Bug reports and the incoming queue
Evolution having been non-upgradeable/uninstallable in sid for a few
days now because of a missing dependency on libgal23, I looked to see
whether anybody had submitted the bug. I saw that somebody has indeed
submitted it, and moreover, it has been resolved. The "resolution"
message from the maintainer, however, is a curt request never to submit
such bugs because libgal23 is already in the incoming queue.
One on hand, I can understand how frustrating it must be for a package
maintainer to have a missing-dependency bug submitted for a package that
is already scheduled to be uploaded, especially because such bugs tend
to appear as grave.
On the other hand, I am not a Debian developer and had half forgotten
that the incoming queue existed. The last time I found it, it was after
an hour of searching on Google. This time it only took a single search
from which, I *think* I found it (http://incoming.debian.org). I don't
see libgal23 there anywhere, though, which leads me to believe that
maybe I haven't found it after all. I also seem to remember from
my last search for the incoming queue that there is some point in the
life cycle of a package upgrade during which the developer has released
the new package but it is hidden from normal users so that they don't
jump the gun and install it before all of its dependencies exist. I
guess, for that matter, this hidden state is what I had thought to be
the incoming queue.
What is one supposed to do, then, to be a conscientious bug submitter? I
always check the other bug reports first, and I would be happy to check
the incoming queue, too, if I could get a straight answer about how
exactly I can (or can't) do that.
With all kind regards,
John Ashley Burgoyne
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