Introduction
Merge reviews are package reviews of packages that were already in Red Hat Linux or Fedora Core before the merge into Fedora.
Many of these packages were created before the current packaging guidelines were in place, or before some features were available in rpm or our build system.
In order to make sure they are all meeting these guidelines, we need to review them and get the packages up to match the ones that have been reviewed and imported since then.
How to find open merge reviews
You can find a list of all NEW reviews excluding merge reviews at: https://fedoraproject.org/PackageReviewStatus/NEW.html
Merge reviews can be found at: https://fedoraproject.org/PackageReviewStatus/MERGE.html
Are there any different procedures for Merge reviews?
Yes, there are a few slight differences from regular package reviews:
- Look up the current package maintainer and co-maintainers via pkgdb: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/pkgdb/ and add them to the CC field on the bug.
Maintainers could well have changed since the merge review was filed, and some maintainers may not know the review is still pending.
- You should be able to review the package against the current HEAD revision in rawhide git. You can use the current rawhide package to check against.
- The reviewer can attach a patch that fixes the outstanding issues in the merge review. If the maintainer doesn't apply or nack this patch in a short time,
a provenpackager can apply it to finish out the review. This provenpackager can be the reviewer or some other party.
- You should examine open bugs on the package and see if any of them are related to the packaging. This is worth bringing up to the maintainer in the merge review, especially if some would be fixed by corrections suggested by the guidelines.
What should I do if a maintainer is non responsive?
- first make sure that the maintainer is in fact CC'ed on the bug. They may simply be unaware of it.
- Leave a reasonable amount of time. Many maintainers are busy and minor changes for a merge review are not something thats top priority.
- If the maintainer has not responded at all, try mailing the maintainer directly.
- Try attaching a patch that fixes all the issues. Some maintainers will be happy to apply a tested and working patch.
- Get a provenpackager to apply the patch for you so you can finish out the review.
- If that still does not work, note to fedora-devel and/or fesco that the maintainer is unresponse.