You keep mentioning "the Debian repository". I'd like to point out
that what the sources.list file *usually* points at is not just a
repository or collecition of sw that has been packaged up in .dep
fashion. Rather, it is actually a mirror of THE DISTRIBUTION itself.
My point is that Debian has significantly more packages IN THE
DISTRIBUTION than any other distribution. They have a set of very
strict guidelines which dictate who can maintain packages and which
packages make into the distribution than does RedHat. This is where
the "responsibility hierarchy" I previously mentioned comes from.
RH may well have package maintainers who are responsible for the
packages in their distribution. However, there is a significant
amount of sw available for RH which is NOT part of their
distribution. For this sw, there is essentially no way to hold
anyone responsible if there is something wrong with the way it's
packaged, etc. Yet, the same sw is very likely to actually be a part
of the Debian distribution. As a result, if you determine that
there's a problem with the package, you have recourse you can take.
I.e. you can contact the package maintainer, failing that, you can
contact other Debian maintainers, and keep working yourself up the
chain until you may actually get the package marked or put on hold
until the problem is fixed. If you're pointing at the testing or
unstable releases, you may be able to get the package pulled until a
fix is available.
With RH, this is basically impossible. If you find a problem with a
package not in the core distribution, what recourse do you have? You
*might* be able to contact the maintainer, but that's about it.
There's no way to make sure rpmfind notifies everyone looking for
that package that there's a problem. Even notifying Bugtraq wouldn't
be good enough, since most people have no idea what that is.
Okay, I'm done with this debate now. Someone else wanna take over
for me? I need a nap or something. Coffee just isn't doing it for
me this morning ;)
--
Seeya,
Paul
----
God Bless America!
...we don't need to be perfect to be the best around,
and we never stop trying to be better.
Tom Clancy, The Bear and The Dragon
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