Re: Getting a package added to the debian package repository: WACS
Sean
On Thu, 2010-02-18 at 19:35 +0100, sean finney wrote:
> fwiw i'm going to side-step any discussion related to appropriateness
> of content and would appreciate others doing the same (or at least take
> it to another list). but at the same time, please no more links
> to "example" sites!
Sorry, I am not intending any upset.
The example site is completely genuine, only contains material licensed
under the creative commons by attribution 3.0 license and is actually
running the WACS software and basically nothing else. It is not some
devious front for a commercial organisation I assure you. It is 100%
genuine and true to the ideals of free software.
> i don't think there's any rule against the developers doing the packaging
> work, though you will need someone to sponsor your package at least
> initially for it to be accepted into the archive.
OK, then it's obviously not quite as I was led to believe, but that's
fine, just let me know who I should be talking to. I do however feel
that due to the nature of the subject having a second person go over it
will be distinctly advantageous in this case.
For instance, as things stand, I protect almost all files with mode 660
to the group of package administrators which causes lintian to get very
upset. I think that is the right thing to do and that the icons,
thumbnails and documentation should not be available for all users on
the system to read. That obviously runs counter to the normal
permissions mentality reflected in the lintian process.
> i think "team" is a bit of a misnomer here, as this list is more of a
> discussion area for the common set of problems that one has with web
> application packaging. that said, you might still find someone here
> interested in sponsoring or co-maintaining your package (i'm not
> volunteering though). failing that, you could also try the debian-mentors
> list.
OK, I'll hope that someone will choose to get back to me over the next
few days with some interest.
Given it's one of the biggest markets on the internet, I'm surprised
that no one has addressed this arena with free software previously (at
least not to my knowledge). I know a great many people sweep their
activities in this area under the carpet, but I really hope someone will
have the courage to come forward and help.
Right now this is a very important part of the internet as a whole where
the free software community is leaving users and developers solely in
the hands of (very predatory) proprietary software companies. I believe
that is wrong and we need, even if some find it distasteful, to make an
effort to support those users needs within free software. That is why I
and others have been working on this software, tuning and improving it,
and now seeking distribution for it so that we can say "here is another
important vertical market where free software has a viable alternative".
Not only that, but I believe this package is good enough to be better
than the commercial competition. With over 20 years experience as a
Unix/Linux system programmer and Oracle DBA, I believe (and the others
who have contributed) have given WACS has a good and solid design.
Cheers
Beaky
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