On Mon, May 16, 2011 at 8:46 PM, Brian Mathis
> People don't complain just for the fun of it (if that's the world you
> live in, I feel sorry for you), they complain because something is
> bothering them. In this case, it is the very real and measurable
> delays in releases that seem to be getting longer. Release delays are
> an incontrovertible fact in this case, and anyone arguing otherwise
> needs their logic unit replaced.
Up until 6.0 (with three releases at once 6.0, 5.6 and 4.9) we've seen
the average delay for 5.x releases was 41.5 days. 5.5 came out in 44
days. If you can't wait a month and a half (or even two months) you
should probably buy Red Hat.
> The case becomes even stronger given that, as you say, people have
> been complaining for "at least a year now". That shows a long term
> pattern of the same issue coming up over and over and bothering
> people. There really can be no stronger case that is supported by
> both logic and evidence that there is a problem. It has been
> mentioned in numerous blog posts, twitter posts, and tech magazines.
No, the same *very* few people have been complaining for over a year
now. And they're not just complaining about delays, they're
complaining about "lack of community input into what constitutes
CentOS." Even to the point of saying that they should be "in the loop"
in deciding what goes into CentOS ("like Fedora"). News to whiners,
CentOS is a rebuild project, the goal is to rebuild Red Hat. (No
further input needed on that subject.) As for length of time, CentOS
5.5 came out less than a year ago. It took 44 days. Again, if that's
too long of a wait, maybe you should move to Red Hat.
> Given that the issue is so clear, it adds insult to insult when
> someone asks about it and is treated like the problem doesn't exist.
> Suggestions given by people are rejected flat out not because they
> don't like the suggestion, but by countering that the problem doesn't
> exist. This is what's so inflammatory and causes so many flame wars.
> Having a constructive discussion is derailed most frequently not by
> the complainers, but by the "if-you-don't-like-it-get-off-my-lawn"s.
No, the issue isn't that "clear." The average time of releases has
slipped from the original 28 days to 41.5 days (pre 5.6 and the triple
whammy). For me the real issue *is* the whining. The constant drip,
drip, dripping... and I'm just reading the mailing list. Imagine what
it must be like for those who are actually doing the work.
Nothing is holding you to CentOS, so I'm guessing (despite the delays)
it must fill a need you have. Maybe a little understanding (putting
yourself in the other person's shoes) and a bit gratitude should be
forthcoming.
And, by the way, not directed specifically at you, but reading between
the lines it appears that one issue may be that some contractors are
selling cheap "Red Hat" to their customers and then, when the
customers ask "Where's the update?" they're scrambling to explain the
situation. They need to be up front. "We're using a Red Hat rebuild,
CentOS... updates are delayed. It's the nature of a rebuild."
--
RonB -- Using CentOS 5.6