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Posted to dev@guacamole.apache.org by Mike Jumper <mi...@guac-dev.org> on 2017/02/19 18:37:02 UTC
[VOTE] Exclude @author tags from Apache Guacamole codebase
Hello all,
Reading through the discussions within other ASF communities, I would
like to start a VOTE regarding whether the @author JavaDoc / Doxygen /
JSDoc tag should be excluded from the Guacamole codebase: removed from
existing code, and not accepted in new code.
An old discussion from the www-community list [1] describes the
reasoning for this well:
"Within the httpd and APR communities, we studiously avoid author
tags. People have contributed patches, and we reject them until they
remove their name(s) from the patch. Within the dev community, we
certainly know who "knows best" about particular subjects, but there
is zero "ownership" or territorialism in the code."
Please discuss and vote. This VOTE will be open for at least 72 hours,
and will be called by lazy consensus if no -1's are given within that
time.
Here is my +1.
Thanks,
- Mike
[1] https://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/www-community/200306.mbox/%3C20030609234538.GA22335@lyra.org%3E
Re: [VOTE] Exclude @author tags from Apache Guacamole codebase
Posted by ni...@yahoo.com.INVALID.
+1
From a practical standpoint my only concern is long-term supportability of the code - being able to track down the author and ask why something was done, etc; but, as has already been said, git commit logs are probably better for that than assignment of a file to an author, especially given the community nature of the project.
-Nick
On Monday, February 20, 2017 12:28 AM, Frode Langelo <fr...@apache.org> wrote:
Agree; +1
Frode
On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:56 AM, Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net>
wrote:
> Agree Mike: I don't mean legal enforcement. I just mean "generally"
> speaking, the code doesn't belong to the author. So, if an author wants to
> use @author to "mark" the ownership, it doesn't make sense.
>
> Anyway, a class will be contributed by bunch of people, so @author could
> be very long if it has to be complete.
>
> My $0.01
>
> Regards
> JB
>
>
> On 02/19/2017 08:52 PM, Mike Jumper wrote:
>
>> On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:27 AM, Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> ...
>>>
>>> The reason why we sign a ICLA is because the project (and IP) doesn't
>>> belong
>>> to use: it belongs to the ASF (difference between an Apache project and
>>> an
>>> ASF project).
>>>
>>> It's also why, during the donation in the Apache incubator, we have to
>>> check
>>> that all original authors agree to donate code to ASF (I remember we
>>> discussed about this with Mike just before Guacamole into the incubator).
>>>
>>>
>> Well ... yes, but I don't think that is related to @author. Commit
>> logs still track who does what, for example, and absolutely should. My
>> understanding is that @author has nothing to do with legal ownership
>> of code (that would be the point of the LICENSE/NOTICE files and
>> boilerplate) but rather is used for similar tracking purposes.
>>
>> I don't think there are legal arguments which require removing the
>> tag, but there are numerous other reasons. It is cumbersome to
>> maintain, almost pointless when we already have git providing the same
>> information automatically, and runs counter to the idea of a community
>> under the ASF. It makes sense to track where individual lines
>> originate via version control, but not to say "file X originally came
>> from committer Y", since it's essentially false; the file came from
>> the project, period.
>>
>> - Mike
>>
>>
> --
> Jean-Baptiste Onofré
> jbonofre@apache.org
> http://blog.nanthrax.net
> Talend - http://www.talend.com
>
Re: [VOTE] Exclude @author tags from Apache Guacamole codebase
Posted by Frode Langelo <fr...@apache.org>.
Agree; +1
Frode
On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:56 AM, Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net>
wrote:
> Agree Mike: I don't mean legal enforcement. I just mean "generally"
> speaking, the code doesn't belong to the author. So, if an author wants to
> use @author to "mark" the ownership, it doesn't make sense.
>
> Anyway, a class will be contributed by bunch of people, so @author could
> be very long if it has to be complete.
>
> My $0.01
>
> Regards
> JB
>
>
> On 02/19/2017 08:52 PM, Mike Jumper wrote:
>
>> On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:27 AM, Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> ...
>>>
>>> The reason why we sign a ICLA is because the project (and IP) doesn't
>>> belong
>>> to use: it belongs to the ASF (difference between an Apache project and
>>> an
>>> ASF project).
>>>
>>> It's also why, during the donation in the Apache incubator, we have to
>>> check
>>> that all original authors agree to donate code to ASF (I remember we
>>> discussed about this with Mike just before Guacamole into the incubator).
>>>
>>>
>> Well ... yes, but I don't think that is related to @author. Commit
>> logs still track who does what, for example, and absolutely should. My
>> understanding is that @author has nothing to do with legal ownership
>> of code (that would be the point of the LICENSE/NOTICE files and
>> boilerplate) but rather is used for similar tracking purposes.
>>
>> I don't think there are legal arguments which require removing the
>> tag, but there are numerous other reasons. It is cumbersome to
>> maintain, almost pointless when we already have git providing the same
>> information automatically, and runs counter to the idea of a community
>> under the ASF. It makes sense to track where individual lines
>> originate via version control, but not to say "file X originally came
>> from committer Y", since it's essentially false; the file came from
>> the project, period.
>>
>> - Mike
>>
>>
> --
> Jean-Baptiste Onofré
> jbonofre@apache.org
> http://blog.nanthrax.net
> Talend - http://www.talend.com
>
Re: [VOTE] Exclude @author tags from Apache Guacamole codebase
Posted by Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net>.
Agree Mike: I don't mean legal enforcement. I just mean "generally"
speaking, the code doesn't belong to the author. So, if an author wants
to use @author to "mark" the ownership, it doesn't make sense.
Anyway, a class will be contributed by bunch of people, so @author could
be very long if it has to be complete.
My $0.01
Regards
JB
On 02/19/2017 08:52 PM, Mike Jumper wrote:
> On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:27 AM, Jean-Baptiste Onofr� <jb...@nanthrax.net> wrote:
>> ...
>>
>> The reason why we sign a ICLA is because the project (and IP) doesn't belong
>> to use: it belongs to the ASF (difference between an Apache project and an
>> ASF project).
>>
>> It's also why, during the donation in the Apache incubator, we have to check
>> that all original authors agree to donate code to ASF (I remember we
>> discussed about this with Mike just before Guacamole into the incubator).
>>
>
> Well ... yes, but I don't think that is related to @author. Commit
> logs still track who does what, for example, and absolutely should. My
> understanding is that @author has nothing to do with legal ownership
> of code (that would be the point of the LICENSE/NOTICE files and
> boilerplate) but rather is used for similar tracking purposes.
>
> I don't think there are legal arguments which require removing the
> tag, but there are numerous other reasons. It is cumbersome to
> maintain, almost pointless when we already have git providing the same
> information automatically, and runs counter to the idea of a community
> under the ASF. It makes sense to track where individual lines
> originate via version control, but not to say "file X originally came
> from committer Y", since it's essentially false; the file came from
> the project, period.
>
> - Mike
>
--
Jean-Baptiste Onofr�
jbonofre@apache.org
http://blog.nanthrax.net
Talend - http://www.talend.com
Re: [VOTE] Exclude @author tags from Apache Guacamole codebase
Posted by Mike Jumper <mi...@guac-dev.org>.
On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:27 AM, Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net> wrote:
> ...
>
> The reason why we sign a ICLA is because the project (and IP) doesn't belong
> to use: it belongs to the ASF (difference between an Apache project and an
> ASF project).
>
> It's also why, during the donation in the Apache incubator, we have to check
> that all original authors agree to donate code to ASF (I remember we
> discussed about this with Mike just before Guacamole into the incubator).
>
Well ... yes, but I don't think that is related to @author. Commit
logs still track who does what, for example, and absolutely should. My
understanding is that @author has nothing to do with legal ownership
of code (that would be the point of the LICENSE/NOTICE files and
boilerplate) but rather is used for similar tracking purposes.
I don't think there are legal arguments which require removing the
tag, but there are numerous other reasons. It is cumbersome to
maintain, almost pointless when we already have git providing the same
information automatically, and runs counter to the idea of a community
under the ASF. It makes sense to track where individual lines
originate via version control, but not to say "file X originally came
from committer Y", since it's essentially false; the file came from
the project, period.
- Mike
Re: [VOTE] Exclude @author tags from Apache Guacamole codebase
Posted by Jean-Baptiste Onofré <jb...@nanthrax.net>.
+1
In all Apache projects I'm involved, I remove the @author tag as it
doesn't make sense in an Apache project.
The reason why we sign a ICLA is because the project (and IP) doesn't
belong to use: it belongs to the ASF (difference between an Apache
project and an ASF project).
It's also why, during the donation in the Apache incubator, we have to
check that all original authors agree to donate code to ASF (I remember
we discussed about this with Mike just before Guacamole into the incubator).
Regards
JB
On 02/19/2017 07:37 PM, Mike Jumper wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Reading through the discussions within other ASF communities, I would
> like to start a VOTE regarding whether the @author JavaDoc / Doxygen /
> JSDoc tag should be excluded from the Guacamole codebase: removed from
> existing code, and not accepted in new code.
>
> An old discussion from the www-community list [1] describes the
> reasoning for this well:
>
> "Within the httpd and APR communities, we studiously avoid author
> tags. People have contributed patches, and we reject them until they
> remove their name(s) from the patch. Within the dev community, we
> certainly know who "knows best" about particular subjects, but there
> is zero "ownership" or territorialism in the code."
>
> Please discuss and vote. This VOTE will be open for at least 72 hours,
> and will be called by lazy consensus if no -1's are given within that
> time.
>
> Here is my +1.
>
> Thanks,
>
> - Mike
>
> [1] https://mail-archives.apache.org/mod_mbox/www-community/200306.mbox/%3C20030609234538.GA22335@lyra.org%3E
>
--
Jean-Baptiste Onofr�
jbonofre@apache.org
http://blog.nanthrax.net
Talend - http://www.talend.com