[Arm-netbook] Organizing our communities [WAS: Re: Flashing the NAND]

[Olliver Schinagl]

Aaron J. Seigo <aseigo <at> kde.org> writes:

> 
> On Saturday, December 7, 2013 07:43:08 freebirds <at> fastmail.fm wrote:
> > the others." I appreciate Aaron Seigo making recommendations including
> > starting IRC meetings. Meetings are democratic. If Aaron Seigo intended
> > to dictate, he wouldn't ask for feedback to hold the first meeting in
> > January.
> 
> Precisely. The only reason I’d like to see coordination and communication is 
> so that I can participate in meaningful ways with everyone else. I would have 
> been far happier with someone else stepping up and suggesting this as it
means 
> I wouldn’t have to spend time on it :)
In addition to that (and the discussion on #linux-sunxi) it should be said,
that linux-sunxi is doing pretty 'ok'. While some may disagree with how it
formed (and who was and was not invited, really? everybody is invited.).
Sure we'd love to have more people write code or write documentation, but
only so many man-hours available by volunteers.

Now we should also make it clear, there's clearly two 'camps' here. And
while there should be, they are disjunctive right now, let me explain.

We have 2 projects here that should be collaborating. Rhombus-tech which
does great work on the hardware side of things and Linux-sunxi which worries
about the software side (of only Allwinner SoC's). Nice and clear separated
and makes sense. If the next EOMA86 will be using AMLogic, then no problem,
the community won't 'shift' but the EOMA community will also start talking
to the AMLogic community. Anyway, I'm sure this doesn't need more explaining
as it's quite obvious.

What is going on right now however, is that rhombus-tech appears to also
take on the 'software-side' of things, rhombus git, no to little
collaboration etc. But why you may ask? Because while G-mail is 'ok' to use
but dev at linux-sunxi.org is 'verboten' to CC on patches/discussions? Because
reading mails from linux-sunxi at google-groups.com is 'verboten'? A little far
fetched and hypocritical if you ask me, but don't worry, we are in the slow
transition of migrating away from google-groups, but as moving away from
gmail takes time, at least give linux-sunxi the benefit of the doubt that
also they are working on moving away from google-groups.

As for not using github because the webfrontend is closed (git clone
git://github.com/linux-sunxi/linux-sunxi.git talks to the git server which
probably is vanilla isn't it? So cloning, puhsing, syncing can all be done
without touching proprietary code but don't worry, there is now also
gitorious.org/linux-sunxi which IS open source. But even here, we hopefully
have git.linux-sunxi.org setup soon too. This whole manhours and what to
spend them on, actually writing code, or take time to setup things up.

> 
> > Regarding "literally appearing from no where" we need to
> 
> Given how opaque this community is, it should be of no surprise that there
are 
> probably many people that others can not see. If the EOMA68 / sunxi / arm-
> netbook communities were better organized, you all would’ve noticed me a lot 
> sooner.
> 
Here also, without repeating myself too much, the sunxi community is doing
pretty well, albeit short on man-power.

So there you have it. And again, nobody is excluded, nobody was deliberately
not invited. Evolution at work if anything. And everybody is welcome, always.

Oliver