Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
On Sun, May 17, 2026 at 04:15:57PM +0200, Timo Röhling wrote: > BEGIN CTTE BALLOT > > [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the > gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation > popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion > within their constitutional bounds. > > However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or > not package maintainers should generally allow donation > requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered > acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to > develop a policy in this matter. > > [N] None of the above > > END CTTE BALLOT I vote D > N. Helmut signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
On Sun, May 17, 2026 at 04:15:57PM +0200, Timo Röhling wrote: > BEGIN CTTE BALLOT > > [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the > gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation > popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion > within their constitutional bounds. > > However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or > not package maintainers should generally allow donation > requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered > acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to > develop a policy in this matter. > > [N] None of the above > > END CTTE BALLOT I vote: D > N signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Bug#1136336: Fwd: Re: Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
-- Forwarded message - From: Craig Small Date: Mon, 18 May 2026, 9:48 pm Subject: Re: Re: Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup) To: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA512 > BEGIN CTTE BALLOT > > [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the > gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation > popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion > within their constitutional bounds. > > However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or > not package maintainers should generally allow donation > requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered > acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to > develop a policy in this matter. > > [N] None of the above > > END CTTE BALLOT I vote D > N Rationale: D is sort of what I said, only its much better! Thanks Timo! -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: FlowCrypt Email Encryption 8.5.13 Comment: Seamlessly send and receive encrypted email wsG5BAEBCgBtBYJqCvyTCRACIWbA/zyE40UUAAAcACBzYWx0QG5vdGF0 aW9ucy5vcGVucGdwanMub3Jnu+TB+eI/mw1WwmanQMXTs6mMFIVRJ6eFOSLO 4or6TAkWIQRdPfD1OLMnwKp6d6ICIWbA/zyE4wAAg5gP/AgC3XDZH95t72St PO71Obm/2lL+hYCL1iLbgxJAac9/qLxxYbxQb1wWs1CM2+uEdLwCBxfO7gFC X0rNhMir5pzfWhhesMhHlRR5R8Qgj/PQaxCknCelQpjnRWCeOgILL75F7WvG 74oaKQ1qcpCa2Vj249Vyxq6Aq9drGA1eWuf+JZAfoTG+JBe5+2eZedHMuQ5c Gi5uhf+4ZXchXgVlbjh2hGwCbVmUYinfJC9u6ljVTspc/IgL556nfJpHxThQ sl4ahulQMfbwYCqS4vqRxUGPJINipEHqB6Bm+JIptNMPxYfoSreMQpUe8Kv1 32/CEHEHeKfVNPTw8C82aNV7FfwjN0U8iSnjiZluz36GAuJYNEBLSyHlG6Lj 9Hrd+TBgD1fRnm8iex4usMqBvt55Vomt44o7qWm67wmwCwQVfkiP6RpVtlmB lYCKgvVkHyfCAaY0LwVTx51epBbCMsHO6CMRDTNFoqykuhKsvrhFyq7WMFG1 cyIj7THgXlehnMfpdtXzJiOnjpFsUfuRFIwjAj4ltN6pN7wtimThpPp8aisl 8zjw1lG9jpe76t6uj+zl0AI1PZ+ZNw/+8xhKU6RkTT8j7SbLnm1VeTBD5xmk nNeF0lL9arIJIA4NoRoDcnzd5fERWFLd1g/usJONEOTWq9nhwaBn7E9+bYKb Nilkl89G =A3YW -END PGP SIGNATURE- -BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK- Version: FlowCrypt Email Encryption 8.5.7 Comment: Seamlessly send and receive encrypted email xsFNBE3Mr20BEACryQO8IVg0LeiorBOH5eDORRvthyCslwv5OCqui0r1vg8j Xuy4dRA68UIkVnoLO83i3CcjAyqyn20FO7lg55HySDJWcVD7ltVbrBIv7aDx JqOx2jrtp66Lk8Ct5ZltBV1nGjNCx3VquMugoGUBtB1ym8zY5NH92LtveSY+ bgjPyo9P3RhlBzRkd3JehCw97+ELbNqKAxZq6Ku/Oq6E23IQH8h91wzWJ5jM lDdyCXLDxWyXLvjp2XIbiE2qsRE+/abZNR1Oij3Q7mzY3HJ+AatBzb0JXe87 A9Ud19o9IfnlMr8v8SS15YE991/9gqqbOsyKJ97kzoFaiea9QSiZzPj+4jCI dM6+jN7F0ToyNZl31GCIcPXcNEHDBO9c812V2Nc++G6H2aUDAqfTnzQbXhvV I3aqSmvYNh/eBXX/QyYLAhv4qxQLV4bDuU+JD1a3rqgA+kAhBMsXbDti373w KT5fjpiZsqVXfGhisJmUVLevFaAz8rUAtCgrIiA9YlMnXqPNZtdoblF/71U4 6weLTjiLp14Yl8FLnhWV+vK+kwlkZJ/Uv93O4M7HVRNAG49th8vzKPStMZNw xvg/OyqBxKYvinlDMUzKpVXTxNJICbv2Gg69hrn7XvgyBxUFZ5CQWKoJm2Fo GtwuG1wVTM8F6h7EHA96Lp/UnP9GipUbf47MWQARAQABzR9DcmFpZyBTbWFs bCA8Y3NtYWxsQGRlYmlhbi5vcmc+wsGUBBMBCgA+AhsDAh4BAheABQsJCAcD BRUKCQgLBRYCAwEABQkZbLp0FiEEXS+zILgl2TkE0gUZOTj5a99Q/qUFAmQL wYAACgkQOTj5a99Q/qV93w//T3xk/WMHXF6ndM8BmZGqV4Qe4kkAVAkMZ38L lvrA9j/azvuK02BbrBosCmv/uMcm+odUU+62jfUbA9/MvSLgsk1DIF77ZoCQ wR37fWUm+4GBAwpZ9iCbneQHzzN7bCzeL7qk7xALc8w2jRBWaT1LXnDcaPuD gjqdZV0vOFlGJyDLQgNHs3L+p3vCyViTKGJ74Qk5tWmTK0dN9LdhpdABehpA IBIMJ4UTWbtoMjrUgClxqA4pkkkaODDhouBT5nYgj6FKTsEyReha2vOICbil i21Nr/i5d7Ua9DLhJL228/XWwPgHB39KLLO4MdDek2muuEdCUrDtKnXlPIFG go4u5OJlh7YSW4B7lhVCORdM0Lwk6AO8laQm4GO13blhVc3JOiAwnngzz7gY 0I7e64a4RnlyEzva+qxId3+f8PsXpUdG5ck/ChzT0XK7j/o5iQd2DJlkzVNu myGru++svh3jITSSRV2mj6wcUESpEX8DWBxhn4Z+z/lMWxBQeyUntt423NLq HacXcLlGe6OrMXCzLymByziyt8Kp3813XLUfBD6ENVt2cwW7EU6lf/AxuhuD uMICbmh7L1/GbnVtnkiMyX47evMz2YyfqNMOWKXvlMfEbEIJcqSNZ7PDhR+Y HgJBv07dvn9MVPuJi7Rs/kygfylXy6G0j3LYSmOWffEpDYTCwZQEEwEKAD4C GwMCHgECF4AFCwkIBwMFFQoJCAsFFgIDAQAWIQRdL7MguCXZOQTSBRk5OPlr 31D+pQUCZxDccwUJHQaT/wAKCRA5OPlr31D+pfMGD/47jlJ5wPu4c34M9EHx RA69MA96Ulk9W7dEM/VfkjGAYlRL5WPRXBvt46kelMNI9VWJer4HcSGcNT3S ynywUoeDhhUtEX0ZV/cht/i71oqM9QpsV9W6DaAguPxADf4OY97GPxp3vRJQ e4I+dtA+FMo7iAdeYJ1cST90IAtFVxJQlM2zvj3TNW/wnKTvolDLKpfWaUWX azDMgMxC0gglCFU1W57OmKzZ93k9cyKd95pVgICfuQYxOhZyvhq40Wpk0aBV mGlKmvM/k6qQx4jGagTTcrG80+a3ipQkJSD7xOWjIsYLQbO9cm15iExSKiZW 8Okeg3hgSvA2aW9LS64zf3h+5/bvPPdijSd4v7m+gRPtgMBD20Nt/A9BMyNO YksOcqpA87USJ4qXgYBT30aacdU1a6tTwl5+hdAt+4V45PWTOp/D3vg80GUi Vdx78hHzXq9t6KpxkvL+B9C71BoWAY9z71swqVyz4puzY8x7zLzlP0SB NDLLDzvl1+/AB7i0K0adryhXG/VUe++vzlWmiwRr+ncPmL3smU8loFtpsN82 O0dtfLdi/2aUcUWsAWD1Vhy3uM/Ff7WBafnlPx7KNBs7YpoTieeA5kUN8jHk P1Z7EA8W/GLTAI9W8O5Mhc3vTt/Wo6M0NsUzIB2SigL0kafxMiVq8u1lwhru JoNn4MLBcwQQAQoAHRYhBJAfwnMMzgRSaiE2Sdy4n5KKnLjMBQJkC+vgAAoJ ENy4n5KKnLjMN8gP/i1GjVgAHFKn26eJAbI1n299WPekJq7xHzJXr2dey8Xa Y4YPBR0T1yCmGh64Uowj2w3D3B9E2cAk4wj/R0/uJuhk+8tP0452tugyKoF3 RS5HPbcHVgrYJzvcats4FzYbhnB4N9yoiARg5gTVrEKpsgcutwylALFePlbp vM46aGI8kUZ1y/e1xxk2vS9wDiTMpwXhp2SCJn9WeYjdEZVtZmuvSWwiU0Bk sNfz/mj5csc5hqS5deAIG10xM+4fKeieFdnaA/Z1swvgOQVtB5TJSsQghU+H 5IoJ6rHQiMp//M447jBakYv
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
I vote: D > N Paul -- ⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ Paul Tagliamonte ⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ https://people.debian.org/~paultag | https://pault.ag/ ⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋Debian, the universal operating system. ⠈⠳⣄⠀⠀ 4096R / FEF2 EB20 16E6 A856 B98C E820 2DCD 6B5D E858 ADF3 signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
On Sun, 17 May 2026 15:15:57 +0100, Timo Röhling wrote: > BEGIN CTTE BALLOT > > [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the > gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation > popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion > within their constitutional bounds. > > However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or > not package maintainers should generally allow donation > requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered > acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to > develop a policy in this matter. > > [N] None of the above > > END CTTE BALLOT I vote thus: D > N Regards, Matthew pgp58jdwfXhbC.pgp Description: OpenPGP Digital Signature
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
Hi Timo (2026.05.17_07:15:57_-0700) BEGIN CTTE BALLOT [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion within their constitutional bounds. However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or not package maintainers should generally allow donation requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to develop a policy in this matter. [N] None of the above END CTTE BALLOT I vote: D > N No rationale needed, it's all in D. Stefano -- Stefano Rivera http://tumbleweed.org.za/ +1 415 683 3272 signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
Hi, Thank you Timo for preparing this. On 5/17/26 16:15, Timo Röhling wrote: […] BEGIN CTTE BALLOT [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion within their constitutional bounds. However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or not package maintainers should generally allow donation requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to develop a policy in this matter. [N] None of the above END CTTE BALLOT I vote: D > N Regards, taffit
Re: Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
* Timo Röhling [2026-05-17 16:15]: BEGIN CTTE BALLOT [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion within their constitutional bounds. However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or not package maintainers should generally allow donation requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to develop a policy in this matter. [N] None of the above END CTTE BALLOT I vote: D > N Cheers Timo -- ⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ ╭╮ ⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ │ Timo Röhling │ ⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ │ 9B03 EBB9 8300 DF97 C2B1 23BF CC8C 6BDD 1403 F4CA │ ⠈⠳⣄ ╰╯ signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
Control: user [email protected] Control: usertag -1 = voting Hi, * Craig Small wrote: We might not like it but it doesn't exceed the threshold for CTTE overruling a maintainer. This seems to be the emerging consensus. Therefore, I am proposing and calling for votes on the following resolution: BEGIN CTTE BALLOT [D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion within their constitutional bounds. However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or not package maintainers should generally allow donation requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to develop a policy in this matter. [N] None of the above END CTTE BALLOT Cheers Timo -- ⢀⣴⠾⠻⢶⣦⠀ ╭╮ ⣾⠁⢠⠒⠀⣿⡁ │ Timo Röhling │ ⢿⡄⠘⠷⠚⠋⠀ │ 9B03 EBB9 8300 DF97 C2B1 23BF CC8C 6BDD 1403 F4CA │ ⠈⠳⣄ ╰╯ signature.asc Description: PGP signature
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
Re: Craig Small > We might not like it but it doesn't exceed the threshold for CTTE > overruling a maintainer. I am the submitter of one of the "please disable this" bugs, but I do agree that this isn't tech-ctte material. One resolution might be that Debian considers adding its own "please donate" notification. To me, it mainly felt wrong that the desktop environment is asking when the OS itself isn't. anonreporter: sometimes bugs get resolved in ways that you don't like. Please accept that instead of writing a lot of vocal mails into all directions. Christoph
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
On Tue, 12 May 2026, 8:51 pm Matthew Vernon, wrote: > Hi, > > On 11/05/2026 22:05, [email protected] wrote: > > > 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. > > I think my starter-for-ten position on this is, very briefly: > I would say that my position is closely aligned to what Matthew's summary is. We might not like it but it doesn't exceed the threshold for CTTE overruling a maintainer. - Craig
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
Hi, On 11/05/2026 22:05, [email protected] wrote: 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. I think my starter-for-ten position on this is, very briefly: * I strongly dislike this sort of pop-up and would much prefer we disabled them by default in Debian * I don't think such pop-ups _in general_ violate the social contract (though particular instances might) * I think, absent a general policy on such popups, the case hasn't been made that would warrant overruling the maintainer here. * If these sort of popups are going to become more common (as seems plausible), it might well be time for us (==Debian) to develop a policy on them Regards, Matthew
Processed: Re: Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
Processing commands for [email protected]: > severity 1136336 normal Bug #1136336 [tech-ctte] tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup) Severity set to 'normal' from 'serious' > # i'd also recommend to close it as per Micah's reply > -- Stopping processing here. Please contact me if you need assistance. -- 1136336: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1136336 Debian Bug Tracking System Contact [email protected] with problems
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
(Not speaking on behalf of ctte) On Mon, May 11, 2026 at 09:05:08PM +, [email protected] wrote: > 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. Clause 4 says "We will be guided by the needs of our users and *the free software community*", and also goes on to describe specific ways in which we will satisfy those needs. So, firstly, I don't thing reading a subsection of clause 4 is helpful - it needs to be read in the context of the entire clause. But secondly, it does not prioritise users over the free software community at large. If a portion of the community requires funding to continue their work, is removing a request for donations not denying their needs? It's also not clear to me how different this is from the citation request in GNU Parallel, or why this is clearly something that has any impact on our user needs at all. Some users may prefer not to see the request, but some users would prefer that a lot of the software we ship acts in different ways, and we have certainly never felt that there's an obligation on the maintainer to satisfy those preferences. I don't see a clear violation of the social contract or policy here, and so right now would not be inclined to overrule the maintainer. If you feel that policy is failing to embody a clear reading of the social contract and that donation requests should be banned from Debian in general, the appropriate way to handle this is likely to propose changes to policy and build broad consensus for that change to be implemented.
Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
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
