On Mon, Apr 24, 2006 at 06:13:11PM +0200, Bernhard R. Link wrote: > * Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> [060424 17:39]: > > > > > Package gnus, version x.y-z.dfsg. > > > That way its clearly marked that gnus is modified to be dfsg free, > > > and you dont change any source/package name. A lot of other packages > > > in Debian already go this way, I dont see why gnus can't do it. > > > > In Debian, source package components have precise meaning. > > The package name is Gnus, and the version you are referring to is the > > "upstream" version. In case you are not aware, that implies that > > this is a source package for an upstream release versioned > > x.y-z.dfsg -- which in turn implies that the upstream author has > > created a DFSG free version, perhaps unreleased, for Debian. > > > > I think pretending with a fake upstream version that this is > > the same Gnus upstream packages is misleading at best, and deceptive > > at worst. > > Repackaging upstream software is a common way. It is even documented in > the Developer's reference how those are supposed to handled. > (i.e. only remove files, not add some; the .diff.gz should contain some > README describing how the file can be reproduced, and things like that) > > On the other hand a different source package name has also a specific > meaning. It means it is a different source package, which means it is > a differnt upstream or a different package. Unless you want to fork > the package or add other files, changing the source name is deceptive. Isn't it already a fork? The source package is not the same as the one being shipped by upstream. Hence Manoj's desire to use a different source package name to correctly convey the fact that the source package is not what is being shipped by upstream, but a modified version that meets the requirements of the DFSG. How is it deceptive to rename the source package when it is _not_ the same as the upstream source? James -- GPG Key: 1024D/61326D40 2003-09-02 James Vega <jamessan@debian.org>
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