Branch release problems

[Frédéric Buclin]

> versions 2.16.9 and 2.14.5.  This is really unacceptable and it messes
> badly with the public perception of our credibility.

> I'd welcome any other ideas anyone has, too.

Create a (small) QA team, if possible including some reviewers (who 
should be the most familiar with bz code), and ask them to create this 
smoke test document you are talking about. At least 24 hours before any 
release, no more checkin is allowed. And security patches have to be 
applied manually to avoid making them public (no CVS upload). During 
this "really frozen" period, the QA team checks *all* points of the 
smoke test document, such as:

- Queries, including query.cgi, buglist.cgi and Search.pm
- Creating/changing bugs and attachments, including flags
- UI
- Charts/reports
- E-Mails, including BugMail.pm and *whine*.*
- Admin pages (product, component, ... creation and deletion)
- Account creation/ prefs settings
- Some "security" tests
- Fresh installation/upgrade from older ones
- Improve and check sanitycheck.cgi (or create your own releasecheck.cgi)

I am a reviewer, I have access to all security bugs related to Webtools 
and I already do some "QA testing" (kind of). So I agree to belong to 
this QA team.

But doing checkins 15 minutes before releasing any new version is far 
too short for me, especially when I'm away at this precise moment. :)

Frederic "LpSolit" Buclin