Re: upstream bugs
On Saturday 29 March 2003 14:22, Andrew Stribblehill wrote:
> Quoting Tommaso Moroni <tommaso.m@tiscalinet.it> (2003-03-29 06:57:00 GMT):
> > Should I wait for a new upstream release or should I apply the fixes to
> > the current packages to get rid of those bugs as soon as possible?
>
> I consider it my duty to apply bug-fixes that I've patched to the
> Debian packages I maintain. For one thing, it gives the Debian
> package extra value; for another, it shows that a patch has received
> relatively wide testing.
>
> Regarding extra features I've implemented that Upstream is still
> pondering over, these I tend to incorporate but only if they affect
> very little code and the rest of the software can be used even if the
> feature turns out to be buggy. In these cases, I mark the feature as
> experimental in the Debian changelog.
you should be careful however. Some upstreams dislike the dillution of the
project. I have seen upstreams refuse to deal with anyone not using their
source (and that is their right). There is also the issue of someone who
used Debian in one place (school, home) and some other linux elsewhere (work,
etc). Getting different behavior in each place can confuse and annoy the
user.
For bugs, each one is different. If the bug is sufficiently bad to get people
to say bad things about Debian (things like "I can't use apache at work,
Debian's is sooo badly broken") then by all means make it right. Usually the
bugs are minor and can wait a week or three.
As for Andrew's feature additions I would say almost never. Unless the
upstream is VERY slow, near abandoning, or has given approval.
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