Bug#877024: Modemmanager probing of unknown Devices

[Sam Hartman]

Like Ian, I honestly don't know what the rules are in this situation.

Wou/ld it be reasonable for him to make an NMU to experimental, and then
if there is no objection after testing to unstable?
In parallel, it seems desirable to see if any of the maintainers are
active.

--Sam

Re: Bug#877024: Modemmanager probing of unknown Devices

[Ian Jackson]

Sam Hartman writes ("Re: Bug#877024: Modemmanager probing of unknown Devices"):
> No, that was not the tone of Ian's message.  I wish it had been.

I'm sorry that my message didn't come across as Sam writes:

> He wrote the patch and said roughly "Hey, I know you don't like this,
> and I think we need some outside help  deciding which of us is right.
> I'm going to give you a bit of time in less I've got it all wrong and
> you're OK with this approach and then I'm going to ask for help."

Ian.

-- 
Ian Jackson    These opinions are my own.

If I emailed you from an address @fyvzl.net or @evade.org.uk, that is
a private address which bypasses my fierce spamfilter.

Bug#877024: Modemmanager probing of unknown Devices

[Ian Jackson]

Sam Hartman writes ("Re: Bug#877024: Modemmanager probing of unknown Devices"):
> I wanted to make you aware of a status update.
> The maintainer who has been doing most of the uploads on modemmanager
> stepped down after receiving my query.

Oh.

> As a matter of process, it's not clear that there's an active maintainer
> of modemmanager.  Speaking as an individual, but not as a TC member (I
> haven't talked to anyone else), I think it would be reasonable to treat
> modemmanager as a package that is under-maintained at the moment in
> which you've found a bug you care about, approaching things and
> balancing the same as you might in any similar situation.

Yes.

I think that means in this case (since there is some controversy)
explaining what I intend to do and seeing if anyone objects.

Concretely, that means that I should be thinking about uploading the
experimental upstream probing change branch to Debian experimental.

> With more of a TC hat on, I am very reluctant to rule on this issue
> without an active modemmanager maintainer.  I don't think there is a
> compelling need to do so, and I don't want to rule out the possibility
> of a modemmanager maintainer coming along later and presenting an
> argument about how we should balance this issue.
> I don't think the lack of a ruling will be a blocking force at the
> current time.

I can see why the TC might want to avoid making a final ruling without
proper input from the maintainers.

But, should I upload to experimental, and later, to sid, as I have
proposed ?  It's not quite clear whose permission I need.  To some
people I have already overstepped the mark[1].

The dev ref says "Have you geared the NMU towards helping the
maintainer?" and it all seems rather awkward to me to claim I am
"helping the maintainer" when AFAICT the maintainers are quite
unenthusiastic about these proposals.

I would welcome a decision by the TC (or informal comments, for that
matter) saying simply that they think it would be appropriate for me
to do those uploads.

Thanks,
Ian.

[1] Apparently referring the matter to the TC a mere 5 years after
the maintainers rejected changing the behaviour is too hasty.  I
accept of course that the way I recently brought my renewed awareness
of this problem to the attention of the maintainers wasn't ideal.