Re: Comments on Debian packages and installation
[Moved to debian-policy from debian-vote...]
Craig Sanders proposes on the don't-suggest-non-free issue:
> what do you think of this more moderate compromise position:
>
> 1. by default, don't display broken Suggests: but allow the user to
> toggle this option.
>
> 2. have policy strongly discourage links from main to non-free, but
> leave the final decision up to the package maintainer.
IMHO this is the right solution since it is *so* easy to realise. I'd just
change the second point to
2. have policy strongly discourage links from main to non-free unless
this has been discussed and agreed upon on debian-devel.
That way we can filter out unreasonable cases. And then change the word:
"Suggests:" should be "Supports:", as was proposed earlier (the utilities
could still accept "Suggests:" but let it be deprecated).
> and maybe:
> 3. when main packages refer to non-free packages, that fact should be
> reflected in the Suggests: line as "Suggests: non-free/PACKAGE".
> Allow the end-user to decide whether to display or ignore these
> references.
> ?
I don't see the need for this. On the contrary it may create problems as
packages *move* from non-free to free (like KDE will, maybe, have done) and
that would create inconsistencies which we shouls avoid at all costs!
BTW, the same argument - the danger of inconsistencies - is why we should
*not* implement Enhances, IMHO.
Cheers,
Kristoffer
--
Kristoffer Høgsbro Rose, phd, prof.associé <http://www.ens-lyon.fr/~krisrose>
addr: LIP, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, F-69364 Lyon 7
phone: +33(0)4 7272 8642, fax +33(0)4 7272 8080 <Kristoffer.Rose@ENS-Lyon.FR>
pgp f-p: A4D3 5BD7 3EC5 7CA2 924E D21D 126B B8E0 <krisrose@{debian,tug}.org>
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