From d77c0bdf763cfca9e47af467efe6039ebbb059a0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sacha Chua Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2026 07:58:35 -0400 Subject: add bone --- 2026/talks/bone.md | 74 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 74 insertions(+) create mode 100644 2026/talks/bone.md (limited to '2026/talks') diff --git a/2026/talks/bone.md b/2026/talks/bone.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..06e67545 --- /dev/null +++ b/2026/talks/bone.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +[[!meta title="BONE and gnaw.el: tracking what matters"]] +[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2026 Bastien Guerry"]] +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/bone-nav)" raw="yes"]] + + + + + +# BONE and gnaw.el: tracking what matters +Bastien Guerry (he) - IRC: bzg, , + +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/bone-before)" raw="yes"]] + +Most free software projects use three communication channels: one for +general feedback, one for bug reports, and one for contributions. +Projects that use patches instead of pull/merge requests (e.g. Emacs) +can reduce this to two channels: a discussion list and a bug tracker. +Some opinionated projects (e.g. Org mode) use only one channel: a +mailing list for general discussions, bug reports and patches. This +makes it easy for everyone to track everything. However, this requires +a tool to help filter all the input. The Org mode tracker uses BONE +for this filtering, and Org mode contributors can use gnaw.el as a +BONE client. + +BONE (Backlog Of Notable Emails) is a bug tracker written in Clojure +that watches a project's mailing list. An email whose subject starts +with [BUG], [PATCH] or [FR] becomes a report. Replies update it with a +small, fixed vocabulary: "Confirmed.", "Acked.", "Owned.", "Closed.", +plus the usual review trailers like Reviewed-by:. Nobody creates an +account, nobody fills a form, nobody leaves their mail client. The +mailbox stays the single source of truth: the tracker database can be +rebuilt from the archive at any time. BONE then exports the reports as +static HTML, RSS, Org and, most importantly, plain reports.json files +that anyone can fetch and reuse. + +gnaw.el is the Emacs client for BONE. M-x gnaw opens a report browser +listing the bugs, patches and feature requests of the sources you +follow, across projects. From that buffer you can search reports, read +the underlying emails in Gnus, notmuch or mu4e, view and apply patches +directly into a local git repository, open attachments, and organize +your own work with local sticky and dismiss marks. + +The talk will: + +- show BONE in action on a real mailing list, from the tagged email to + the exported reports; +- demo gnaw.el: browsing, searching, reading, applying a patch, all + from Emacs; +- discuss the pros and cons of using this tool for Org mode. + +The audience is anyone who maintains or contributes to a project +through a mailing list, anyone who is tired of forge accounts, and +anyone curious about what a tracker looks like when it is derived from +the conversation instead of replacing it. + +Links: + +- [BONE - Reports - Org mode ML](https://tracker.orgmode.org) +- BONE: +- gnaw.el: +- The essay behind the idea: + + +About the speaker: + +Bastien Guerry has been maintaining Org mode from 2011 until 2025. + + + +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/bone-after)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/bone-nav)" raw="yes"]] + + -- cgit v1.2.3