Bug#835507: Please clarify that sysvinit support decision is not going to expire

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

Package: tech-ctte

There has recently been a thread on debian-devel ("Is missing
SysV-init support a bug?) about the decision by a package maintainer
to drop sysvinit support from their package.  The maintainer has said
they are reconsidering, which is good.

But, the discussion on -devel has shown that there are some other
maintainers who are considering similar steps, and that the project's
view on this is not settle.

So: would the TC please clarify that the decision that

    For the record, the TC expects maintainers to continue to support
    the multiple available init systems in Debian.  That includes
    merging reasonable contributions, and not reverting existing
    support without a compelling reason.

still stands, and that the answer to this queston

   However, that was two years ago. How long should we be expected to
   continue maintaining sysvinit scripts?

is "indefinitely, and specifically until a contrary decision by the
TC" (subject to quibbles over the exact meaning of "maintaining").

Or to put it another way:

  The answer to "is missing sysvinit support a bug" is "yes, and
  it will continue to be regarded as a bug until further notice".

  Of course a maintainer is not required to personally fix every bug,
  but a maintainer should not introduce bugs without good reasons, and
  should merge reasonable bugfix contributions.

Thanks,
Ian.