RE: Copyright assignments and the MAINTAINERS file

["Rupert Wood" <me at rupey dot net>]

Nathanael Nerode wrote:

> So how DO we find out if someone has an appropriate copyright
> assignment?  As the original thread noted, the current method
> (asking contributors if they have one) is really no good.

It strikes me all this stuff could be managed through savannah.

If you want assignment, you get a savannah account and click the 'send me
papers for gcc' button. (This reduces the admin overhead for FSF and whoever
normally mails request-assign-future around.) Papers get signed by FSF, they
update the flag on your account. GCC maintainers have privs on savannah to
query about GCC assignment. Savannah can know when your assignment expires.
Savannah knows your email address so when you change address there the
address with your assignment gets updated.

And so forth. Yeah, it needs implementing and the GCC project isn't hugely
savannah integrated. The process of getting everyone on savannah and
entering existing assignments will be a major headache but it will
spring-clean the assignments list. But a more automated process would also
clarify what you need assignments for and what they mean (e.g. I signed
papers for GCC, binutils and config but does binutils mean the whole src
tree - as I intended - or just the binutils directory, not gas, ld, etc.?)

I think it'd be a win for everybody.

Rup.