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Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is the best course of action?

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On 2022-02-15 at 12:56, Stella Ashburne wrote:

> Hello The Wanderer

>> Do you have any reason to believe that it might? As compared to any
>> other random library that Debian provides.
> 
> No, I don't have the technical knowledge to audit libthai. My point 
> is that why pull in non-English dependencies for an English-language 
> installation....

Because just because the main OS is configured to be in English, doesn't
mean there won't be a time when the user needs to read a document
written in that non-English language.

What if someone sends you a document that has one or more words written
in Thai? In order to be able to display that document correctly, the
computer will need code that knows how to handle the Thai language.
Whether that code is in libthai, or in a more general library, or
embedded directly in whatever program it is that's reading the document,
it's still there.

Even if you can be sure you'll never have any reason to want to read a
document that contains Thai, the same thing applies for every other
language that doesn't just use the same character set, etc., as English.
Most of them don't have sufficiently unusual and/or complex rules that
they need a dedicated library to handle them, as Thai apparently does,
but they do need something to handle whatever rules there may be.

> Doing so may increase the chance of attacks by hackers.

Not any more than pulling in any other dependency does.

> The argument that an app, library or distro is open source does not 
> really mitigate the risks of attacks.

I hadn't made that argument, I don't think, so this seems like a non
sequitur.

-- 
   The Wanderer

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
progress depends on the unreasonable man.         -- George Bernard Shaw

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Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? "Andrew M.A. Cater" <amacater@einval.com> - 2022-02-13 14:20 +0100
  Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Stella Ashburne <rewefie@gmx.com> - 2022-02-14 11:30 +0100
    Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2022-02-14 13:50 +0100
      Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Stella Ashburne <rewefie@gmx.com> - 2022-02-15 19:00 +0100
        Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Kushal Kumaran <kushal@locationd.net> - 2022-02-15 20:00 +0100
        Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is the best course of action? Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2022-02-15 20:30 +0100
        Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2022-02-16 03:10 +0100
          Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Stella Ashburne <rewefie@gmx.com> - 2022-02-16 14:40 +0100
            Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2022-02-16 14:50 +0100
              Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Stella Ashburne <rewefie@gmx.com> - 2022-02-17 07:10 +0100
            Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2022-02-16 15:10 +0100
              Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2022-02-16 16:40 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2022-02-16 21:40 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2022-02-17 06:50 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2022-02-17 10:50 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2022-02-17 11:00 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2022-02-17 10:50 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2022-02-17 11:00 +0100
              Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Stella Ashburne <rewefie@gmx.com> - 2022-02-17 07:10 +0100
                Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2022-02-17 09:30 +0100
    Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What is  the best course of action? Jonathan Dowland <jon+debian-user@dow.land> - 2022-02-17 11:10 +0100
      Re: Uninstalling a package removes other essential packages: What  is the best course of action? Tixy <tixy@yxit.co.uk> - 2022-02-17 18:10 +0100

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