Patch Statuses in Launchpad

[Emmet Hikory]

Scott Kitterman wrote:
> We need to stick with something very simple that is available in the U/I.
>
> If it's a patch, tag it.  If you review it and it needs more work, untag it an
> comment.  That's simple enough we could actually do it.

    This was the practice during the Gutsy cycle.  It was stopped in
Hardy after some discussion as to whether the patch flag was enough,
and what value the patch tag added.  Some package subscribers for whom
there were several bugs with patches in the archives were also unhappy
with the bugmail generated by adding the patch tag.

    Consider the following workflow:

Case A:
    Someone reviews bugs with the patch flag set.  Where there is a
real patch, and it hasn't been rejected for some reason, the patch tag
is set.  Where something isn't a real patch (screenshot, etc.), the
patch flag is unset.

Case B:
    Someone reviews bugs with the patch tag set.  Where the patch is
good, tested, and working, they merge the patch into a candidate
upload and push to the repository (setting the bug "In Progress"/"Fix
Committed"/"Fix Released" as appropriate).  Where the patch is not
acceptable for a variety of reasons, the patch tag is removed, and a
comment is left in the bug explaining why the patch was rejected.

Case C:
    Combine Cases A and B to get the patch directly into the archive.

    Note that bugs where patches are undergoing review may move
regularly between the two lists, but until either a solution is found,
or the patch is ultimately rejected as no longer meaningfully useful
in any way, it makes sense to keep it in view.  Further, note that for
the purposes of workflow, the input of patch authors is being ignored.
 Anyone willing to work with patches ought be able to update them,
create new candidates, etc. independent of these workflows.

    I don't see that much value in tracking whether a patch has been
sent upstream.  If we have a bug, and we want to close it, we ought do
so, rather than waiting for upstream.  It's good to send stuff
upstream, and we ought do that, but I see it as separate from patch
tracking within our bug tracker.

-- 
Emmet HIKORY