[Development] Proposal: let's change the release schedules a bit

[Edward Welbourne]

Tuukka Turunen (14 December 2022 10:44) wrote:
> One of the main problems we face every time with the feature freeze is
> a lot of changes coming in just before the deadline.

That's how deadlines work.

> Having the FF date just before a major holiday period is one item that
> possibly increases the instability. Not everyone is on vacation at the
> same time and especially during the summer different countries tend to
> have a bit different general preferences for the primary holiday
> period.

All of which, to me, is a case for moving the FF a little *earlier*, to
ensure it is robustly before the holiday for (as near as we can hope to
attain) everyone.

> Having the FF in January instead of December and August instead of
> June

Your point about different places having their holidays at different
times makes August a very bad choice: it is *not* after the holidays -
for at least some countries it *is* the holidays.

> would likely reduce the number of changes coming in just before
> the deadline. Spreading the changes more evenly in the feature
> development timeline makes it easier to keep integration test rounds
> passing regularly.

I do not think this would spread the changes more evenly.  Reducing the
number of changes that make it in time for feature freeze won't change
how unevenly they arrive, it'll just change when the mad rush happens.
And putting the FF after some people's holidays and slap bang in the
middle of other folk's holidays (at least for the summer one) would cast
an ugly shadow over those holidays.

Moving a week or three earlier would be better than trying to land after
the holidays and instead landing in the midst of them,

	Eddy.