Reproductibility project: June 2024 report

Here is a summary of what I have been working on in June.

My development work this month went primarily into routine maintainance tasks such as PR reviewing, responding to PR feedback, release management and small bug fixing. I have stalled my work on reproducibility improvements so that the existing PR backlog can be processed. Apart from that, I have continued liaising with WMSE to support them in their development work on the Commons integration as well as mentor Zyad for GSoC. And of course participating in the BarCamp.

In the coming months, I will therefore shrink my activity to only such daily tasks:

  • GSoC mentoring
  • liaison with WMSE
  • PR reviewing related to the above

I am stopping development work and facilitation of community meetups. Tom has agreed to take over release management for 3.9. I would also stop doing such monthly reports.

I could resume development work on this project in Autumn, but I don't think this would be very useful. I think this is a good time for me to gradually leave OpenRefine, and let others continue, for various reasons:

  • on a human level, the project is relatively stable, with quite a few project members being involved on the long term and showing responsibility for the project. I also hope the outcomes of the BarCamp will contribute to improving this cohesion and commitment in the near future;
  • on a technical level, I think the priority is maintenance of the tool in its current state. The lack of proper extension isolation means we are not able to deliver breaking changes in a satisfactory way for the community. Some reproducibility improvements can be done within this frame, but significant architectural improvements are beyond reach.

My intention is to do this sunsetting of my activity in OpenRefine in a responsible and gradual way, so do reach out (publicly or privately) if you have any concerns about the approach or impact.

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Such an important topic with such an inconspicuous title :sweat_smile:.

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@b2m you're right, I think I have been open about my intention to gradually leave the project with a lot of people but I realize it would be worth making a better announcement about the motivation and timeline. Expect something soon! :slight_smile:

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