Bastien Guerry: 🦄 Org Mode has a new maintainer
Planet Emacslife (Informatique et liberté (bzg@bzg.fr))Ihor Radchenko is the new Org Mode maintainer
Ihor Radchenko is the new Org Mode maintainer. He's been acting assuch for a couple of years now, and I'm really glad he's finallyagreed to take on the role officially.
As a maintainer, I have probably done a few things right and certainlymade many mistakes. Here are four lessons I have learned in 14 years.
Maintaining Org Mode is about take care of users
The first is that maintaining Org Mode isn't just about code, it'smostly about users. Of course, some of them will never learn how toreport a bug, some of them will behave like spoiled children, and mostof them will expect you to work for free forever. Nevertheless, theirtime is as valuable as yours: whatever the request, there is alwayssomething in it that can lead to a positive outcome for Org Mode orits community.
Be liberal in what you accept and strict in what you emit
The second lesson is that maintenance isn't just about technicalchoices, it's also about predictability. Be very clear, and very loud,about what users and contributors can expect of your time, skills, andmotivations. Stick to the robustness principle by being liberal inwhat you accept, and strict in what you produce.
It's all about learning!
Thirdly, it's about learning! Let's build a culture together whereit's OK to ask stupid questions. No one is born knowing how to writein English, how to report a bug, or how to maintain a large piece ofcode. Remember that old-timers were newbies, and that newbies couldbecome maintainers: we all have a lot to learn, even if it is just howto respect each other.
Who will be the next maintainer?
Finally, as a maintainer, think about the next one: who will be inyour shoes next? What kind of maintainer do you want for a softwareyou will be using for decades? It's also a responsibility of the OrgMode community: how can we collectively attract a maintainer that wantto help us use and enhance this wonderful little tool? How can we, asOrg Mode users, help Ihor pave the way for the next maintainers?
Enough said! I'm confident Org Mode is in good hands and I'm a veryhappy user.
Thanks everyone for all these years of fun and learning!
Bonuses
Below is the video I shared during Ihor's talk at the EmacsConf 2024.
Below you can visualise the Org community at work from 2008 to 2024.
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