Re: [Sks-devel] SKS debian package

[Daniel Kahn Gillmor]

Hi Sebastian (and other folks interested in sks in debian)--

On 04/20/2012 04:32 AM, Sebastian Urbach wrote:
> Just for everyone who depends on a debian sks package. I complained to
> the the debian project about Christoph Martin (Main Debian SKS
> developer) and im also trying to get him removed from that position as
> well.

It sounds to me like you're frustrated with the lag in sks packaging for
debian.  That's understandable, i'm frustrated too!

It seems clear that the people currently listed as maintainers for sks
in debian don't have time to focus on it right now, which is sad but
understandable.  People have lives, and sometimes their commitments change.

Getting the debian maintainers "removed" won't resolve your frustration,
though, because the new version of sks still won't be packaged for
debian.  So it seems like the only effect your current approach will
have is to make people more angry and frustrated, and maybe even remove
sks from debian entirely if it has no maintainers at all.

If i knew ocaml better (hint: "at all" would be better than my current
situation), and i was more comfortable with bdb, and i had more spare
time (hint: "any" would be more than my current situation), i would
consider taking the packaging over myself.  But those particular stars
aren't aligned for me right now :(

It sounds to me like the current maintainers have been very honest with
you about their inability to work on it, and would probably be very
happy to see a proposal about a good way to move forward.  Maybe they'd
be up for an offer of co-maintainership?

Perhaps you (Sebastian, or anyone else on this list) would like to take
a stab at updating the current debian packaging to use upstream's 1.1.3,
upload patches to the BTS, or even seek sponsorship for the new package?
 You don't need to be a Debian Developer to maintain packages in debian.
 We welcome everyone!

My friend Asheesh Laroia recommends this particular slide set by Lucas
Nussbaum [0].  They're quite on-topic -- they show you how to take an
existing Debian package and modify it.

If you need help with any of this, the debian-mentors list [1] has
people like him on it that are good resources to ask questions, as does
the #debian-mentors IRC channel on irc.oftc.net.

Hopefully we can find a way to resolve the frustration and get debian's
packaging of SKS back on track!

Regards,

        --dkg

[0] http://www.lucas-nussbaum.net/blog/?p=683
[1] https://lists.debian.org/debian-mentors/

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