Hi there,
I initially asked at inkscapeforum.comhttp://www.inkscapeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=15755&p=63224and was told to better post my request to this mailing list.
I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to create releases more regularly. Currently there are many months or even years between each release of Inkscape. Bug fixes should get out more quickly and it should be possible to try out new features of upcoming versions. Most users don't have the possibility to build Inkscape by their own, so they have to wait for the next release.
Unfortunately the provided development downloads are not synchronized, hosted on different third-party web sites and out of date (currently especially the Windows version).
So I suggest to create a (more or less) fixed fast release cycle for normal releases (e.g. every two or three months) and periodically (e.g. every one or two weeks) create alpha versions. Alpha versions should be built (maybe even automatically) for all supported OSes and hosted directly on inkscape.org.
Sebastian