[Bf-committers] Lack of coordination and communication in Blender development

[Marc Dion]

Build a branch.  Do whatever you want to the internals.  Try and keep all
new official features up to date so the branch can be ready for merging at
a moments notice in a year or two when it's super-awesome and ready.  Make
sure there are well-documented progress on a forum so other people who are
interested won't have to guess at what they should or can do.

There have been cases where several artists on BA.org have pooled the
branch building uploads on threads so that the primary dev was free to do
more important work(If the dev explains to people showing up how to do it
first:).

Fresh builds being posted on a regular basis(posted by several users
covering several operating systems) helps with rapid progress and bug
repair fixes, stream-lines feature requests.

Now you have a small group of dedicated people working together on
something they love without feeling worried about what every one else is
doing.

If you build it they will come- ((paraphrase)Ghost of Jim Morrison. :)






On Sat, Aug 15, 2015 at 8:39 AM, Kai Kostack <kaikostack at gmx.net> wrote:

> Hello folks,
>
> I'm writing on my behalf but also on behalf of the Fracture Modifier
> developer scorpion81.
>
> We are a bit disappointed about how the redesign process of certain
> Blender internals evolves. There are a lot of communication channels but
> obviously they aren't used for core decision making or even for
> brainstorming. We feel being excluded from those important steps.
>
> It is looming ahead that we may ultimately be faced with a fait accompli,
> which - in my opinion - cannot be the goal of an open source development
> venture like Blender. We think it is not to early to criticize this
> practice for this very reason.
>
> Seeing increasingly frustration building up in dedicated developers who
> only try to make everything right and make their work fit into the current
> or future Blender design but get almost to none help on doing so makes me
> sad.
>
> The Blender development community needs to become more open and more
> inviting to new developers as it needs them. They are valuable! But they
> also need support, they need positive reinforcement, they need answers.
> Help them to make the impossible possible and not the other way around.
>
> I would love to make suggestions on how to immediately improve that
> situation but I'm not sure what way to go, it's certainly not easy to
> change old habits. I just know that something has to change.
>
> Maybe a weekly meeting per each module team (or working group, or task
> force) on whose module is currently being worked on at a central place like
> IRC would improve communication with new developers, stakeholders etc. -
> Other suggestions?
>
> Thank you.
>
> -- Kai
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