another gnome-2 rug-pulling

[Thomas Bushnell BSG <tb@becket.net>]

Takuo Kitame has told me that the "gal" package will suddenly become
the 2.x version of gal, instead of the 0.x version which it has always
been until now.  This seems to me to be a needless churning of package
names and filenames.

It also causes me pain; gnucash needs the Gnome 1 gal.  I'm happy to
maintain the package; that's not the problem.

The problem is that Takuo wants to continue to maintain the "gal"
package, but have it be the new version.  Instead of simply orphaning
the package he doesn't want, he is going to *totally change its
source* and then take the totally new source and install the result on
the old file names.

For me to adapt, I need to re-package the existing "gal" package, have
it install all new file names (say, /usr/lib/liboldgal.so, etc.,
etc.), and then make gnucash link against the mutated names, with the
concomitant hassle *that* involves.

I can see no good reason for the name churning, and worse yet, it's
another attempt by Takuo to prevent other people from maintaining
gnome-1 packages.  (He has not maintained gal for YEARS, and has
refused letting anyone else adopt the package either.)

I don't want to do all the work of making an oldgal package, and
linking gnucash against it, only to have the FTPmasters declare the
whole thing insane and reject my uploads.

I would like advice from the release managers and/or ftp masters on
how I should most sensibly proceed.

Thomas