Lindsay Allen <allen@cleo.murdoch.edu.au> writes: > > If/when the unofficial package repository Jim Pick spoke of is established, > > what will happen in regard to the bugs system for these packages? I don't believe the Debian bug system should be used for what are essentially non-Debian packages. I was going to put that in my original post -- but I accidentally left it out. > Much as I respect Jim I see this as an "Adam and the apple" situation > - tempting but leading to who knows what problems. We lose the bug > system and the rigor and discipline of Debian and these are the very > things that have lead to our success. Like I said in the original post, I don't believe that having an unofficial repository for weird packages is really going to be detrimental. OK, granted, there aren't really a lot of weird .deb files floating around out there right now, and this might encourage people to create them -- but I don't believe anybody in their right mind is going to be trying out strange packages (not from Debian) unless they know what they are doing. The repository (hopefully) will encourage some more experimentation with packaging formats and building tools. Think of it as a place for packages (or even small distributions of packages) that are "too experimental for experimental". The truth is, the benefits of being a Debian developer far outweigh any (perceived) benefits somebody would have by going it alone. The feedback and the communication the Debian project provides are invaluable to me, as a developer -- I couldn't imagine giving that up. Also, the mailing lists and the policy setting mechanisms are absolutely essential to building a cohesive, integrated set of packages. My hope is that by hosting an "unofficial repository", some of the people who are currently "going it alone" and developing contrib RPM's might consider switching. Once they understand how the Debian community works, and shares, they will absolutely want to become bona-fide Debian developers. I am sure of it. Cheers, - Jim
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