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Re: knockd package long-standing bug

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  Re: knockd package long-standing bug bw <bwtnguy@yahoo.com> - 2019-05-13 23:00 +0200
    FW: knockd package long-standing bug Riccardo Paolo Bestetti <riccardo.kyogre@live.it> - 2019-05-15 05:40 +0200
      Re: FW: knockd package long-standing bug <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2019-05-15 07:50 +0200
        RE: FW: knockd package long-standing bug Riccardo Paolo Bestetti <riccardo.kyogre@live.it> - 2019-05-15 14:40 +0200
          Re: FW: knockd package long-standing bug Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2019-05-17 19:30 +0200
            RE: FW: knockd package long-standing bug Riccardo Paolo Bestetti <riccardo.kyogre@live.it> - 2019-05-17 22:40 +0200
              Re: FW: knockd package long-standing bug Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> - 2019-05-17 23:50 +0200

#208626 — Re: knockd package long-standing bug

In-Reply-To: <DB8PR08MB3978F7062E455020A4047AC5FF0F0@DB8PR08MB3978.eurprd08.prod.outlook.com>

>Hello,
>
>Bug #868015 has been open since Jul 2017 and the fix consists in 3 lines 
>added to the system unit file. I.e. knockd.service lacks the [Install] 
>section and thus the service can't be made to auto-start after a reboot.
>Since the maintainer doesn't seem interested in fixing it (source: sent 
>him a mail 6 days ago, on top of the long-standing bug report), is there 
>something I can do as a user to get the fix into the repository?
>
>Best regards,
>Riccardo

Hi Riccardo, I'll take a chance at answering your question.  I am just a 
user like you on debian-user list.  This bug doesn't seem to be long 
standing, some bugs go several years before everybody can agree about the 
right way to go forward.  But we won't quibble about something like time 
measurement, will we?

Assuming you are serious, and want to help the project, then I would test 
the proposed patch and make sure it works in several configurations on 
several architectures.  Report the results to the bug tracker.  Sometimes 
there are different versions of a pkg that have subtle differences.  A 
patch that works on one arch might totally screw some other users over, 
and nobody wants that.

Also, sometimes people die, or have personal issues, the maintainer 
might have an issue with communication, but it doesn't always mean the 
person is AWOL.  Is the pkg abandoned?  

If so, you might be able to help get a new maintainer, just posting on the 
list probably started the ball rolling down this hill.

In the meantime, if the workaround solves the problem, since it is not 
release critical bug, I'd think it probably can't get into the repo until 
a new upstream ver is released, but I am wrong all the time...

Thanks,
bw

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#208656

>>Hello,
>>
>>Bug #868015 has been open since Jul 2017 and the fix consists in 3 
>>lines added to the system unit file. I.e. knockd.service lacks the 
>>[Install] section and thus the service can't be made to auto-start after a reboot.
>>Since the maintainer doesn't seem interested in fixing it (source: 
>>sent him a mail 6 days ago, on top of the long-standing bug report), 
>>is there something I can do as a user to get the fix into the repository?
>>
>>Best regards,
>>Riccardo

>Hi Riccardo, I'll take a chance at answering your question.  I am just a user like you on debian-user list.  This bug doesn't seem to be long standing, some bugs go several years before everybody can agree about the right way to go forward.  But we won't quibble about something like time measurement, will we?

>Assuming you are serious, and want to help the project, then I would test the proposed patch and make sure it works in several configurations on several architectures.  Report the results to the bug tracker.  Sometimes there are different versions of a pkg that have subtle differences.  A patch that works on one arch might totally screw some other users over, and nobody wants that.

>Also, sometimes people die, or have personal issues, the maintainer might have an issue with communication, but it doesn't always mean the person is AWOL.  Is the pkg abandoned?  

>If so, you might be able to help get a new maintainer, just posting on the list probably started the ball rolling down this hill.

>In the meantime, if the workaround solves the problem, since it is not release critical bug, I'd think it probably can't get into the repo until a new upstream ver is released, but I am wrong all the time...

>Thanks,
>bw

Hello bw,
thank you for your response!

Your input is much appreciated and you made some valid and interesting points.

To clarify, I really didn't mean to sound harsh or resentful towards the maintainer and/or the list. I apologize if that's what came through. I was just trying to unambiguously state how things are: there is this package-breaking defect that was reported a couple years ago, nothing is being done and the maintainer is unresponsive. I understand and respect that there may be very good reasons for all this - I just think the situation needs to be addressed. :)

Right now you only really notice the issue after a (possibly accidental) reboot, after which you will possibly have lost remote access to the machine due to knockd not opening the firewall. The good news is that the patch is for the systemd unit file, not the software itself, and the required options are pretty much standard. It really is a trivial fix, luckily! The bad news is that I'm not able to test the patch on different architectures: I'm neither capable nor set up to do that.

Thank you again for writing, I hope this gets fixed!

Best regards,
Riccardo

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#208660

[Multipart message — attachments visible in raw view] — view raw

On Tue, May 14, 2019 at 10:56:18PM +0000, Riccardo Paolo Bestetti wrote:
> >>Hello,
> >>
> >>Bug #868015 has been open since Jul 2017 [...]

> >Hi Riccardo, I'll take a chance at answering your question [...]

[good points]

> Your input is much appreciated and you made some valid and interesting points.
> 
> To clarify, I really didn't mean to sound harsh or resentful towards
> the maintainer and/or the list [...]

You've got good points, both of you. And no, Riccardo, I don't think
you sound harsh.

I don't understand to whom you sent a mail: to the maintainer's (Leonardo's)
Debian address or to the bug tracker? Perhaps you might try to send a
mail directly to the maintainer?

It seems the package hasn't received much love recently (the last thing
which happened was the migration to testing & unstable in Nov 2016 [1].

Perhaps Leonardo is too busy or has other trouble. This happens, life is
sometimes harsh to us all. There are processes in Debian for those cases,
the MIA (aka "Missing in Action") team [1] and Package Salvaging [2].

The second one seems "softer", I'd try that first.

Cheers

[1] https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/knockd
[2] https://wiki.debian.org/qa.debian.org/MIATeam
[3] https://wiki.debian.org/PackageSalvaging

-- tomás

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#208664

-----Original Message-----
From: tomas@tuxteam.de <tomas@tuxteam.de> 
Sent: mercoledì 15 maggio 2019 07:47
To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: FW: knockd package long-standing bug

Hi Tomás,

> I don't understand to whom you sent a mail: to the maintainer's (Leonardo's) Debian address or to the bug tracker? Perhaps you might try to send a mail directly to the maintainer?

Both. First to the bug tracker, and then last Tuesday to Leonardo's Debian address.

> The second one seems "softer", I'd try that first.

Sounds good. I'm gonna look into that. Thanks!


Best regards,
Riccardo

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#208751

On Wed 15 May 2019 at 08:02:01 +0000, Riccardo Paolo Bestetti wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: tomas@tuxteam.de <tomas@tuxteam.de> 
> Sent: mercoledì 15 maggio 2019 07:47
> To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
> Subject: Re: FW: knockd package long-standing bug
> 
> Hi Tomás,
> 
> > I don't understand to whom you sent a mail: to the maintainer's
> > (Leonardo's) Debian address or to the bug tracker? Perhaps you might
> > try to send a mail directly to the maintainer?
> 
> Both. First to the bug tracker, and then last Tuesday to Leonardo's
> Debian address.
> 
> > The second one seems "softer", I'd try that first.
> 
> Sounds good. I'm gonna look into that. Thanks!

You could also consider just applying the patches which work for you
and getting on with life. Bugs have been reported and not responded
to. You have done your part; now it is up to someone else who is in a
position to do something about it. Note that the Package Salvaging
process "..is only intended for actively taking over maintainership."
How an ordinary user would start the process doesn't appear to be
documented.

-- 
Brian.

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#208756

-----Original Message-----
From: Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> 
Sent: venerdì 17 maggio 2019 19:21
To: debian-user@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: FW: knockd package long-standing bug

> You could also consider just applying the patches which work for you and getting on with life. Bugs have been reported and not responded to. You have done your part; now it is up to someone else who is in a position to do something about it.
I was only trying to help, or at least find out if I could do it easily enough. It seemed like the right thing to do.

> Note that the Package Salvaging process "..is only intended for actively taking over maintainership."
> How an ordinary user would start the process doesn't appear to be documented.
Actually, it is documented pretty well! It's called an "NMU" [1].

BR,
Riccardo

--
[1] https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/ch05.en.html#nmu

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#208759

On Fri 17 May 2019 at 20:20:03 +0000, Riccardo Paolo Bestetti wrote:

> > You could also consider just applying the patches which work for you
> > and getting on with life. Bugs have been reported and not responded
> > to. You have done your part; now it is up to someone else who is in
> > a position to do something about it.
> I was only trying to help, or at least find out if I could do it
> easily enough. It seemed like the right thing to do.

I understood that and it is an honorable intention. However, the BTS
is a main point of contact between ordinary users and maintainers. If
there is no outcome there, the channels of communication are limited.

> > Note that the Package Salvaging process "..is only intended for
> > actively taking over maintainership." How an ordinary user would
> > start the process doesn't appear to be documented.
> Actually, it is documented pretty well! It's called an "NMU" [1].

Indeed, an NMU is documented, but it is a process not open to users
as a whole.

-- 

Brian.

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