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Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from maintainer/uploader)

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On Monday, June 16, 2025 11:56:19 PM Mountain Standard Time c.buhtz@posteo.jp 
wrote:
> Hello Andrey,
> 
> Am 16.06.2025 23:29 schrieb Andrey Rakhmatullin:
> > That's expected, so what did you want to know when you asked "how to
> > proceed further"?
> 
> I just want to be sure that there is no other Debian-like process or
> channel
> where to put such requests in, e.g. a ticket against a pseudo-package or
> something like this. It is not easy for outsiders like me.
> 
> So it seems this list was the correct place and there is no other
> channel.
> And I can do nothing else than waiting.
> 
> Thank you for the answers.
> Regards,
> Christian

The thing you need to understand about Debian is that it has a strong package-
ownership model.  That means that very few things happen without the package 
maintainers being involved and other Debian Developers are reticent to step on 
the package maintainers’ toes.

Typically, for the software I package, I try to develop strong relationships 
with the upstream developers.  If I were ever contacted by an upstream 
developer stating that an important fix should be shipped in the Debian on an 
expedited schedule, I would do everything possible to make it happen.

I do no know why you have not had this experience with the maintainers of your 
package this time.  Perhaps they are very busy and haven’t seen your 
communications.  Or perhaps they have lost interest in contributing to Debian.  
Or perhaps they are ill.  As far as I know, none of them have responded 
negatively to your suggestion of an update.

Debian has a couple of procedures for dealing with packages whose maintainers 
are absent or unresponsive.  The least invasive is an NMU (Non-Maintainer 
Upload).  The most invasive is package Salvaging (becoming the new 
maintainer).  Both of these require extra steps and delayed time compared to 
the maintainer updating the package.

As stated earlier, Debian Developers tend to be fairly reticent to step on 
other developer’s toes.  And, in addition, most are fairly busy and don’t have 
a lot of bandwidth to take on any new tasks.  The result of this is that often 
a package has to languish for several years before someone else picks it up.

As an upstream developer, you only have a few basic options when dealing with 
this unfavorable situation.

1. Do the Debian packaging yourself (that is what I personally do).  As you 
already mentioned, Debian packaging is a surprisingly complicated task.  It 
took me three months of reading documentation before I was ready to start 
working on my first package, and another three months after that before I 
could produce usable results (and years later I am still learning all types of 
new things about doing it well).

2. Wait for a response--which might or might not ever come--from those who 
have maintained the package in the past.

3. Wait for some other package maintainer to take over maintenance of the 
package.

None of these are ideal.  The ideal would be that every package is maintained 
by an active and involved maintainer who responds in a timely manner to every 
bug report and every upstream release.  The ideal is also that Debian has a 
surplus of developers that have enough time to make sure that nothing falls 
through the cracks.  I try to always be in the middle of mentoring one or two 
new developers to move us in that direction.

-- 
Soren Stoutner
soren@debian.org

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Thread

[src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) <c.buhtz@posteo.jp> - 2025-06-14 17:20 +0200
  Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Emmanuel Arias <eamanu@debian.org> - 2025-06-14 22:40 +0200
    Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) <c.buhtz@posteo.jp> - 2025-06-16 07:50 +0200
      Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) c.buhtz@posteo.jp - 2025-06-16 13:40 +0200
        Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Carsten Schoenert <c.schoenert@t-online.de> - 2025-06-16 15:10 +0200
          Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) c.buhtz@posteo.jp - 2025-06-16 15:30 +0200
              Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Soren Stoutner <soren@debian.org> - 2025-06-16 19:30 +0200
              Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) c.buhtz@posteo.jp - 2025-06-16 23:20 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Nicholas D Steeves <sten@debian.org> - 2025-06-16 23:50 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) c.buhtz@posteo.jp - 2025-06-17 09:00 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Nicholas D Steeves <sten@debian.org> - 2025-06-17 16:00 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Andrey Rakhmatullin <wrar@debian.org> - 2025-06-17 00:20 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) c.buhtz@posteo.jp - 2025-06-17 09:00 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Andrey Rakhmatullin <wrar@debian.org> - 2025-06-17 09:10 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Andrey Rakhmatullin <wrar@debian.org> - 2025-06-17 09:50 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) c.buhtz@posteo.jp - 2025-06-17 09:50 +0200
                  Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Soren Stoutner <soren@debian.org> - 2025-06-17 23:20 +0200
                Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from maintainer/uploader) Nick Morrott <knowledgejunkie@gmail.com> - 2025-06-17 23:50 +0200
                  Re: [src:backintime] Upload despite Hard Freeze (no response from  maintainer/uploader) Soren Stoutner <soren@debian.org> - 2025-06-18 00:00 +0200

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