Re: [O] Bug: Please supply stable releases on ELPA or MELPA Stable [8.3.4 (8.3.4-dist @ /usr/local/share/emacs/25.1.50/site-lisp/org-mode/)]

[Reuben Thomas]

On 31 October 2016 at 14:56, Nicolas Goaziou <address@hidden> wrote:

Hello,

Reuben Thomas <address@hidden> writes:

> ​That's great! However, is a cut of the release branch as good as an actual
> release?

It is better, since it contains more bugfixes than last release without
adding new features.

​That's good to know.​

> Thought experiment: if it is good enough, surely the web site should
> point users to this installation method for the stable version?

Isn't it the case already? From the first page I see

  M-x list-packages RET (see Org ELPA)

  Daily snapshots: tar.gz or zip

​The web page is quite clear. Under "Download and install" you can get "Stable version" (only from source), or "Development version" (cgit or M_x list-packages RET), or "Daily snapshots".​

In other words, it looks as though the Org ELPA version is a development version. The linked page does nothing to counter this impression.

I suggest that the "M-x list-packages RET" part be moved up the page to "Stable version"; it should say something like:

"Stable version: M-x list-packages RET (see Org ELPA; includes fixes since last release), or tar.gz or zip (release notes).

Ideally there would be up-to-date release notes for the ELPA version, so that users can see which bugs are fixed. This should be easy if there is a partially-completed release notes file in preparation for the next release.

In other words, the ELPA method should be highlighted as the preferred method of installation, and it should be made obvious that it's stable (this is why I think it's important to change the version of the ELPA package to contain the version number; by the way, considering it as a semver version number, it already is monotonic).

Being able to install org-mode stable from ELPA is something I've wanted for years without realising it is already available! I bet I'm not the only one…

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