reflecting on first UDS session on "rolling releases"

[Steve Langasek]

On Sun, Mar 10, 2013 at 03:54:21PM +1300, Robert Collins wrote:
> On 10 March 2013 14:38, Steve Langasek <steve.langasek at ubuntu.com> wrote:

> > Our SRU policy reflects this: we only allow updates to stable releases for
> > specific bugfixes, and don't allow other changes.

> ... except for firefox.

As a necessary concession to the reality that it's the only way to keep the
browser secure for our users of stable releases due to the complete lack of
support from upstream for this model, and not because we think it's
*appropriate* to include other changes to firefox in an SRU.

> And kernels.

My understanding is that the kernel stable trees are supposed to be
bugfix-only.  There are a number of packages where we "delegate" to upstream
the management of the bugfix-only branches that we pull into Ubuntu for SRUs
because we trust their upstream QA and their branch commit policies, and
because we don't want to duplicate efforts.  The kernel is just one of these
packages.

But *except* for firefox, where we really have no good options available,
all of our SRU MicroReleaseExceptions still follow the basic rule that only
changes for specific, high-impact bugs are allowed, precisely to protect
users against unnecessary changes in behavior.

-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
Ubuntu Developer                                    http://www.debian.org/
slangasek at ubuntu.com                                     vorlon at debian.org
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