Re: netstd, fingerd and the r* gang

[Nathan Olsen <nolsen@csulb.edu>]

>I'm having some trouble not installing fingerd, rwhod and the rest of
>the r* gang.  Trouble is that netstd 3.07-10 depends on them and
>netbase 3.16-2 in turn recommends netstd.  dselect won't let me get
>rid of netstd without dumping netbase, too (which, of course, I can't
>do).
>Is this a bug?  A feature?  How do I get rid of rwhod and fingerd and
>keep dpkg happy at the same time?

Netstd, is a legacy package as I understand it, and you should just simply
remove it in dselect. Here's a short howto:

You need to override dselect when it tries to remove programs you do not
wish to delete because they are supposedly dependent on another package.
For example, when you type "_" to remove netstd and get the dependency
screen with netbase also listed as purge, type "R" (i.e., shift-"r") to
return netbase, etc. to their former settings. Then, instead of pressing
return to exit the dependency screen, type "Q" (shift-"q"). This will
override dselect and allow you to remove only netstd. You must also use "Q"
to exit the Select screen, otherwise you'll be brought back to the
dependency screen where you'll have to type "R" and "Q" again.

These commands can be found in dselect by typing "?" followed by "k" to see
keyboard commands.


Nathan Olsen
nolsen@csulb.edu

"It is our nature to put all knowledge into context in order to tell
a story, and to re-create the world by this means."

                     --Edward O. Wilson, _Consilience_