Bug#16199: Missing rationale for /etc/init.d scripts being conffiles.

[Santiago Vila <sanvila@unex.es>]

Package: debian-policy
Version: 2.3.0.1
Severity: wishlist

Note: I'm Cc:ing to debian-policy to finish (let's hope) the discussion.

Hi folks, if you have something more to add, please post it to the
nnnn@bugs.debian.org address.

Thanks.



Policy Manual 3.4.5 says:

   Do not include the /etc/rcn.d/* symbolic links in dpkg's conffiles
   list! This will cause problems! Do, however, include the /etc/init.d
   scripts in conffiles.

A rationale for the last sentence could be added.

After asking in debian-policy, it seems that there are several reasons
for this:

* The services may be deactivated very easily without having to
uninstall the package.

* The behaviour of these scrips may be modified very easily without
having to create a modified version of the package containing it.

* We save our users the need to check whether a certain /etc/init.d script
is a conffile or not.

And the reason I think is the "real" one:

For scripts in /usr/bin, the user may create modified versions and put
them in /usr/local/bin. Since we want to give our users the same
freedom to modify these scripts than the freedom they already have to
modify ordinary scripts (using /usr/local/bin) and since there seem to be
no equivalent of /usr/local/bin for /etc/init.d scripts, we have to make
them all conffiles by policy.


Please add this rationale to the policy if you see it fits.

Thanks.