careless use of dpkg (also Re: deluser and timezone)

[Ian Jackson <iwj10@cus.cam.ac.uk>]

Philip Tuckey writes ("deluser? (and timezone, and careless use of dpkg)"):
> [...]
> Actually, dpkg, which I had previously upgraded, also came across version
> 0.93.42.3 of itself (the new version was elsewhere) and --force-downgraded
> itself (by default),

The default action if you invoke dpkg manually is not to refuse to
downgrade packages.  This is because I assume that the user who
invokes dpkg manually just wants it to do as it is told.

The various installation method scripts use --refuse-downgrade.

I'm open to comment on this policy.

>   which caused me further consternation when it came to
> configuring the unpacked packages. I figured that they had been unpacked by
> the new version, so I re-upgraded it against the stringent warnings of
> 50-odd unpacked but unconfigured packages, and all turned out well. At
> least I think so...

This should have done the right thing.

Ian.