[Debian-olpc-devel] Backtraces while using sugar(-emulator)

[Jonas Smedegaard]

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On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 08:00:40PM +0100, Sascha Silbe wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 01:59:16PM +0100, Jonas Smedegaard wrote:
>
>> Geek level: Squash bugs - which might (like here) include coordinate 
>> across distributions and with upstream if issue is more general or 
>> specific to (branch of) distribution(s).
> That's the level I intend to work on.

Cool!


> Reported several hundred bugs in the past decade, both upstream and at 
> distro level. The results were quite mixed; everything from new 
> releases within minutes to personal attacks.
> One thing I learned is that it depends a lot on the maintainer in 
> question. Reporting Gnome bugs at Gentoo isn't a good way to spend 
> your spare time, for instance.

Indeed distribution developers have varying expectations for interaction 
with the rest of the world - upstream to authors, downstream to users, 
across to other distributors and up/down between derivative 
distributions. :-)


> Another one is that often for distros, anything else than packaging 
> mistakes are not their problem and especially nothing to be fixed in 
> the current stable version. Since the latest (i.e. unstable) version 
> often depends on other packages (or later versions thereof) not in 
> stable, this usually equates to "no support for the stable version".

Well, whatever we as Debian package developers choose to pick from 
upstream we take responsibility to keep working for the lifetime of the 
upcoming stable Debian release, or we later replace with another 
version we decide is better suited for long-term maintainance, or we 
mark it as unfit for release (by leaving RC bugs open for the package 
at the time of distro release).

As an added bonus, even while developing (i.e. the 2-3 years the package 
is hanging in testing waiting for next stable release to happen), 
derivative distributions like Ubuntu may choose to base their work on 
hours.

If you as user of Debian feel that our choice of version to maintain is 
too old or too new, then you are free to mix your Debian install with 
whatever alternate package you may find (or perhaps build your own), or 
abandon Debian and use some other distro better fitting your needs. Or 
you may have the option of engaging directly with the Debian package 
maintainers of your pet packages and help push development in the 
direction you prefer.

That last option of course, in addition to major effort on your part, 
requires that you can get along with those developers with whatever you 
do :-)


All in all, yes, there is no silver bullet: We are a huge bunch of 
enthusiasts, as are probably yourself. And it is a jungle of varying 
"rules" and "codes of conduct" to interact with :-)



> Since you (as the Debian maintainer for Sugar) expressed interest in  
> those bugs, I'm going to provide reports to Debian (as well).

Thanks. Really appreciated.


Sorry if I've missed some info on that elsewhere: What is it you are 
doing, more generally?

It seems from this last post that you work across many different 
distros, but at the other hand that you seem new to dealing with the 
very different "tempers" of us distro maintainers.


Kind regards,

  - Jonas


P.S.

Please do not cc me privately. Generally for Debian mailinglists it is 
most polite to only cc privately if somehow explicitly requested.

- -- 
* Jonas Smedegaard - idealist og Internet-arkitekt
* Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

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