Bug#29770: Policy contradicts itself about /etc/aliases

[Santiago Vila <sanvila@unex.es>]

Package: debian-policy
Version: 2.5.0.0

I have discovered a little inconsistency in the policy.

Section 5.5, "Mail transport agents" says:

   "/etc/aliases is the source file for the system mail aliases (e.g.,
   postmaster, usenet, etc.)--it is the one which the sysadmin and
   postinst scripts may edit."

According to this, a postinst script *may* edit /etc/aliases.

However, section 4.7, "Configuration files" says:

   "A package may not modify a configuration file of another package."

According to this, editing /etc/aliases is not allowed, since
this file is a conffile for sendmail, at least, and certainly it
is a "configuration file" in either case.

So, which is the truth, may /etc/aliases be edited by a postinst, or it
may not?

If "do not modify a configuration file of another package" is just a
general rule, it should be clear how many exceptions to the rule are
there.

Thanks.

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