Re: Questions about Debian derivatives
Hi Paul,
On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 8:54 PM Paul Wise <pabs@debian.org> wrote:
>
> Debian's relationship with the various distributions derived from
> Debian and approach to existing and new derivatives has had a wide
> range of states. Most derivatives recieve indifference from Debian.
> There has been animosity from Debian towards some derivatives. We have
> welcomed the creation of derivatives. We have welcomed developers from
> derivatives into Debian packaging teams. We have encouraged people to
> start blends within Debian instead of starting derivatives.
>
> What do you think of Debian's current relationship with derivatives?
>
> What would you like to change about our relationships?
>
> What do you feel Debian's current approach to derivatives is?
>
> What would you like to change about that approach?
>
> What is your favourite derivative?
>
> Would you like to see it merged into Debian?
>
> Thoughts on identical Debian pure blends vs derivatives?
>
> Other thoughts welcome, as are thoughts from non-candidates.
First off, I am proud that there are a lot of derivatives. Last time I
checked, over half of the entries on DistroWatch were based on Debian.
[1] "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
Meanwhile, it is helpful to look at the individual heritage for each
project. Here, I will focus on those that either (1) want to be
different or (2) those who cannot achieve in Debian what they would
like to accomplish. There is some overlap because Debian is an odd
place to get anything done.
In the first category, I see many of the desktop alternatives, like
"Mint" and "MX". They love their independence. Some lesser known
projects like Endless rely entirely on their own brand. I do not think
we can do much about them other than learn from their marketing and
maybe adopt some of their tools (although some of those world
travellers may join us when we find an attractive long-term home for
Debian).
By the way, I know the desire to be different. As an early Linux user
in 1993, I briefly considered starting my own distribution, called
"Felix," but then got busy with school and stuck to Slackware. (I
switched to Debian in 1996 or so.) In retrospect, I am glad that Ian
Murdock (and Deb) got their names on our baby. I am incredibly proud
to be a part of Debian today!
The second category is populated by projects we know a lot better.
Usually, there was some kind of a split. Among those, I count Devuan
(initd) and Ubuntu (release cycle). They exist mostly because we can
be jerks—although maybe the latter was not so much of an issue for
Ubuntu.
I used Ubuntu very happily and productively without contributing from
2005 to 2010, but their frequent release cycle was a burden for me.
The day I switched back to tracking testing was one of the happiest
days in my life. Otherwise, I have limited experience with our
derivatives.
If it's okay to broaden the scope of your questions for a moment, I
love Arch and would like to merge with them (although I have never
actually used their operating system). They have great energy, superb
documentation, and are a lot younger. On the flip side, Arch would
benefit from our technical acumen and our packaging experience. I'd
love to see us join forces with them somehow.
The pure blends question should really go to the folks on this list
who actively maintain derivatives. Are human factors in the way where
technical solutions exist? Let's come together!
To improve our relationships with all derivatives—you might have
guessed it—I would form an Integration Committee (aka as the "come
home" committee). As the first member, I would approach Mark Hindley.
Finally, I would like to draw some specialty derivatives nearer to
Debian, although many are super friendly already. In the embedded
space, for example, OpenWrt needs help with their archive. For
unreleased builds, one has to reflash their base system when adding
packages later. Maybe we can give them a snapshot.openwrt.org with old
builds sorted by date.
Thank you for a question with great peacemaking potential!
Kind regards,
Felix Lechner
[1] Sorry, I can't find the reference right now.
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