Backward compatibility of ESMValTool releases

[alistairsellar]

Hey everyone,

We had a constructive discussion about backward compatibility at the ESMValTool workshop in November. To continue the discussion, and also engage the wider community, we're going to experiment with an online discussion. Please contribute your views on this important topic by reading and adding to this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a_H_pvl9E6lpFsCrtHDJe_v5LjSUgpaIJbSKeWS8lD8/edit?usp=sharing

Once the discussion has run its course, we will use the views and ideas to put together a proposal for the community.

Thanks, and remember to respect each other's views and feelings,
Alistair

@ESMValGroup/esmvaltool-developmentteam

[alistairsellar]

This discussion topic is still open, Please contribute your views by reading and adding to this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a_H_pvl9E6lpFsCrtHDJe_v5LjSUgpaIJbSKeWS8lD8/edit?usp=sharing

[alistairsellar]

Hello again. A final reminder to contribute your view on this important topic. The discussion will close on 15th April, at which point any views in the document will be taken forward to inform a proposal for the community

[alistairsellar]

Hello all,

As many of you know, we have been developing a policy for backward-incompatible changes in ESMValTool. Such a policy is important so that developers and users are clear in what they can expect from a new ESMValTool release, both in terms of behaviour of the tool and in terms of what communication there will be. Development of the policy has been informed by several discussions within the community, and a small team of representatives from the ESMValTool User, Science and Technical teams have worked hard to bring together all perspectives into what we hope is a coherent policy that strikes a balance between the diverse needs of the community.

We would now like the community to review the current state of this draft policy. We do not expect this to be the final product but think that it is at the right stage to gather feedback before refining further. It includes some provocative proposals, so please engage with these and share your analysis of their pros and cons.

Please comment using the Google docs comment facility, preferably making your comments attributable, in order to facilitate further discussion. There will be a discussion session on this policy at the upcoming workshop, though it is unlikely that there will be enough time to cover all questions and issues, so it is important to try and progress the discussion via this Google doc in the coming weeks. This will also increase the likelihood of us being able to finalise the policy by the end of the workshop.

The draft policy can be viewed and commented on here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xTiJVibB22-oFFoTl51I5Nyo2SSgieJkQITE5NlxfAo/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks,
Alistair, Axel, Bouwe & Emma