Bug#699808: tech-ctte (CFV): syslinux vs the wheezy release

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Thanks for the feedback.  I'm calling for a vote on the resolution
below.  It's unchanged except that I fixed the paragraph numbering to
not have two para.9s.

The options are:
  Y  Revert syslinux in unstable, overruling maintainer (needs >3:1)
  F  Further discussion

Ian.

 The Technical Committee notes that:

 1. The syslinux maintainer has uploaded syslinux 5 to unstable.

 2. The Release Managers intend to release wheezy with syslinux 4.

 3. debian-installer even in wheezy and even now during the freeze
    uses syslinux binaries from unstable when building installers.

 Our view is that:

 4. Updating to syslinux 5 at this stage of the release (whether in
    the installer, or generally) is out of the question.

 5. It is arguable that arrangements should be made so that during the
    freeze debian-installer builds using testing's syslinux.  Similar
    considerations may apply to shared libraries.

 6. However now is not the time for these kind of process
    improvements.  We therefore state no definite conclusion on this
    question.

 7. The new syslinux should not have been uploaded to unstable, before
    the corresponding process improvements (if indeed they are
    improvements) are in place.

 Accordingly we decide as follows, overruling the syslinux maintainer:

 9. The version of syslinux in wheezy should be re-uploaded to
    unstable.

 10. No other updates should be made to syslinux in unstable, unless
    one of the following applies:
    
    (i) wheezy has been released and jessie opened and unfrozen;
    
    (ii) the Release Managers give their consent; or
    
    (iii) the debian-installer maintainers confirm that arrangements
          have been put in place to avoid this problem.

 11. The syslinux maintainer should state ASAP what package version
    number they would like to be used for this re-upload.  Any NMU of
    syslinux should honour such a statement, and in the absence of
    such a statement should not be made before 2013-02-10 17:00+0000.

 And we make the following (non-binding) statements of our opinion:

 12. We request that everyone involved in this issue cordially discuss
    possible process improvements, preferably after the release of
    wheezy.

 13. Whenever changes to Debian's software and processes are required,
    deployment should occur in a planned and cooperative way.
    Maintainers should be reluctant to upload changes which break
    other packages.  If such breakage is necessary to move forward, it
    should only occur after obtaining rough consensus amongst the
    relevant contributors or the project as a whole.

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