NonGNU ELPA and release frequency

[Antoine Kalmbach]

Given that the details of NonGNU ELPA are still being fleshed out, has
there been any discussion on how often NonGNU ELPA packages are
released into the package repository?

Suppose I am a package author upstream on a package that isn't in GNU
ELPA.  This package is maintained in an external repository somewhere on
the net.  I release a new version, pushing the commit into the
repository.  Now the following things are unclear:

  1. If I want my changes to appear in NonGNU ELPA, should I:

     a. Send a patch with the changes to the appropriate mailing lists
        (emacs-devel or bug-gnu-emacs?)
     b. Send a request to pull the changes to ibid.
     c. Push changes to some reference
     d. Email a mailing list announcing the changes and wait for someone
        to update the package

  2. How often would NonGNU packages be updated? Will it be up to each
     individual package, or would there be recurring (e.g. monthly)
     "distributions" of the whole package set, so that a package and all
     its dependents would effectively be "frozen" until a regular
     update?

  3. Would NonGNU ELPA have some sort of automated build system for
     checking that packages meet some sort of quality checks, for
     instance, checking that packages can be byte compiled without
     errors, checking documentation using checkdoc, and verifying the
     license is appropriate, etc.

Do any of those questions make sense? Lately on several forums there has
been much discussion about MELPA and other third-party repositories, and
the nature of those discussions strongly indicates that NonGNU ELPA is
necessary and requires attention.

-- 
Antoine Kalmbach