How to adopt a package

[Carsten Leonhardt <leo@debian.org>]

Hi!

I want to adopt a package (zile). It's listed as orphaned in the
wnpp. I already mailed to wnpp and the former maintainer a bit more
than a week ago (just after the last update of the wnpp on the web, it
seems), but got no reactions. The former maintainer orphaned it in
January 1999 (see
http://www.debian.org/Lists-Archives/debian-devel-9901/msg02375.html).

I already did some work on the package, and now it is mostly compliant
with policy 3.1.1 (delete/backspace doesn't work correctly yet under
X) and fixed all bugs reported on the package (the patches to close 3
of the 4 bugs were in the BTS, too :-) ).

Now, I surely can't just upload the package pretending to be the new
maintainer?

What needs to happen before I can upload?

(Please CC me as I'm not on the list)

Thanks,
 leo