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Re: do not delete gnome-1



I do not read debian-gtk-gnome; please keep me in the CC list on
replies. 

Loïc Minier <lool+debian@via.ecp.fr> writes:

> On Tue, Sep 27, 2005, Thomas Bushnell BSG wrote:
>> >  And what if they never do the switch?  We can't keep GNOME 1 forever.
>> If you cannot maintain them any longer, then you should orphan them.
>> This is always appropriate.  In fact, it's necessary.  When you cannot
>> maintain or do not wish to maintain a package, orphan it.
>
>  I understand that I can orphan packages.  GNOME 1 was superseded by
>  GNOME 2, and GNOME 2 provides similar functionality, replacing GNOME 1.
>  GNOME 1 was kept for a period of _transition_ from GNOME 1 to GNOME 2.
>  When transitions are over, packages are removed.  The GNOME transition
>  is not eternal.

But the gnome-1 transition is not over until the programs which use
gnome-1 are transitioned.

KDE also provides a similar functionality to gnome-1.  openoffice.org
provids a "similar functionality" to gnu emacs.  By itself, those
words mean almost nothing.

>  I'm concerned for the project as a whole, I'm concerned with the number
>  of packages in Debian, the number of packages to release, upgrade
>  paths, the number of packages to maintain at the security level, the
>  size of the archive, the valuable time of the QA group.  Yes, I
>  understood you're in the QA group.
>    Don't encourage people every old cruft to the QA group, it means more
>  cruft stays in Debian.  It is a per package decision.

I'm not encouraging that.  I'm saying dammit, gnucash *needs* these
packages, as do a few other apps, and while *you* might not want to do
maintenance any longer on the libraries in question, that does *not*
mean it's yet time to drop them.

>  I don't care how slow gnucash development is.  If 10000 packages made
>  the switch from GNOME 1 to GNOME 2 _except_ gnucash, then to the hell
>  with it.  You're saying I'm insensible with the gnucash developers and
>  their pace of development, why don't you simply say I'm the one putting
>  the knife under gnucash's throat and I can decide life or death of a
>  project?

Gnucash is the single most complex gnome-1 program there is.  Deal
with it.  It takes time and work.

If you are saying "let's drop it now!" then you *are* trying to put
the knife under gnucash's throat.

>  Ask yourself this: would people in the QA team have more time to
>  package RFPs if they didn't have to handle GNOME 1?  Do you have any
>  measure for the usefulness of your time?  And the QA team's time as a
>  whole?  Of course, you do what you want with _your_ time, but shared
>  project resource are valuable, and my priority is our users as a whole,
>  not just the GNOME 1 users.

Yes dammit, and you are *not* the decider of Debian's priorities.  

>  It's a big chunk of software, not some useful little things that you
>  keep to do users a favor, it needs real consideration before acting.

So STOP ACTING so hastily.  And conduct the discussion in public, on
debian-devel. 

>  Do you have any list of GNOME 1 packages which might be completely
>  removed without hurting anyone?  Do you have a list of packages
>  depending on some GNOME 1 packages?  Do you have popcon statistics on
>  finance managers?  Is it possible for users to export/import their data
>  from gnucash to other finance managers?

No.  A much better strategy is to orphan them all.

You want to be the dictator of all things gnome-related.  But you
don't get to be.  Debian does not need dictators.  There is no
gnome-dictator.

All you get to do is maintain packages, and when you don't want to any
more, orphan them.  You do *NOT* get to tell me which packages I
should be allowed to maintain.

Thomas



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