Re: The parallel projects (was Re: Apache 2.4 and php 5.6 test branch)

["David J. Allen" <codermotor@gmail.com>]

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While I am only a user, I am on this list so I can keep up with the 
progress and tone of the project. One can tell a lot about the health of 
the developer community involved in a project and thus the health of, 
and likely future of the project itself (e.g. likely to improve, getting 
stale, dying).

So my comments should be taken in that context: one user's perspective.


On 01/18/2016 05:16 PM, Michael Tremer wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am actually at a point now where I think we need to talk about this.
> A lot.
>
> So many people have been starting to contribute to this project - or as
> I sometimes see it - to parallel projects. Projects that are developed
> in parallel to the main distribution. Projects that have different
> goals or are at least from my perspective heading into a different
> direction.
>
> The mail proxy/mail server/web mail project is one like these. There
> are also others like multiple versions of the update accelerator and
> some more.

I use IPfire intentionally and *only* because it is a router/firewall, 
and a good one. I am /not/ interested in it as an alternative Linux 
distribution, or as web server, development platform, DNS server, 
printer server, graphics workstation, or gaming zone.

It's my router. Period. I don't need or want other non-router, 
non-firewall crap added to the recipe. If I wanted a Swiss Army knife 
distribution, there are plenty of others to look at*.

  "Do one thing, and do it well".

*I'm already not happy that IPfire has followed the herd into 
Systemd-land, since that path will lead (has lead) to more bugs and 
(hidden) security holes, as there are virtually no reliable security 
audits or real testing done by the ignorant "Change-for-change's-sake 
hipsters developing Systemd. However I can understand why you have gone 
that way, given that you depend on upstream code for most of your core 
systems, and it is now pretty much impossible to remove systemd's 
tendrils from even userland code ("One ring to bind them all").

And now that pretty much every Linux distro is defacto a Redhat/Fedora 
distro, you have no choice.


> These changes are never submitted on here. There is not even a
> conversation on here about that being a goal. Despite me having
> multiple chats with people about how this process works and that they
> want to do it, soon-ish.
>
> So here we are. Months later. With no progress at all.

So, then just ignore these "parallel" projects. They may be parallel in 
that they use IPfire as their code base, but they are, in my opinion, 
*not* Ipfire and should not claim to be.


> Instead I am getting requests and bug reports for that software that I
> am not involved with at all. People tell me that bugs are fixed there
> or that there are features available they want to use. They ask when
> this will be available in the distribution.
>
> I don't have an answer to that. And what is even worse is that right
> now I am too tired to look into this.

Again. I suggest you just ignore those requests in as tactful manner as 
possible. Tell them to talk to the hand.

Why should you be responsible for someone's fork of /your/ project? Do 
you feel obligated to answer questions about any other distro (and 
Ipfire really /is/ a Linux distribution)?


> These projects have diverted a lot in that sense that an easy merge is
> no longer possible. It will take a lot of work to split up the changes,
> test them, confirm that they work, do QA and then release them. This
> process itself is not foolproof and we are not getting a lot of
> feedback. We just get the backlash when something is not working
> properly. It will be very tough.

Very tough *and* very unnecessary. Don't do that work. If if diverts 
your attention from Ipfire-the-router, then eventually if will 
negatively affect the quality of your code, and robustness of Ipfire.
The last thing I want to use is a poorly built router/firewall.


> Working on these changes step by step would have certainly avoided
> getting to this state. Now we are at it. Frankly, I do not know what to
> do.

Such work would still have served no legitimate purpose in the context 
of a secure software router.

What to do? Easy. Get back to your roots or risk losing users.


> I will certainly not sit down and take these things apart myself. I
> have actually not much interest in working on these things any way.
> Cleaning up after somebody else won't be my main job for the next few
> weeks. That is partly because I don't want to and partly because that
> won't work any way. It is not my code.

There. You've said. That's all the reason you need right there. No need 
to apologize or wring hands over that kind of honesty.


> The other option would be just to leave these projects as they are.
> That may either be getting old and rot in a git tree. That may either
> be them becoming something else. But I do not think that any of these
> is the best option for the IPFire project as a whole. I am very much
> interested in keeping that as the main target of my work.

How about just kick non-router/firewall-related projects to the curb.

Tell those who wish to add non-Ipfire cruft to go start their own 
distributions, set up their own servers, support teams, build up their 
own user community, and distribution, marketing, infrastructure, and all 
the other shit it takes, on their own dime.


> And that might me or other IPFire developers to do the same work again.
> In this specific example update apache. From my point of view that only
> wasted valuable developer time. In both projects. That can't be the
> ideal.
>
> So I would like to hear that from the people who are working on these
> parallel projects what they are intending to do and what they are
> expecting from me/the other developers. I honestly do not know if you
> think yourself that this is an issue, too. So let's have a productive
> discussion about that. I am expecting some answers...
>
> Best,
> -Michael

You seem to have made what sounds like a disclaimer of your 
responsibility for what amounts to non-Ipfire (the concept) code. Why 
stop at halfway. Just do it:

Tell us "IpFire is a software router and firewall. That's it. It hopes 
to be the best in class at what it's intended to be. Nothing less. If 
you want something other than a world-class router and firewall, go 
somewhere else. If you want to help us in /our/ goal, then welcome aboard."

I can tell you that as a user, I know what *I* want from a 
router-firewall. I want rock solid security. I want robustness. I want a 
reasonably small footprint. I want the best possible performance. I want 
maintainability. I want it to just run and do the job it is designed to 
do. Nothing less, and certainly *nothing more*.

If I can't get that from IPfire, I'll go somewhere else. You have some 
good competition. In light of recent events in the Linux world 
*cough*cough*systemd* you're already at risk of losing users to similar 
BSD-based utilities.

And I still have an expensive, and very good appliance router-firewall 
sitting on the shelf which is not very happy about being replaced by 
IPfire. ;)

Just my opinion as a user.

Best Regards,
   David.



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