Names and gravatars for authors and contributors can be improved

[karenetheridge]

Background:

• on a module or distribution page, the large gravatar image, and the name beneath it, is the person who did the last release (performed the upload-to-cpan).
• the contributor names and avatars shown for #authors corresponds to the list found in the distribution metadata under the x_contributors key.
• this contributor list can also often be found in the main module's documentation (e.g. https://metacpan.org/pod/release/ETHER/Dist-Zilla-Plugin-MakeMaker-Awesome-0.22/lib/Dist/Zilla/Plugin/MakeMaker/Awesome.pm#CONTRIBUTORS)

These two sets of names aren't the full list of people that should be credited with the distribution. For example, let's take a look at: https://metacpan.org/release/ETHER/Dist-Zilla-Plugin-MakeMaker-Awesome-0.22#authors

I (ether) did the last upload, but I'm not one of the distribution authors (that's AVAR, as seen at https://metacpan.org/source/ETHER/Dist-Zilla-Plugin-MakeMaker-Awesome-0.22/META.json#L3). Avar gets no credit in the right sidebar at all, and ether gets listed twice, as the releaser and one of the contributors!

This happens because the contributor list (which is added to metadata and pod) is being tailored for the pod: there is an authors section (which lists Avar) and then there is a Contributors section (which lists everyone else, including ether). When the list of contributor names are extracted from git history, the authors are removed, because they get their own pod section.

What I would propose is this change on metacpan, for deciding what contributors to list at #authors:

• start with x_contributors metadata
• add in all the authors (from the authors metadata field)
• remove the releaser (name and email address taken from the metacpan profile).

This should come out looking a bit nicer.

[kentfredric]

the only thing I see presently missing from this plan is "past releasers". Which may or may not be important, but there's presently no obvious way to display that in the metadata if it is desirable.

[rjbs]

@kentfredric The creators of the contributors data should try to take that into account.

I think this sounds totally reasonable.

[rwstauner]

See also #940.
I also found this mock up link on the wiki though i don't know where it came from: http://buzzword.org.uk/2014/credits-stuff/MooseX-Types.html

[oalders]

Looks like that site belongs to @tobyink ?

[dagolden]

I don't know that it needs to be so complicated. I don't know that most people understand, know about, or care about the distinction between managers, authors and contributors. It could just say "Karen Etheridge and 4 others".

Karen's algorithm seems decent enough for the use this gets.

[haarg]

@wchristian has previously requested that release managers be listed in some form, but I think that can be considered separately from this.

I like what Karen has proposed.