Re: ax25-node

[Patrick Ouellette <pouelle@debian.org>]

Iain,

When the nodejs issue was being debated in the tech committee, there was enough
support from users of the ax25-node package to not have it simply removed then.

On Tue, Mar 24, 2015 at 07:49:01PM +0000, Iain R. Learmonth wrote:
> 
> Hi Patrick,
> 
> Is ax25-node a package you are currently maintaining? It's in pretty
> terrible shape. I see you are in the Uploaders field but I can't see that
> you've made an upload since before 1999.
> 

As I mentioned in a message to the list, your "pretty bad shape" assessment is
not shared by everyone.  One actual (non-critical) bug and a number of lintian 
warnings are not what I call "pretty bad shape."  Your definition may be 
different.

I haven't uploaded a new version since 1999 because for a while there was 
another maintainer who expressed interest and had time.  I have had a number
of disruptions from 2000 on in my work and home life - you know the kind,
job changes, children, etc.

> The bug you have closed was not an RIP. It was a bug to keep track that
> ax25-node will be removed from Debian once UROnode is available to replace
> it. ax25-node will not appear in stretch.

The bug I closed was nothing more than a request to please remove a package and
replace it with another that doesn't exist yet.  There is no reason to clutter 
the BTS with "replace a with b" - Debian is not set up that way.  There is no
reason ax25-node can not exist in the archive when UROnode makes it into the 
archive.  If there is a technical reason they can  not both be installed on a 
system at the same time then "conflicts" can be used in the package control 
files.

The opening of the ITP for UROnode and a note on 777013 should have been 
sufficient - instead you cloned the bug to "keep track of the plan"
which artificially increases the bug count for the package.

> 
> This was the plan, but if you are going to be maintaining the package then
> the plan can change.
> 

Yes, the plan that was discussed and decided without actually asking any of the
maintainers directly as far as I can tell.  Yes, sending messages to the
debian-hams list is a good start but not everyone reads list mail every day.

> If you are not going to be maintaining the package, please orphan it and I
> will reopen the bug, removing it from the archives once UROnode is installed
> in the archives to replace it.
> 

There is no need to have ax25-node removed from the archive just so UROnode
can be added.  When I find some time, yes I plan on working on the ham radio
software in Debian.

73,

Pat NE4PO