[Dovecot] master/config/log/login rewrite

[Ethan Sommer]

Brian T Glenn wrote:
> Personally, I would really like to be able to bind dovecot to a single 
> IP address, so I would be in favor of the change. I understand many 
> people really want 1.0 to come out, but it is just a number. There is no 
> reason not to run beta or RC code when it is of the quality that dovecot 
> has reached. 1.0 doesn't change the code.
>
>   
There are plenty of reasons. However, the most important reason is that 
many people would like to have a stable branch and a development branch. 
That way the new wiz-bang feature can be in 1.1.1 and the bug fix which 
isn't likely to break anything can go into 1.0.1. If you don't do that, 
you'll never have stable bug free code, and people who need really 
stable bug free servers will be afraid to use dovecot.

The Linux kernel has similar issues. Linux used to have _3_ levels of 
code (the current dev tree, the current dev release, and the current 
stable release) and now only has 2. (there is no dev release) Again, I 
think that there are a lot of people who would prefer more of a 
separation between newly introduced code and their production servers.

That said, a lot of really smart people (Linus among them) have decided 
that for their project, the code would benefit more from more testers 
earlier in the process than it would from having that separation. So not 
having a development branch may not be a stupid idea.

But there clearly _is_ a reason to not run beta or rc code on production 
servers, and if dovecot doesn't have a stable branch (which is in many 
ways the case now, since pre rc code isn't supported anymore) then 
people who feel they need a stable branch which they can assume won't 
introduce new bugs can't use dovecot.

I personally fall somewhere in between those, I'll probably be willing 
to use dovecot to serve the mail for the college I work for even if 
there is no stable branch, but I'd feel much more comfortable if a 
stable branch existed. If bugs are introduced, I'll probably have to 
jump ship and use courier.

Ethan

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Ethan Sommer
Systems Administrator
Gustavus Adolphus College
507-933-7042
sommere at gac.edu