As of now, 11:00pm PST 2/4/05, Inkscape is in "Hard Freeze" mode.

During this phase, no commits to CVS are allowed without formal approval from the "Freeze Wardens". For this release, the Freeze Wardens are Bulia Byak and Kees Cook. Both must okay any change to the codebase (including changes that they themselves create).

The fundamental idea behind a Hard Freeze is to slow down changes to the codebase, and achieve some quiescence to give room for the changes specifically needed to ensure a quality release. This also allows each of us to doublecheck the final code to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's crossed.

If you feel it is critical to get a last minute change in, that's fine. Please submit them as patches (using 'cvs diff -puN') and email them to the Freeze Wardens for review and incorporation (or postponement) at their discretion.

The Freeze Wardens will decide when the Hard Freeze is over. They will establish a branch tag and declare it ready for release. It is assumed this may take a few days but less than a week.

Once the code is branched and tagged, the Hard Freeze will end, and the Release Phase will begin. The release branch will be used for preparing packages, while the mainline branch will be returned to regular open development.

Bryce