Announcement -- mailing lists for JSR-335 and Project Lambda

[Brian Goetz]

After long delays involving far too many meetings with lawyers, I am 
pleased to announce that we are ready to make the JSR-335 EG lists 
publicly readable.  This is a key milestone in the transition to the JCP 
2.8 process which offers greater transparency into the evolution of the 
Java platform.

NEW LISTS
---------

We are creating two new sets of lists, one for language specification 
work and one for libraries specification work.

The lists are:

lambda-spec-experts -- this is the EG list.  The archives are public, 
and only the EG members can subscribe and post.

lambda-spec-observers -- traffic sent to the EG list will be copied 
here, and anyone can subscribe.  EG members may or may not participate 
on this list, at their choosing.

lambda-spec-comments -- this is the primary means by which the public 
can talk to the EG; comments sent to this list will be considered for EG 
discussion.  (This list is *not* a place for discussions; it is more 
like a "suggestion box", and takes the place of direct mail to the spec 
lead, which used to be the recommended way to comment on the spec.)

There will be a similar set of lists for 
lambda-libs-spec-{experts,observers,comments}.  There is also a private 
list for the EG, which should be used primarily for confidential 
logistics discussions (e.g., logistics for conference calls, exchanging 
personal contact info, etc.)

EG traffic on these lists will cut over from the existing jcp.org list 
to the new lists on Monday, Sep 10.


ROLE OF LAMBDA-DEV CHANGING
---------------------------

Now that we are migrating to this new scheme, the role of lambda-dev 
will revert to its intended purpose, which is to discuss the 
*implementation* of lambda in OpenJDK.  (For some transition period, we 
may also continue to use lambda-dev for announcements related to the 
project, since this is where a lot of the audience will be for a while.)

Examples of appropriate discussion topics for lambda-dev include:
- Bug reports
- Code review comments
- Test cases
- Build or porting problems
- Migration experiences for your own code


ETIQUETTE
---------

This is a significant step towards greater transparency in the evolution 
of the platform.  With that transparency comes greater responsibility on 
the part of the community.

The key thing to remember here is: we still have an Expert Group, and we 
need to let them do their job.  This means exercising restraint when it 
comes to commenting on active EG discussions (and especially in 
contacting EG members directly.)

Remember that EG discussions happen on a different pace than you might 
be used to from other open-source projects.  Days can go by without a 
response, but this doesn't mean that the EG is not thinking about it, 
doesn't care, or is "stumped".  Often it simply means the EG members are 
working privately (or with their teams) to figure out what their 
position is, and will respond when they've thought about it more.  So, 
please let the discussion play out.

The key tool for the community to feed back into the EG is the comments 
lists.  If you are truly convinced that the EG missed something (or will 
miss something), submit it there.