Hi, [ CCing a few relevant folks for my question ]
Reading this bug report made me realize, it is kind of similar for riseup-vpn package. That displays a MOTD with a "please donate if you can" banner everytime one runs the app. I've never got bug reports for it yet. Is that an actual problem? I'd feel really bad to remove it, and personally would not want to do it. I'm looking for advice here. Thanks! On 12/05/26 2:35 am, [email protected] wrote: > To: [email protected] > Package: tech-ctte > Severity: serious > Followup-For: Bug #1135385 > X-Debbugs-Cc: [email protected], > [email protected] > > I request the Debian Technical Committee intervene regarding Bug > #1135385, concerning the default-enabled donation notification in > gnome-control-center, currently dismissed as a duplicate of Bug > #1120511. > > The maintainer, Jeremy Bícha, has declined to address the core issue, > that a default-enabled fundraising notification violates Debian Social > Contract Clause 4: "We will be guided by the needs of our users and > free software community. We will place their interests first." > > This feature imposes an external agenda (GNOME Foundation fundraising) > without user consent, undermining user autonomy and Debian’s ethical > foundation. It is not a minor usability concern, but a policy and > philosophical violation, analogous to Bug #964359 (SMPlayer donation > nag), which was patched out due to reputational risk. > > The maintainer’s responses (closing as duplicate, telling users to > run commands to disable the notification, etc), fails to engage with > the ethical and policy dimensions. This constitutes a willful > disregard of Debian’s stewardship principles. The issue leaves no > remaining ambiguity and is a direct conflict between upstream agendas > and Debian’s values. > > Per Debian Constitution §6.1.4, I ask the TC to: > Overrule the maintainer’s decision to dismiss Bug #1135385 and > to discontinue ignoring Bug #1120511. > Require that the donation notification be either: > Patched out of the Debian package, or > Disabled by default with a clear, informed opt-in mechanism. > Clarify that maintainers must consider Debian Social Contract > violations as actionable, especially when upstream decisions conflict > with user interests. > Consider whether the maintainer’s continued refusal to address a > documented policy violation constitutes an unambiguous failure of > stewardship. > > References: > Bug #1135385: https://bugs.debian.org/1135385 > Bug #1120511: https://bugs.debian.org/1120511 > Bug #964359 (SMPlayer): https://bugs.debian.org/964359
