Use of issue tracker

[Brian Goetz]

There have been some questions raised over the use of the issue tracker hosted at java.net.  Let me try and clarify how we've been working.  

We did not get an issue tracker until Oct of 2012.  Without getting into the unfortunate details of why, let's just agree this was unfortunate.  At the time, a significant fraction of issues had already been discussed on the EG list, and, despite a brief period of time where we tried to use the issue tracker, changing the way the EG had been working didn't stick.  As a result, the issue tracker is kind of abandoned, and, while still contains valid information, offers a non-representative snapshot of a small portion of the EG communication.  Since that time, the mailing list has been public and archived, and the mailing list represents the official record of features proposed, discussed, accepted, or rejected.  We've attempted to periodically capture "what's left" and "loose ends" to make up for the weaknesses of this approach to working.  While this is less than ideal, we feel that this captures the spirit of the JCP 2.8 process, providing a permanent, public record of proposals and discussions of open issues.  

We also have a -comments list.  The purpose of this list, which is post-only, is to provide a means to say "I have a concern about X."  This list is also archived, and concerns raised there will be cataloged before the EG winds up its business.  Because it is dramatically lower traffic, those seeking to 'read a comment into the record' may wish to use that mechanism.