On 8/27/26 11:58 PM, Marc Schiffbauer wrote:
Dear Packman community,
After 25 years, the time has come for us to hand over the Packman
project. If no one is found who wishes to continue Packman, we will
discontinue the project on 31/12/2026.
I must apologize for the late reply. I skipped this thread and I had no
idea the situation was so dire.
= Why we are leaving =
25 years is a long time. And if we are honest: Packman passed its zenith
some time ago.
Distributions have evolved; Flatpak and other mechanisms
have reduced the need for many classic Packman packages. Both of us have
realised that we can no longer muster the energy and the time that
Packman requires. We would rather end it consciously and transparently
than let it slowly fade away, leaving users with orphaned packages in
the end.
Packman is still of paramount importance to openSUSE users. Don't
underestimate your work.
= Successors wanted =
We are looking for a person or a team prepared to continue Packman –
hosting, build infrastructure, repository management, and community
coordination. Splitting these tasks among several people is absolutely
conceivable.
We would also like to invite thoughts on alternative models. An obvious
question: Could Packman (or at least parts of it) be transferred to the
openSUSE Build Service (OBS)? However, there is a major restriction –
Packman only exists because the official OBS maintains an application
blacklist and cannot build the exact multimedia codecs that define
Packman. Nevertheless, it is worth asking the question anew and
discussing which models would be feasible today.
Since no other system exists (short of doing it on one's own) to have up
to date uncrippled codecs, couldn't the openSUSE board (or SUSE itself?)
lend a helping hand? Not sure about the legal ramifications with regard
to distributing patented software, though.
Regards.
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