requesting for changes to be sent to debian before sponsoring an upload

[Emmet Hikory]

Emilio Pozuelo Monfort wrote:
> It's not about getting the change accepted before sponsoring, but to get the
> change forwarded (or that's what I understood and what I'm in favour of). So one
> minute after the change is forwarded would be appropriate IMHO. If it gets
> accepted, it will be synced/merged next time.

    Yes, indeed.  Also, it's good to check for an existing bug on the
issue when doing so.  Many developers will forward things upstream
when they first create a patch, but in cases where it isn't included
for a couple of years (inactive maintainer, etc.), it is sometimes
helpful to update the relevant bug with any changes that may be
required (I see this most often with .desktop file patches, where the
.desktop file standards have changed since the last push upstream).
This is vastly preferred over pushing duplicate upstream reports,
which tend to annoy upstream.

    Additionally, when sending things upstream, it is generally better
to express how this affects upstream, rather than just saying "Ubuntu
made this change: you may wish to consider it".  Often upstream
(whether Debian or original authors) will be less interested in a
convenience patch than in a demonstrable issue with the software in a
context that affects upstream.

-- 
Emmet HIKORY