[PROPOSAL] Create the 1.7.x branch. Like, now.

The issue tracker currently has *no* non-Serf-related blocker issues open.
Per prior agreement, this effectively means that there are no known
blockers, as we have a contingency plan for Serf already (un-default it). I
realize that we'd like to see the tracker sit quiet (blocker-wise) for a
week or so before saying "ship the RC", but I think we need to face some
realities:

  - blocker-class bugs can -- and will -- crop up after we branch.

  - blocker-class bugs can -- and will -- crop up after we release,
    for that matter!

  - there seems to be more dev activity on 1.8-aimed feature branches
    than on the trunk. Our "merge pain" threshold has shifted.

So, with all of this in mind, I propose that we immediately branch 1.7.x and
release beta-1. We than allow an extra week before we fire off RC1 -- we
need to ensure that CHANGES and any other release administrivia get wrapped
up anyway.

What to do about Serf? I'd like to think that Greg could wrap up his work
on the single remaining blocking issue in the next week or so. I've already
heard (via Hyrum) that he's essentially finished with the work, and just
testing his changes at this point. I do not know, though, what the status
of the Serf 1.0 release is, which I *thought* was also a pre-requisite for
making available many of the recent blocker-related fixes. (Greg?)

Anyway, I'm *not* proposing that we immediately revert to Neon as the
default after branching. That week of beta gives Greg (or whoever) one last
chance to save the day for Serf. But I strongly feel that we as a community
need to declare an RC1 date and stick with it in the absence of absolutely
critical failures in Subversion. The fuzzy release date thing is great for
the first, oh, two years of a release. But let's get on with it, already.

So, to clarify, I'm proposing the following:

  * Branch 1.7.x now.
  * Release beta-1 immediately after branching.
  * Make a go/no-go call on Serf 7 days from now.
  * Release rc-1 after making (and acting on, if necessary) the Serf
    go/no-go call.

What say we?

-- 
C. Michael Pilato <cmpilato_at_collab.net>
CollabNet   <>   www.collab.net   <>   Distributed Development On Demand