Hello,
sorry folks, but I am not amused about all this builds last weeks,
12 builds only in June, and we have the 21th.

What's going wrong here?
I don't know, but for e.g. we had 44!!! 0.8 Testings builds,
a 0.8 final upload and a 0.8.1 RC1 two days later, are you serious?

Maybe I am the fool, and I misunderstand the sense of testing and RC builds, my opinion about this testings builds:

At the beginning of a new testing series the developers offer the users new ideas. User who are interested in can report bugs and improvement suggestions for this new feature. Apart from "bigger" ideas, like this account manager, the plugins and protocols from the testing get some improvements too, maybe this "big idea" need changes in the protocols/plugins, or vice versa, too. But some time the new feature, the protocols/plugins have no bugs and works very well for all users and we get a RC version. If this RC version have no bugs, we get a final version.
That's the right way, in my opinion.

But what we got in 0.8?
We got an account manager and improvements in protocols/plugins, this versions sometimes include some bugs, therefore we got new versions.
Unfortunately we got this too:
- irrelevant posts in the testing build threads about bugs in 3rd party plugins. I call this posts irrelevant, because this 3rd party plugins have the same bugs with the last stable too.
- a lot of plugins on the addon site with "Requirements: 8.x"
- Developers fix some bugs and change something, get no response in the new testing, 2-3 testings versions later they get an response.
Or a new testing version come out too quickly, without all bug fixes, users find faults in the previous version, testing threads are a muddle about different versions.
-The testing, RC, final builds contain some mistakes too, users download the code from the SVN and compile it on his own, post problems in the testing build threads and upload this versions on miranda-vi or whereever.
- ...

Result: A lot of users don't know what version is correct, they install different versions, some from the addon site, some from the testing/ contrib files some others from miranda-vi or wherever, voilá, the users have a lot of fun. The users post this in the forum, the developers and the assistants get a lot of fun too.

Ideas:

1) Think about the topic "publish the testing build for everyone" (and maybe think about the sense of a testing build in general).
a) How many posts are in the testing build threads without any relation to the testing builds?
b) If there is a bug in one of this testings, the developers get always a feedback in the bugtracker or the testing threads? It's sometimes very strange that I can find bug reports, but the change was 5 builds before.

I think the amount of users who TEST the testing is very low, the amount of user who make good reports are low too.

c) The description...
There are some users who not use each testing, where from this users should know the changes in the previous testing? No, please not the answer, they can click around on the testing build download page or they can read the changelog to find this info. The users don't do this! As a result we get the 12th same question in the testing build threads or as a new question. :| My idea is a Wiki page for each main testing revision and put this wiki link on the testing/stable download page. Sure there will be still users who not read this text, but at the moment there is no text.

2) Forbid addon uploads with Requirements=Testing builds
Sorry for this 3rd party developers, but you really think that bugs gone away of one's own accord? If your version for the last stable still contain bugs, why you think the new testing fix this bugs?
I can understand that some developers want a feedback about "Works my plugin with the new testing?" But please read the bug reports about your plugins, nearly all of this bugs are old bugs! The only result from your action is that "John Q. Public" use the testing, without a need for it.
AND if you really want a feedback, post it in the forum thread or wherever, but please, leave the version for the stable on the addon page!

3) Don't publish each small fix in the testing.
That the 17th option from a plugin now works properly is very nice,
but why a new testing version for this?

4) No new things in the RC builds.
The RC builds should be only the last possibility to find bugs, not to create new bugs.


I think the developers, the CEOs and the users should reconsider something, the current way is not very funny, for all parties.
I want not put the blame on someone, I only think the current way is the wrong way.

Peter