Bug#907725: Fwd: Appropriate Section for PCF Fonts

[Paul Hardy <unifoundry@gmail.com>]

Russ,

On Sun, Oct 7, 2018 at 3:59 PM Russ Allbery <rra@debian.org> wrote:
>
> Paul Hardy <unifoundry@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > Thank you for dealing with bug #907725 ("xfonts packages are not using
> > the x11 section in practice").  I was told that it was up to the FTP
> > Masters, so I wrote the below email to them in July.  I have not yet
> > received a response, but looking at the NEW queue it is obvious how
> > swamped they are so I wasn't expecting a rapid response.
>
> Just in case you weren't already aware of this little-known corner of how
> the Debian archive works: the section of every package currently in the
> archive is set via the overrides maintained by ftp-master, not by the
> section specified in the packaging files.  This is for somewhat esoteric
> and historical reasons, but the package metadata is basically just a hint.
>
> Therefore, even though you didn't get a reply, ftp-master has in a sense
> already made their decision clear: the fonts currently in the archive are
> in the fonts section.  If ftp-master had wanted them in a different
> section, that's entirely under their control, and they could have just
> made that change.

Thanks for taking the time to explain this.  I was aware of the FTP
package mapping in principle, but do not know the actual mechanics of
it.  The lintian message seemed like it might signal some upcoming
change in placing those files, and I wanted to do the right thing
before the freeze.

Take care,


Paul Hardy