Prioritisation of apt-get.org and other .deb imports

[Mark Shuttleworth]

Hi guys

Just a quick note to clarify the ideas behind the apt-get.org import 
initiative and set a policy for the schedule and prioritisation of those 
imports.

First, the reason we are doing the imports is in support of users who 
would find these packages and then struggle to update their apt 
configuration to be able to support them. If a package is "out there", 
and it builds-and-installs, then we want to have it available in 
Universe or Multiverse.

That said, it's important that the MOTU team be comfortable with the 
scheduling of the imports, and I should have discussed it with the MOTU 
before asking James to bring the new packages in. Apologies if that's 
thrown a spanner into the works.

Going forward, I'm happy for the MOTU to drive the process of the 
imports and set a schedule. I'm happy to compromise on getting it "all 
done" for Hoary, to allow everyone time to polish the Hoary release, as 
long as we can aim to have Universe be totally comprehensive for Breezy. 
Guys, please work with James to define a process which lets you bring in 
the package. James will review the legalese on the package to make sure 
we never put something in Universe which is not redistributable, but he 
won't review the content or structure of the package itself, if you ask 
him to bring it in he will assume the MOTU are happy for it to be there 
from a quality point of view.

I'm really proud of the way the MOTU team has taken on the huge 
challenge of organising and improving universe, to the extent that I 
think we can learn quite a bit from them with regard to the way we 
manage Main. Thank you for your spirit and work! I think having a 
Universe component that is (1) very complete, and bigger than ANY other 
repository of free software, and (2) of a good or excellent quality, is 
part of the reason for Ubuntu's amazing growth and popularity.

I'd like to urge the MOTU to continue to develop relationships with 
upstream, the greater the participation of upstream directly in main and 
universe, the greater the chances that upstream's free software is 
well-presented and well-represented in Ubuntu.

Cheers!
Mark