[wp-hackers] Differentiating nightlies and betas

[Craig Hartel]

David Clark wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Now that we are post 1.5 and transitionng from cvs to Subversion, I 
> would like to raise a tangential "meta" issue.
> 
> Basically, I would suggest doing away with  nightlies in favor of less 
> frequent, though more clearly documented , builds.
> 
> I am fully where of both the need for testers and people's desire to 
> have the latest and greatest, but I fear that nightlies convey a false 
> sense of completeness. I would argue that those of us who what and/or 
> need up to the minute changes do not use nightlies anyway, but rather 
> update  file by files.
> 
> For those that are less intimate with the code but don't  mind "beta" 
> software, there should be intermittent builds that are based on 
> functional mile,stones, and not just change in day, week, or  month. 
> They should be documented with a list of FUNCTIONAL differences (not 
> just a log of line-by-line changes), and a list of known/outstanding 
> issues.
> 
> I understand it requires more on the part of the "developers", but I 
> think it would prevent confusion and facilitate more meaning feedback 
> from testers/users.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> dc
> 
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> 
I'm in total support of limited access to non-stable builds. The forums were 
clogged with issues from the nightlies, and it was murder to try and support. It 
eventually led to Podz and I basically NOT supporting anything other than 1.2.2. 
It also led a lot of folks to think that 1.5 was a lot closer to release than 
perhaps it was. Given the current function of the forums, and how posts move 
down the list rather quickly, it was and is unfair to those who are using stable 
builds to be overwhelmed by alpha/beta/gamma/RC builds.

Now, many of those running nightlies are fully capable of dealing with the 
potential problems, but we answered way too many "should I try an nightly 
because I hear it has lots of good stuff" posts.

Hmm...I'm repeating a lot of what David has already said, but I gotta say, the 
forums were INSANE with issues pre-Strayhorn. It's going to create some serious 
burnout.

Thanks to Kaf and MacManX and Podz and Carthik and MDWaffe and many of you in 
the hackers' list, we were able, JUST able, to keep up. I've not spent any time 
on my site in a few weeks because I've felt obligated to help everyone I can 
through the transition to Strayhorn.

'Nuff said. I'll shut up now and let others offer their opinions.

Craig.
Nuclear Moose.