Re: Bug#993819: release-notes: Please document the removal of wicd
Hendrik Boom wrote:
> Here is the text I have included in the current draft upgrade
> instructions for Devuan:
>
> Warning: `wicd` will no longer be available after the upgrade, so if
> you use it to connect to the internet through wifi, you will be cut
> off. To prevent this, you should change to a connection manager that
> *will* still be available, such as `connman`. If you want a convnient
> graphical interface, without which making connections can be difficult,
> you should install `connman-gtk`. You should do this *before* you
> start the upgrade, or you will have trouble reconnecting if things go
> wrong.
Thanks for giving us something to start from! But becoming
unavailable for installation doesn't necessarily imply being
automatically purged on upgrade. I gather wicd-gtk had Python2 GTK
dependencies; is there anything to stop users insisting on hanging on
to those on Bullseye? It would certainly be wiser to switch ASAP, but
I don't think we can categorically declare that "you will be cut off".
Other nitpicks:
* At least according to the package description I might in principle
have been using wicd to manage a _wired_ connection.
* And is there some particular reason for pointing in the direction
of connman rather than network-manager? (Don't desktops usually
provide GUIs of their own for this sort of thing?)
* Meanwhile, you're assuming the context of mobile devices that need
to make frequent connections to new networks. The reason I know so
little about this sort of software is that "making connections can
be difficult" has never been true for my PC - I just need to edit
one configuration file each time I move house!
A revised version, still short on releasenotes-style markup:
The network connection manager `wicd` will no longer be available
after the upgrade, so to avoid the danger of losing connectivity
users are recommended to switch before the upgrade to an alternative
such as `network-manager` or `connman`.
(Plenty of room for other recommendations there if needed.)
--
JBR with qualifications in linguistics, experience as a Debian
sysadmin, and probably no clue about this particular package
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