proposal for a new minor release schedule

[This idea has been discussed on security@, pgsql-release@, and
pgsql-packagers@ a bit already. The purpose of this thread is to gather
feedback from the community at large, in preparation for a final vote from
the members of pgsql-release(at)(dot)]

Given the recent influx of bug reports, I am proposing that we release
minor versions of PostgreSQL more frequently. The hope is that releasing
more often will get fixes in users' hands faster, and that we can be more
disciplined about whether to include something in a given release. This
might also help reduce the number of judgment calls about whether an
out-of-cycle release is needed. Previous discussions have revealed
widespread, but not unanimous, support for this idea. The trade-offs
include additional release work and extra restarts for users. Nobody thus
far has indicated those are dealbreakers, but it'd be good to get more
feedback.

From my reading, the following three concrete proposals would reach the
ballot, but other ideas are still welcome:

* Second Thursday of every even-numbered month (e.g., Feb, April, June).
This would result in 2 extra releases per year, for a total of 6 releases
each year.

* Second Thursday of every odd-numbered month (e.g., Jan, March, May). As
above, this adds 2 releases per year.

* Existing quarterly schedule, with releases inserted approximately halfway
between the existing minor releases. This would likely mean a release
every 6-7 weeks, and would result in 4 extra releases per year, for a
total of 8 releases each year.

Another topic of discussion has been whether to consider this a trial run
or a permanent change. My interpretation is that there's a general
preference for testing the new schedule for a while to see how it goes.
Since v19 is running a bit behind this year, I personally think it would be
best if we started the new schedule in 2027. Later in the year, we could
decide whether to make the change permanent or to revert back to quarterly.

Thoughts?

--
nathan