Re: Why are some Debian bugs ignored for a long time?
On Fri 19 Aug 2022 at 13:57:29 -0400, Chuck Zmudzinski wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have noticed that some Debian bugs are ignored for a long time,
> sometimes even when the person who submitted the bug offered a patch.
> The Debian developers/maintainers sometimes don't even reply and
> therefore never explain why the proposed patch cannot be applied. Why
> is that the case with Debian developers/maintainers?
AFAICT, there isn't any requirement for a maintainer/triager to engage
with each and every submitted bug report.
https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/pkgs.en.html#bug-handling
Each report is unique and so is every maintainer. Therefore it is not
possible to generalise with certainty on the reasons for not getting an
immediate response.
Neither should a user have any expectation of a timely interaction, nice
though it may be to be get further involvement from a maintainer.
Reasons for the perceived "ignored" status might be:
* The maintainer judges that the bug affects very few users.
* The maintainer does not have the resources to deal with the bug.
* A solution is already in hand and awaiting upload to unstable.
* The maintainer puts the report on the back burner and forgets about
it.
* The bug is low down on the priority list.
* The maintainer sees the bug as a user issue and not an issue with
package quality.
* The maintainer has little or nothing to contribute that would lead to
the report progressing.
* Fixing this issue is not worth the effort, if possible at all.
--
Brian.
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