Re: Feature proposal process?

[Allan Day <allanpday gmail com>]

Hi Dave,

Dave Neary <dneary free fr> wrote:
> According to the calendar, with the upcoming 3.8 release, we will soon be in
> feature proposal again.
>
> I was recently asked how to propose a feature for GNOME, and my first
> instinct was to point them to https://live.gnome.org/ReleasePlanning - the
> "Proposing new modules" page is out of date, and has not been updated with
> the process for feature proposal.

I agree that this needs to be updated. We should have guidelines for
the feature proposal process.

> I did find https://live.gnome.org/ThreePointNine/Features but this page
> contains instructions warning people against modifying it, and provides no
> indication of where the features are being discussed.

It says "To add a task, create a subpage called
"ThreePointNine/Features/YourTask" and it will automatically be listed
here." I wouldn't describe that as a warning not to modify. It would
be helpful if it could contain more extensive instructions though.

> So I looked through the archives of foundation-list, release-team and
> desktop-devel-list for last September and October to see where the
> discussions for 3.8 feature additions (listed here:
> https://live.gnome.org/ThreePointSeven/Features) happened. Unfortunately, I
> did not find any discussions, except one contentious one related to fallback
> mode which mclasen brought to d-d-l.
>
> I know that there were discussions about this around the 2.28/2.30 timeframe
> but I have not found the discussions with an (admittedly brief) search.
>
> Can someone point me to where discussion of new features happens, please,
> and help me help this person propose a new feature?

I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in implementing a
feature to get in touch with one of the designers before formally
proposing. That way we will have the opportunity to establish how the
feature will integrate with the rest of GNOME 3. An informal
conversation also seems like the best first step in terms of
establishing the desirability of a feature and developing a shared
vision about how it will work. (I wouldn't describe this as a hard
requirement though.)

Dave: feel free to point this person in my direction.

Allan
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