making review/bug filing optional for some docs changes

[David Miller]

Joel Peshkin wrote:

>> I suggest we make review and bug filing optional for some docs changes 
>> made by a group of trusted docs writers.  Although waiving these steps 
>> means more bugs, it also means more docs improvements, and I think the 
>> benefits outweigh the costs for a set of docs writers with known good 
>> skills.  Instead of rehashing all the arguments, please find below 
>> most of the IRC discussion on the subject.
>
> This sounds like a good idea, so long as there is some guidance given to 
> that group.  In the same breath, I would like to see a clarification of 
> the rules for docs changes.  Is it safe to say that a doc change by 
> anyone needs ONLY a single review, no approval, and can be checked in?

The existing policy for docs checkin was agreed on by the group of 
people who were actively working on docs at the time when that policy 
was last discussed.  At the time that was Shane, Vlad, and Jake.  If the 
circle of people who are actively maintaining docs is widening, then 
perhaps it needs to be revisited so we can come to some policy that the 
folks involved can agree to again.

The main reason such a policy was created is that we went for a long 
time without a "documentation czar", which we had previously had for a 
long time prior to that (first Matt Barnson, then Jake).  At the point 
Jake came back, he'd been out of the loop too long to just jump into 
that role again when there were other people that had been doing it 
without him.  I believe back when Jake was officially in charge of docs 
we were doing approvals on docs, and he was the one granting them.

Personally I'm not against having trusted folks making small changes in 
the docs.  Making wide sweeping changes or changing the content (rather 
than just the presentation) of the docs are things that should certainly 
continue to require review though.

-- 
Dave Miller                                   http://www.justdave.net/
System Administrator, Mozilla Foundation       http://www.mozilla.org/
Project Leader, Bugzilla Bug Tracking System  http://www.bugzilla.org/