RFC: -server packages universe demotions and main promotions

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Fri, Dec 11, 2009 at 08:39:16PM +0000, James Troup wrote:
> Matt Zimmerman <mdz at ubuntu.com> writes:
> 
> > On Fri, Dec 04, 2009 at 01:33:42PM -0500, Mathias Gug wrote:
> >> == Proposed main promotion ==
> >> 
> >>  # oidentd
> >
> > According to Chuck's analysis in
> > https://blueprints.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/server-lucid-canonical-application-support
> > this is dead upstream, and so would be unsuitable for main.
> 
> So I have a couple of concerns with this conclusion:
> 
>  a) there's plenty of other software in main that's either just as
>     'dead' (e.g. the last upstream release of zlib was also 2006 (same
>     as oidentd) and mawk in *1996*) or has had longer periods of
>     non-activity (e.g. ed was unmaintained upstream from 1994 to 2006)
> 
>  b) if a program is mostly feature complete, free of any critical or
>     important bugs and demonstrably works for users, why is there a
>     strict requirement for an active upstream doing releases?
> 
> That said, my primary concern was that we have an identd in main; I
> don't much care that it's oidentd; if there's a better alternative I'd
> be happy with (and to migrate to) that.

Can you shed some light on why it's important to you to have an identd in
main?  The primary use I'm aware of is for IRC clients, and even that seems
dubious these days.

-- 
 - mdz