Subject: Re: bug#76925: [PATCH] admin/notes/elpa: Add note on contributing to external packages

From: Philip Kaludercic <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 18:17:31 +0000

david <[email-masked]> writes:

> Stefan Monnier <[email-masked]> writes:
>
>>> What do you think about the patch update?  I'm open to any suggestions
>>> from you.  Thanks.
>>
>> FWIW, I don't see any need to add anything of that kind to `admin/notes/elpa`.
>>
>>
>>         Stefan
>
> Thanks, Stefan.  Could you share what you propose instead?  This thread
> stems from an issue about missing information that we could address.
> Several developers have discussed the patch, and I believe that when
> joining a thread to express disagreement, it's helpful to offer an
> alternative or explanation—especially when others see value in the
> change.  If the patch had been dismissed from the start as unnecessary
> or irrelevant, there would be no issue.  But when multiple developers
> are actively discussing it, simply stating it's unnecessary without
> elaboration can come across as lacking tact.  I say this because I feel
> a sense of responsibility for a thread I started.
>
> Looking forward to your thoughts.

If I may propose a idea I have been playing around with for a while in
my head:  I think it would be nice to have a wizard-like interface that
prepares a submission request.  It should both be able to set up a
project if the user is just starting out and provide some basic checks
for a user who has some ready code they wish to add to ELPA.  In the
process, the package should go through and explain the most common
questions ("how to release a package?", "when is it updated?", "what is
the difference between GNU and NonGNU ELPA?", etc.).

If you are interested in contributing to ELPA, I think that working on
this kind of a user-facing package would be more useful than commenting
on a admin/notes file that most people don't even know about.  I would
be more than glad to shepherd you through the process 1:1, as I have had
a good experience with the approach in the past.  How does that sound
like?

(Package name suggestion: "elpa-helper".)