Re: Ubuntu-originated packages in Debian (Re: ubuntu keyring?)

[Matt Zimmerman <mdz@debian.org>]

On Thu, May 19, 2011 at 12:46:17PM +0100, Matt Zimmerman wrote:
> On Thu, May 19, 2011 at 01:18:10PM +0200, Didier Raboud wrote:
> > Matt Zimmerman wrote:
> > 
> > > I think that this is one of the reasons why Ubuntu packages often don't
> > > make their way into Debian: Debian developers expect Ubuntu to do it
> > > themselves, and Ubuntu developers can't do it without help.
> > 
> > While I agree largely, I'd like to point out that the needed "help" is 
> > "just" finding somebody with upload rights to build and upload a prepared 
> > package, while the whole work of preparing a package conforming to Debian 
> > policies can be done without those rights.
> > 
> > Then, sure it can be hard to find a sponsor, but I am sure we could make a 
> > good use of the -derivatives mailing list.
> > 
> > So maybe it's just a perception bias, don't know.
> 
> Perhaps, but it's easy to see the reverse perspective too:
> 
> The needed "help" is navigating the sociopolitical environment of Debian to
> find someone with the needed privileges and motivation who will handle the
> uploads.  The preparation of the package confirming to policies is
> *already done* (it exists in Ubuntu)!

To put an even finer point on it:

There isn't actually any more packaging work to do.  All that's needed is to
upload the packages, keep them up to date, and respond to bug reports
(the latter is certainly a minor concern for a keyring package).

For a typical "sponsorship" scenario, the packager is doing most of the
work, and the sponsor is "just" reviewing and uploading.  In the case of an
Ubuntu package, it's reversed: the "sponsorship" part is the majority of the
work, and the "packaging" part is trivial.

-- 
 - mdz