i386 EOL plans for Ubuntu GNOME?

[Bryan Quigley]

Hi Ubuntu GNOME team,

>From the thread on Ubuntu-devel/discuss [1] I'm going to start
conversations with each flavor on what their plans are for i386 in the
18.04 timeframe.  I did run a survey but the Ubuntu GNOME [2] results
aren't enough to base a decision on.

The general ideas are either:
*Start Dropping i386 for Ubuntu GNOME*
A. Drop Ubuntu GNOME i386 ISO for 16.10
B. In addition to A, also block upgrades by dropping packages from
i386 archive (say GNOME Shell*).

Some Pros:  Halves the test cases you need to go through.   Reduces
bandwidth usage and makes it more obvious for new users what to
download.

*Wait until after 18.04 and then reconsider dropping i386*

Pros:  Maintain older hardware running Ubuntu GNOME for another 2+
years (up from 3 years).

Thoughts?
Bryan

* You could consider any packages that are 100% specific to the Ubuntu
GNOME flavor.

[1] https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2016-June/039420.html

[2] The total results for Ubuntu GNOME  (18 of the 300 responses).
The results we're not as clear due to the number of 12.04 respondents
- 5 (and one with 200 machines).  12.04 is from before both Gnome
Shell and Unity, so I have no idea where they are going to go.

How long do you expect this machine to last?
at least 1 year - 3  (one of these running 12.04)
at least 3 years - 7
at least 5 years - 3  (2 of these are running 12.04)
at least 7 years or more - 5  (2 of these are running 12.04)

i386 - To be clear I mean any 32-bit x86 platform (usually AMD/Intel/VIA).