PostgreSQL's review bottleneck, episode 3

If a developer can get a patch to the maturity of the SE-PostgreSQL patch and have no idea whether the patch will be merged indicates a problem. If there are problems with the approach of the patch (or if the feature is not considered appropriate), they should be identified as early as possible. Presumably the SE-PostgreSQL guys had some idea of what the implementation would look like, so reviewing that design might have helped here (and would probably be easier than a full code review).

For smaller patches, it probably help to review early rather than waiting for a CodeFest. It might also make sense to merge them if it isn't during a freeze leading up to a release. The longer the submission cycle, the less likely that a contributor will stick around.