[tor-project] email interface for Trac: a proposal

[Ivan Markin]

Hi Silvia,

Silvia [Hiro]:
> I have been working my way through a wish list of Trac features, and
> started from implementing an interface to create and reply to tickets
> via email.
> 
> I now have a simple prototype, but before proceeding I'd like to receive
> some feedback on my proposal so far.

Thanks for your work!

Some random thoughts:
How about Trac interface for mailing list?
It is proved to be a fast and convenient way to coordinate. It's also
simple and straightforward to submit and apply patches to/from mailing
list. Yes, mailing list lacks numbering and actual tracking (tagging,
assignment) that Trac has.
Maybe we can just build a 'smart' mail list server that can add tracking
(e.g. via modifying headers or Subject) and is able to export threads to
Trac (so who like Trac will be able to use it, e.g. 'cypherpunks' account).

With Trac there is a long loop for each ticket. For example, imagine
that there is a tiny typo:
	* Fire up your Browser
	* Head out to Trac
	* Login
	* Create new ticket
	* Attach a patch
	  + Solve captcha (and enable JS)
	* Modify patch that it needs_review
        |
	* Download patch from Trac
	* Apply it
	* Mark ticket as closed

IMO, this can be replaced just with two emails (postprocessed/tagged?):
	[ Subject: Title, Body: Message, Patch]
	[ Subject: Titile, Body: Applied/Status change]

Also this can glue together whole discussion in both mailing list and Trac.

P.S. Probably it's just me who don't like the web.
--
Ivan Markin