[Pkg-alsa-devel] Stepping back

[Thomas Hood]

This is just to let the other members of the ALSA packaging team know that
I am "stepping back" from active participation.  To me this means that I
won't feel responsible for doing things like responding to bug reports,
updating packages on upstream releases, following bug reports in the Debian
and Ubuntu BTSs, and so on.

Working on this team has been a lot of fun and the good working relationships
allowed me to be productive and to enjoy feelings of accomplishment on a
regular basis.  These are the reasons I stayed this long, despite the fact
that I don't actually make much use of ALSA!

I step back now for several reasons.  Like anyone else I have a limited amount
of time to devote to free software.  I believe that a certain amount of
turnover in maintainership is a good thing.  I believe that the team can carry
on well without me.  Apart from that I see myself as more peripherally involved
in Debian than when I was in the new-maintainer process.  Finally, I don't run
Debian any more, but Ubuntu; packages that I have worked on in Debian have
diverged significantly in Ubuntu and this makes it less convenient for me to
work on the Debian variants.

I have deliberated over whether a formal announcement like this is needed.
On the negative side it seems rather pretentious.  On the positive side it is
consistent with my view of maintainership as a responsibility; it is important
that the other team members know that I plan not to carry out certain tasks.
Debian's constitution explicitly denies that Debian Developers should have such
responsibilities (§2.1) so I won't say that the responsibilities now fall on
your shoulders.  I'll just think it quietly.  :)

My experience may still be valuable, so I will remain subscribed to the mailing
list and I'll participate in discussions from time to time.

Cheers!
-- 
Thomas