Puppy 4.2.1?

Yesterday I received a p.m. from WhoDo, announcing his retirement. He didn't really state why, just that he was "threatened" and it wasn't fun any more. I have had extremely limited Internet access recently, and was unaware of the trouble brewing, but after the p.m. I looked in the forum and found this thread:

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=41337

The thread had been running for just 3 days and already was 8 pages long. Today it is 11 pages.

I have only read the first and the last page. I really don't want to get drawn into who said what to whom, who failed to do something, etc., etc.

As I understand it, there are two main problems with 4.2 (I only gleaned this from some brief forum reading), printing is a bit wonky, and Abiword fonts are wrong. Anything else major?

The next question is, have fixes been worked out? If so, forward fixed PET packages to me and I'll do a release-candidate build of 4.2.1 for testing.

Or, is there any consensus about who could coordinate 4.2.1?

If the fixes for 4.2.1 are straightforward, then ok I can do the build and upload it for testing. But, I don't want to get involved in a long series of alphas and betas.
With previous puppies, we created a bugfix release with little delay, basically just uploaded it for testing, then the final soon after.

---

Comments

Bugfix release only
Username: BarryK
I just found a thread where bugfixes for 4.2 were being submitted: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=40537 Ok, but if you would like me to get out a 4.2.1 release candidate, there is a strict requirement -- it is a BUGFIX release only. NO UPGRADES, NO ENHANCEMENTS, NO CHANGES TO THEMES, or anything for that matter. Having emphasised that, are there available PETs that fix the bugs, so I can build 4.2.1 right now and upload it?

Bugfix release
Username: WhoDo
"I hadn't intended for you to be drawn into this Barry. I have already promised that I will release 4.2.1 as early as this weekend. I will incorporate all of the patches in the thread above, plus anything the devs can get to me in sufficient time for testing. What you are suggesting is all I was planning to deliver - no upgrades unless they fix known bugs, no enhancements, no theme changes, etc. All of the patches with the exception of RemaX 4.2.1 are available from that thread, either as PETS or as tarballs. Please don't be concerned that I would leave you or the community without a bugfixed release. That's why I specifically nominated next Sunday the official resignation date. As for the most significant bugs - 1. CUPS 1.42b works but is flakey. I was toying with regressing to 1.39 Stable built by Patriot (I think). ttuuxxx has offered to recompile that but I think the Patriot compile is fine given the reports in his thread. 2. Abiword 2.6.6 had a problem with importing Microsoft word documents that used certain fonts. That was fixed by ttuuxxx's recompile of Abiword 2.6.3 with the addition of some plug-ins and features from 2.6.6 like clipart. The recompile works in 4.2 but not in aragon's 4.2smp for some reason. Neither of these problems were considered serious enough to warrant a point 1 bugfix release. Patches that worked were linked from the download page at puppylinux.org, but some were not satisfied with that solution or my refusal to release 4.2.1 until I felt the time was right. Then ensuing arguments and refusals to accept my choices were what prompted my resignation. Please do NOT allow that nonsense to spill over to your blog. You deserve better.

Re: 4.2.1
Username: BarryK
"WhoDo, Sorry, I did get confused when you said that you would resign on Sunday. Yeah, that's great that you will do 4.2.1. But, I would like to request one thing. Could you release it first unofficially, so we can give it a test first. Perhaps just upload it to the 'test' directory at ibiblio, then all those concerned can download it and give it a workout. That will mean you have to stay on past Sunday, to get the final-final 4.2.1 prepared, after 4 - 5 days testing. This extra step is just a precaution, because I know from experience that a bugfix release can accidentally introduce a new bug.

So sad.
Username: Rob Lane (tasmod)
"This is so sad. Watching and reading the forums it has become clear that Puppy will suffer such infighting for some time. There's definitely a hint of 'power politics' about the posts. One very voiciferous candidate let the cat out of the bag on his ambitions, when he posted up his canditature for 'leader'. I have left the forums and dropped any script writing because of the tone of some of the posts, they are just not to my taste. Warren, don't let the minority intimidate you! You are the one voice pf reason amongst the whole lot of them. Barry, perhaps a public statement of backing for Warren would go a long way to quieten his and Puppy's critics? Rob Lane (tasmod)

Barry's cat herd
Username: pengel
"People just need to remember that most OS developers do this for fun. It isn't always possible or even desirable to get instant gratification. If I have a problem I fix it myself, if I can, or just wait, it usually gets fixed eventually. If I was running a company I'd pay someone to fix it if needed. Mike

forum admin is busy with exams
Username: Raffy
"Pizzasgood, our youngest dev/forum-admin, is busy with his final exams, so maybe he has no time yet to cut that discussion. OTOH, even if he has time, the ones fighting are more senior to him (in many ways), so he might choose to keep out of the way. Anyway, Pizzasgood has said his piece (see p. 7 of that thread): "Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:43 am So, after weeding out the fluff, the problem as I see it was this: * There were some bugs. * Ecomoney asked for them to be fixed and a new iso be posted, ASAP. * WhoDo said that there are fixes available, but he wants to hold off on making the new iso until there are more fixes to put in it. End of problem." In the past, Pizzasgood has edited troublesome discussions to reflect substance (the Otropogo thread comes to mind). I hope he will do that again soon. (It's just sad that we're counting on our youngest to do this.)

Tags: puppy