORA-2008-9959
>
>texmaker-1.7.1-1.fc8 -> texmaker-1.8-1.fc8
>
>Only details in bodhi is "New upstream release".  Only rpm changelog is
>"- New Release"  This appears to have been spammed from F8+ all at the
>same time.  Same story as above.  As with above, 0 feedback in bodhi and
>a relatively short period in updates-testing before the maintainer
>pushed it on over to -stable.
>
>
>https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/F8/FEDORA-2008-10246
>
>More of the same.  No bodhi information, no changelog information beyond
>"version upgrade", a single day between the update hitting -testing and
>the maintainer requesting it go -stable.  0 feedback in bodhi.  Again
>spammed across the release board.  Why?
>
>
>I could go on and on with these mysteries, which could be sane updates,
>but who knows!?  Certainly not the consumer.

OK, "we need to provide better information as to what updates are doing
and why users should be updating".  Check.

Now, it might be a bit unfair to be asking you specifically so this is
an open question in general, but are there examples of major version
updates that _were_ descriptive that anyone thinks are a major problem?

I'm trying to figure out if we have a rampant "just shove the latest
upstream into all branches" problem, or if we have a lack of information
problem, or a bit of both.  I think trying to quantify the actual problem,
if there is one, is the only way we're going to know how to address
anything going forward.

josh